Tears of the Broken (6 page)

“
Oh,
I’m sorry, Mozart,” he said with a breathy laugh, “would you prefer
a more complicated duet?”

“
Can
you handle it?” I asked teasingly.

“
Young lady, I can handle anything you can dish
out.”

That
, I strongly doubt.

After David escorted me all the way to third period Math
class—even though he wasn’t in my class—I watched him walk away,
and fell inside myself at the back of the room while Miss Chester
spoke about something to do with numbers. I don’t care for math,
and I’m not any good at it.

I
didn’t see anyone in class that I recognised from Music, and for
the most part, no one bothered to strike up a friendship. So, I sat
quietly and thought about David until the teacher said, “Five
minutes left to finish those questions and hand them in. If you’ve
finished already, you can have an early mark for morning
tea.”

A
few students jumped up, placed their work on Miss Chester’s desk
and left the room. I pushed my unfinished paper aside and reached
into my bag to get my map. I’m busting for the toilet. I need to
locate the nearest bathroom so I can run there as soon as the
teacher sets me free.

Hm,
where is it? I reached deeper into my bag and dug around more
frantically. I know I had it when I was in the library. I pulled my
books, my purse and my notepad out and looked at the base of my
empty bag. Oh no! It’s gone.

The
familiar rise of panic flushed through my arms and I dropped my
face against my hand as the heat rose into my cheeks. I’m ruined! I
can see the headlines now: New Girl Lost, Pathetic—and Needs to
Pee.

The
bell screeched, and I stood slowly, packing my stuff into my bag
with the speed of an old lady with arthritis. If I’m the last to
leave, no one will know how much of a moron I am for not having a
map—not that I could follow it if I still had it,
anyway.

As
the last of the gossiping dregs shuffled from the room, I herded
out behind them, dumping my paper on the teacher’s desk before
stepping into the open-aired corridor of the second floor. The hot,
damp air brushed over my cheeks and wet my lungs as I breathed it
in with a sigh. Okay, if I were a bathroom in this school, where
would I be?

As I
flung my bag over my shoulder and looked up, my heart stopped when
my gaze met with a pair of amazing green eyes, shining out like
emeralds. “Need a guide?” David flashed a mischievous grin from
where he leaned against the railing with his arms folded over his
chest.

God,
yes. “Well, I wouldn’t if
someone
hadn’t taken my map,” I said accusingly, then
smiled back as I stood beside him.

“
Sorry. But those things are impossible to read, anyway.” He
looked down at me. “You’d have gotten lost without me to show the
way.”

“
Is
that so?” My playful tone drew a smile to his lips
again.

“
Yes.”

“
You
seem pretty sure of yourself.”

He
nodded and his smile remained.

“
So,
are you saying I’m incapable of finding my own way?” I
said.

“
No.” He shook his head. “Only that life is easier when you
have someone to walk beside you.”

“
Life?”

“
Er,
yeah, I meant…in the context of getting from A to B.” He rubbed his
hand across his mouth, unable to wipe off the sheepish grin. “That
was kind of awkward, wasn’t it?”

“
Uh,
yeah.” I let the laughter out with a breath. He’s got
foot-in-mouth-disease almost as bad as me. “You know, Emily warned
me about you.”

“
She
did?” He turned and looked forward as we started walking. He has a
very natural stillness about him. Just the way he walks makes me
feel more relaxed.

I
hugged my books tightly to my chest to stop from flinging my arms
around his waist. “Yeah, she said you wouldn’t let me out of your
sight,” I added with a grin.

“
Did
she tell you why she thought that?” He stopped then, and took my
math book from my hands, tucking it under his arm—beside his
books.

Great, I have no shield now. I watched the math book for a
second. “I’m fresh meat.”

“
Fresh meat?” He laughed and shook his head, looking
away.

“
Yeah. You know? A new toy.”

David stayed quiet for a moment, and I watched the other
students file past us in a hurry. “You don’t think of me like that,
do you? That I am only talking to you because I want something more
interesting to play with?” He changed the interpretation—kind of
like I just did.

I
shook my head. “No, I actually think you might be a very genuinely
nice guy.” I know I sound surprised by the idea, but I’ve never
come across a guy who’d walk me around the school, talk to me like
he’s known me forever and what’s more, carry my books.

David smiled, looking down at the books in his arms. “I guess
I can’t really blame Emily for thinking that. I have never shown
much interest in anyone at this school, until—” he stopped walking
and talking, and the strong burn of lemon-scented bleach made my
stomach turn as I leaned against the wall.

“
Until what?” My gaze rolled upward to the towering David as
he stepped into me, showing absolutely no respect for my
territorial bubble.

“
Until—today.”

My
mouth opened, but only a soft breath came out, stopping as the
sweet scent of his vibrant chocolaty cologne forced its way into my
heart.

David waited, then nodded to the door beside us. “Did you
need to go?”

Go
? I forced myself to look to my
right—away from his face. Bathroom. Thank God. “I’ll just be a
sec.” I rolled away from the wall and passed my backpack to David
when he held his hand out for it. The whiney hinges on the bathroom
door creaked as I pushed it open, and as it closed behind me,
trapping the stifling heat in the only non-air-conditioned room in
the school, I stopped dead, hearing the words, “The girl in the
yellow dress?”

My
ears pricked up.

“
Yeah, the new girl,” another replied.

Me?
They’re talking about me. Do I go in or walk back out of the room?
I mean, is it improper to walk in on people gossiping about you? I
should’ve read that in the ‘How to be a New Student Without Looking
Like an Idiot’ guide. Oh, wait, they don’t have one.

“
What did you think of her?” she continued.

“
Well, she’s pretty, I guess.”

