Chapter 22: Wednesday worries (2/2)
Trees and flowers blossomed in bright colors alongside Sophie's path. Spring had arrived in all its beauty. At least for most.
Outside of her school, a corner away from the entrance, there stood one tree that seemed not quite ready to leave its winter dress.
Left behind by its other tree colleagues, Sophie felt a certain kinship as she looked at it.
Bare branches, a sickly grey bark, and below its arms the metal fence that surrounded the school.
As if that wasn't enough, against the fence leaned on of her classmates, like a prison guard.
Jeremy tilted his head to look behind her when she got closer, a sour expression on his face.
"Hey Taylor. What's the matter? No bodyguard today?"
Sophie's ears twitched when she heard the barely hidden hostility in his words.
A familiar tone.
"I'm not in the mood, Jeremy... Felix follows surely soon..."
Her path past him got blocked when he moved in her way, both of his arms crossed.
"Yeah, I figured you wouldn't be... not after your friends just ditched you yesterday, that is."
Sophie made a reflexive step back to avoid the confrontation he seemed to beckon for.
"What do you want? Felix isn't here to hear your show."
He claimed the distance she had given him, and closed in another step, standing now right in front of her.
"And? Although... honestly, I'm not surprised they left you standing outside the gym. You're just deadweight, anyway. Isn't that right?"
The words stung all the more because Sophie felt they were true. Despite that, she failed to even consider taking his obvious invitation for a fight.
Irritated by that strange apathy, she walked past him.
"I don't see how that's your business..."
Jeremy gripped her arm, his thumb right on one of her nerves. It caused a painful prickle that made her grind her teeth.
Of course, that was on purpose. She had seen him doing that before.
Sophie turned to meet his eyes, both full of mockery.
"Oh, of course you're right. I was just wondering, from inside the cozy gym, why you kept lurking around, shivering your ass off, even though the message should've been quite clear."
With a demonstrative smooth twist removed Sophie her arm from his grip. Leaving him no doubt that she wasn't interested in engaging with his provocation.
"Oh, shut up."
The pain lingered, accompanied by a bitter taste of annoyance. She turned her back once more and left.
To know he was involved in this situation made her sigh harder.
Jeremy though, took none of it and closed up on her, walking now beside her, while he continued to talk.
"But I guess you're a little slow on the uptake. Aren't you?"
She rolled her eyes at his smug face, her lips pressed together.
"How do you come to that conclusion, Einstein?"
His sudden push was anything but unexpected, and Sophie barely stumbled back.
"Well, considering you're too stupid to notice what's going on right in front of your nose."
Not like he noticed the irony in his words.
For a moment, Sophie bit her tongue, contemplating her next action. Jeremy sought trouble, but why?
'What does it matter? He won't leave until he gets it...'
Yeah... and that was the problem...
So why didn't he just jump the formalities?
She certainly had enough of the farce.
"At least I'm not too coward to simply punch someone, instead of hiding behind insults. What is it Jeremy? Not the balls to start a fight against a girl?"
That had hit him. The smirk faded, his posture changed.
Stayed to be open if he would follow up to his words, or let her go.
He bared his teeth, seemingly unsure what to do without a clear acceptance of his challenge. Or simply because she had hit the mark.
Either way, his straight right to her face settled the doubt, once and for all.
The punch barely missed her eye, but the pain numbed half her head.
Not waiting for the rush of adrenaline to drown it out, Sophie gave him the same back, staggering him for a moment when she followed the strike with a kick against his legs.
She left Jeremy no time to regain his balance and mirrored the same for his other half, causing him to fall flat on his back, with both legs giving in.
Seeing his surprised face, Sophie waited for the feeling of victory to settle in.
Just like Felix had shown her, most people lacked the balance to stay on their feet, and Jeremy was no difference.
Sophie felt no joy when she graced the swollen part of her eye with her fingers.
'Why even fight if there's nothing to gain...'
Seeing how Jeremy struggled to get back on his feet, she turned on her heels and walked away. The appalled complaints of her opponent following her.
"Hey! I'm not finished! You can't just leave!"
Sophie stared at the back of her hand, scratched by her hits, yet empty when turned around.
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The rollicking students were barely audible from the side alley that branched off between the main building and the small gym that lied at the schoolyard.
A perfect hiding spot for all that disliked the bustle of the lunch break, or those that intended to avoid the watchful gaze of the teachers.
Either way, Sophie just didn't want to bother with anyone right now. And besides the smell, the trash cans weren't too poor company either.
From her place, she could even take a glance at the various types of bugs and lichens that grew and crawled on the red sandstone bricks of the wall.
