AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“No,” I said with a sigh. I wanted to say Brian would make a great dad but stayed quiet. It would take too much time and energy to explain my complicated situation to her.
“Girls like us can’t hide, can we?” Kendra said with a wry smile. The poor thing looked exhausted despite her brightly dyed hair and thick makeup. She was gulping down coffee so she could attend classes after a night of DJ’ing at a local bar. She’d get to sleep only in the afternoon.
“We keep fighting,” I said, raising my fist, feigning braveness.
“Here,” she said, pulling up a brown bag. “There are some amazing meatball subs inside. Someone left them at the bar last night.” She giggled. “Now, it’s ours.”
I laughed. This wasn’t the first time she’d brought back food that was left behind by some drunk dude.
“Thanks,” I said, eagerly taking a peek inside the bag. There were four thick rolls wrapped in aluminum foil. The smell of sauce and spices wafted into my nostrils despite the food being completely cold.
“Smells promising,” I said.
“Have two if you want,” she said, getting to her feet. “I’m going to go take a shower now.”
“Thank you,” I said in a sing-song voice.
I couldn’t believe I was smiling at Kendra’s spoils from the bar. It was amazing how kids like us could instantly cheer up at the sight of free food.
Money can’t buy happiness but free food sure could.
Grinning to myself, I unwrapped the foils from two sandwich rolls and placed them on a plate. My lips curved at the sight of the fat, loaded subs.
Opening the microwave, I pushed the plate in and left it to heat up.
Luckily, I didn’t have a morning class today. I could stay in and revise some topics until ten A.M.
The microwave beeped.
Opening it, I carefully grabbed the hot plate with a cloth napkin and carried it to my room. I studied while the sandwiches slowly cooled, filling my room with the heavenly scent of meat, sauce, and cheese.
I walked through the tree-lined avenue leading toward my first class of the day. A baseball cap and the hood of my jacket kept my face shielded from the people walking around me.
So far, no one jeered or shouted an insult at me.
Feeling more hopeful, I safely made it to my classroom.
I hung around in the corridor for a few minutes after the lecturer went in. This gave me another layer of protection from the nasty ones who were waiting for me to go in. None of them would risk calling me names with the professor in the room.
Several gazes fell on me as I walked into the classroom. The lecturer frowned, but I could deal with his annoyance.
Spotting Luke and Wyatt in one of the middle rows, I moved forward. They’d left a chair vacant between them. Feeling relieved, I took my seat.
Throughout the lesson, I was hit by crumpled balls of paper, but I didn’t let them get to me. After all, they were just pieces of paper that didn’t hurt me.
I focused on the class, making notes of all the topics the lecturer discussed.
“I’m proud of you,” said Wyatt as we walked out of the classroom an hour later. “Anyone else would have stayed home.”
“I’m not letting these assholes ruin my life,” I said through clenched teeth.
People shouted and jeered as we walked through the hallways. The intensity of their mockery seemed to have reduced by a fraction but it may have been due to Luke’s presence at my side.
“Did you check your emails today?” said Luke as we walked into a classroom. His gaze was still fixed on the screen of his phone. “Professors Lawson and Colton won’t be conducting any more classes.”
“Really?” Wyatt asked, pulling out his phone.
I peered over his shoulder and glanced at the email.