“
You
think so?”

“
Yeah, I mean, did you see how blue her eyes are? Like, so
wasted on her face, hey?”

Ouch.

“
Yeah, totally. You want some?” the other girl
said.

“
What scent is it?”

“
Sunlight Breeze.”

“
Yeah.” A long hiss of a spray can sounded before the sharp,
choking fumes of deodorant filled the tiny bathroom. I covered my
mouth to hold in the gasping coughs threatening to expose my
precarious position. If they knew I heard them it’d be
mortifying—for all of us.

“
Did
you hear what she did in music class?”

“
Yeah, what a show-off.”

“
You
know she’s already got her claws into David Knight?”

My
heart jumped to alert with his name.

“
Yep. Typical. He doesn’t like her, I heard. He’s just
interested in her because she’s wearing a dress and it’s, like,
easy access.”

My
eyes all but jumped out of my head. How can they be so mean? I held
my breath and blinked back hot tears. I can’t let myself
cry—especially since I have nowhere to go. I can’t run back out to
David. He’ll know, from the look on my face, that something’s
wrong, and I don’t want to walk in there and face these girls,
either—they’ll know I heard them. I don’t know how to handle that
kind of situation. I mean, do I say something or just pretend I
didn’t hear?

“
He’s way out of her league,” one of them said.

“
Yeah, I don’t know what she thinks he wants
with her. Did you see the way she fell all over herself when she
saw him outside just now?” The girl cackled in a high-pitched tone.
She seems to have a lot invested in this conversation. I wonder if
she’s a friend of David’s, or maybe an ex-girlfriend or something.
Whatever they are to him, though, they’re right. I
know
he’s out of my
league—but I’m not trying to
be
in his league. I should step around this corner
and tell them that.

“
I
give it a week before he realises she’s not that pretty and
loses interest.” The other laughed.

My
feet froze half-way through the step, and my stomach continued
without me. They must’ve noticed my scars. Suddenly, the walls
closed in and the scars along my jawline and neck burned. They’re
right. I’m hideous. What would a guy like David ever see in
me?

While I stood frozen in humiliated stillness, about to run
the other way, they stepped around the corner, and the colour in
their faces drained when they saw me. After a tense second of
wordless realisation, the tall, blonde girl in the cheer-squad
uniform shrugged and walked away. I hid myself in the corner as
they opened the door and the bright light filled the room. The
dark-haired girl poked her tongue out as she passed me.

I
wish I hadn’t worn this stupid dress. My eyes brimmed with tears
and I leaned my back against the wall, rolling my face upward. No!
I cupped my hand over my quivering chin. I will not cry at school.
I’m stronger than this. I drew a few deep breaths and squared my
shoulders.

My
desperate urge to go to the bathroom faded, and a longing to go
home came in its place. I feel so alone here, but now it’s worse
because as soon as David gets word that people don’t like me, he’ll
stop being my friend.

I
feel sick. Really sick.

My
hands fell over my belly and the sudden urge to run for the toilet
moved my feet. I think I’m gonna puke.

I
leaned over the basin and splashed warm water onto my face. I’m so
glad I held my breakfast in. After heaving deeply for a minute, I
managed to settle my stomach. But what caused that? I never get the
urge to throw up. Ever. But then, I’ve never been this nervous
before, either.

The
mirror displayed all the sadness in my eyes as the voices of the
nasty girls replayed in my mind.
Way out
of her league. A week before he realises she’s not
pretty.

It’s
not so much the truth that hurts, it’s the fear that David might
find out what people are saying. I wiped some paper towel slowly
over my cheeks and eyes, and stared at myself. Who are you? Who is
this girl that can feel like throwing up with the thought that a
boy might not like her? I want to slap myself. This is not
me.

I
leaned close to the sad-looking girl in the mirror. Get over him,
Ara-Rose. Look at yourself. You’re hideous. What was I thinking,
for that split second out there in the hall when I thought maybe,
just maybe the scars didn’t exist? But they do. I ran my hand over
the side of my face. What’s weird is that when I look in the
mirror, I can’t see them at all. It’s almost as though my mind has
subconsciously blacked them out. But I know they’re there—and I
know everyone else can see them.

I
straightened my shoulders and forced a smile. I have to accept what
I am—a hideous beast—and I have to smile. David can’t know we’re
attracting gossip. Not yet. I just want a little more time with
him. Just for today. That’s all I ask, and I’ll never wish for
anything else, ever again. Just him. Just for today.

The
summer sun streamed into the corridor outside, and as I stepped
into the light, I drew a deep breath and looked sadly at the boy
leaning over the railing on the other side. The shadows highlighted
the contours of his shoulder blades and the arch of his spine, and
I wanted nothing more than to run up to him and tell him everything
those girls just said. But this is the real world, and he’d
probably freak out and dust me off like a cobweb.

Reality even managed to ruin plan B, running home, because
David still had my bag—with my house keys.

He
turned around and smiled at me with those kind, warm eyes, and the
dormant pain I just forced down rose to the surface again, stinging
my eyes with tears. I flattened the front of my dress, blinking
rapidly until, as the tears receded, David’s arm landed around my
shoulder. He leaned down and with his lips close to my ear, very
softly asked, “Are you okay?”

“
Mm-hm.” I nodded and smiled, concealing my shaky voice with
the wordless response.

He
stood back up slowly and looked at the two girls from the
bathroom—now standing by their locker in the corner, whispering to
each other. “Ara?” he said, checking over his shoulder before
looking back at me. “Do you mind if I teach those gossip queens a
lesson?”

“
Why
would you want to do that?” I looked at them, staring at me.
They’re so completely unaware that I’ve noticed them.