It was certainly more interesting than a moral prayer from Monica, because of Sophie's high sugar consumption.
Or Izzy's newest gossip.
Watching Max's eyes grow big at her food while he tried a new diet was also only fun for the first few times.
And Jacob...
'What about him?'
Her eyes wandered off over the asphalt in search of an answer.
The thought stayed unfinished, though, interrupted as a pair of shoes slipped into view, accompanied by the crunching of pebbles beneath them.
She turned her head upwards, one eye squeezed together, while the other hammered with pain.
There stood Felix, his arms crossed and gaze on her.
With a curious look raised the young man a hand to his chin.
"You've got there something. Did the fine lady have an accident with her mascara this morning?"
Provoked by the snide remark turned Sophie her injured side away from him, before scoffing at his lousy humor.
"Really witty comment, smart-ass. Never before seen a violet in your life, or what?"
Felix slipped his hand into the pocket of his pants while a sufficient smirk replaced the faked curiosity.
"Sure. Just earlier I saw the two for one special that you gave Jeremy."
On its way back parted his fingers just enough to unveil a package of cigarettes.
Sophie felt her weight shift when he took one. The last chocolate bar in her pants moving along.
Her eyebrows pulled down, and the head turned away. She knew very well how childish that looked.
"Then why do you ask so stupid?"
The pouting expression fell slightly apart when she snatched the package he held out to her.
After all the stress lately, seemed his peace offer just right, and Sophie took her time with the lighter.
Felix gestured towards his eye to return to the subject.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
She threw him the cigarettes back, before shrugging her shoulders. Calmed by the first draw, Sophie felt herself apathetic towards his question.
"What's there to talk? He wanted to have a fight with someone, and I gave him that. Not that you would care..."
Giving him the cold shoulder sure felt satisfying.
Sophie watched the smoke she exhaled dissolve before her eyes, still some of her sugary sweet lunch between her teeth.
She dug on it with her tongue while waiting for Felix to take the bait.
But he didn't.
Instead, the silence remained, like unspoken ballast in between them.
'Maybe you should have tried to punch some answers out of Jeremy, instead...'
Felix broke the treacherous peace while she gnawed on that thought and her cheek. Hitting the nail on the head.
"Then let's talk about what happened yesterday, and why."
To see that straight expression on his face was just as surprising as the direct approach.
"I sure am sick of hiding it. Especially since training will only increase from now on."
That only caused more questions to plop up in Sophie's head.
"What training are you talking about? Kickboxing?"
He shook his head in denial.
"No. Special training under Coach Warren. Not only for me. We've all been there yesterday. That's why he kicked you out. Because you're not allowed to attend it."
The way he said it made it much more conspicuous to Sophie than what he said. Pulling an aura of secrecy over a simple afternoon that they had ditched her at.
What was really going on here?
This wasn't about training as punishment… was it?
"Why am I not allowed? What are you talking about?"
A fearful look sneaked into his face, and his lips pressed on one another, lifting the cigarette up like a warning flag. Only increasing her confusion.
Then pulled Felix the lighter back out of the cigarettes box while looking over his shoulder.
"Ugh… look, I think it's better if I showed you… wait…"
The sudden display of paranoia paid off when Monica strode determined around the corner and Felix slipped the lighter back into his pants. Turning his head away from her when her stern eyes fixated on the smoke between them.
Occupied by the conspiracy that seemed to unfold before her, failed Sophie to react in time to Monica's swift confiscation of her remaining sugar and smoking supply.
A single kick with her heel extinguished the cigarette.
"I can't believe you keep on doing this, Sophie! Argh! But that's not why I'm here. Still, you better believe I will come back to this!"
Before Sophie could protest, pointed the chocolate bar at her like a gun. With just the same intimidation factor behind it.
Monica displayed a concerning mixture of anger and hurry behind her glasses.
A threatening look that darted back to Felix a moment later, when he turned his head back at them. This time, though, without the cigarettes between his lips. Instead, his jaw seemed tensed, like he held something in.
Did he… swallow the thing just to avoid Monica's lecture?
Sophie didn't get over her disgust at the thought, being pulled by Monica on her way out of the alley.
"Now though… I think you should hurry up and come with me. Izzy got a hold of Markus."
With her thoughts still stuck at the incomplete statement of Felix, stumbled Sophie past her friend. With her eyes on him while Monica tugged her away, could Sophie see him flip the cigarette by his tongue back out of his mouth.
A party trick that ran shivers down her spine, as she almost tasted the bitter ash in her imagination.
If that's what he wanted to show her, she would have liked to pass…
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Verhygo
Verhygo 25. March
Wednesday
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone