7. Lydia
Lydia
“He asked you to be his girlfriend?!” Harper asks as I open my locker and shove my backpack in it before pulling out the textbook I need for my next class.
I close it, looking at her and Katie, who are both staring at me. Katie looks a little more confused than Harper, but they’re both smiling, waiting for my confirmation.
“Yes,” I whisper with a smile.
“OMG!” Harper practically shouts.
“Shhhh!” I tell her. “Don’t make it a big deal, okay?”
“Omg!” she says quieter, but with the same amount of excitement.
I laugh at how happy she is for me. It’s kind of sweet.
“What did he say?” Katie asks.
I shrug. “Just that he liked me and wanted me to be his girlfriend. And then we…kissed in his car when he dropped me off.”
Harper is practically jumping in excitement, while Katie is pretty quiet, just taking it all in.
Just then, Eli walks over to us and puts his arm around me. The butterflies are instant, and I wonder how long I’ll get those for. I don’t want them to ever go away.
“Ladies.” He greets the girls with a nod and then looks down at me. “Morning.”
I look up at him and bite my lip, trying to rein in my smile. “Morning,” I say back quietly.
“Can I walk you to your next class?”
I look over to Katie and Harper.
“Go, go…” Harper says, shooing us away. “Ugh, y’all are such a hot couple, I can’t stand it.”
Eli looks down at me in question.
I shoot him an innocent ‘oops’ look. “I might have told them.”
He shakes his head a little and laughs. “Well, good, I don’t have to pretend then.”
He leans down and kisses me. It’s soft and quick, but sweet.
“Oh, you guys make me sick. I want a boyfriend,” Harper pouts.
I laugh as we turn to walk away.
Walking down the hallway, it feels like more eyes are on us than normal. I feel instantly on guard, but don’t say anything, and I don’t even think Eli realizes.
When we get closer to my classroom, he stops and leans against the wall, pulling me into a hug. “Can we hang out later after school today?”
I stare up at him. “I wish we could, but I’m supposed to go shopping with Simone to help her pick out a birthday dress, plus Katie and Harper are supposed to come too.”
He gives me a little pouting face. “Fine, but I get you tomorrow then.”
“Deal,” I say, grinning.
He drops his hands to the sides of my ribs and then kisses me.
“You’re gonna be late for class,” I whisper against his lips.
“It’ll be worth it,” he tells me.
I shake my head, laughing. “Don’t get in trouble for me, go.”
I back up, and he gives me one last kiss before walking away, turning to look back at me one more time before he’s fully out of sight. I try to collect myself and tone down the giddiness before walking into class.
The second I’m inside the room, I can feel everyone staring at me. It instantly doesn’t feel good, and I wonder what I did. I try to ignore them and walk to my seat when a girl calls out to me.
“Hey…Lydia, right?”
I nod my head. “Yeah?”
“You’re that foster care girl from the ghetto, right?”
My stomach drops, and I know I’m not in friendly territory here. I roll my eyes and just stare at her, but don’t answer.
“You forgot how to speak?”
I hate girls like this. I want to both punch her and run away from her at the same time.
“I just don’t answer stupid questions,” I tell her.
“Whatever,” she says with this ugly facial expression. “So, you’re like what…dating Eli or something now?”
I knew that’s what this had to be about. I’m sure they all saw us kissing in the hallway.
“Yeah, I am.”
A girl beside her laughs, and it makes me recoil. I know she’s laughing at me, at the idea of him liking me…at him wanting to date me.
“What’s funny?” I ask her.
“Nothing,” she answers nonchalantly. “Just weird that he would like someone like you.”
I hate feeling like this, having my insecurities confirmed. But I’m also so tired of mean girls like her.
“Someone like me…meaning?”
They both look around, like it’s obvious, and I’m the only one missing it here.
“Meaning…you’re kinda different…and you look so…grungy. Like…I guess you’re not ugly or anything, but you’re kinda weird. Nobody else here dresses like you do; you don’t talk to a lot of people…and Eli is like, cool and popular.” She shrugs. “So y’all are just a weird couple.”
What do I say to that? I have the exact same thoughts about myself.
Why wouldn’t they think it too? It still hurts to hear, though.
I just want to get to my seat, get through this class, and get out of here.
I feel embarrassed, and the self-deprecating thoughts are getting loud again. I need to get out of this situation.
“Yeah, well, you’ll have to ask him, I guess,” I say back to her as I make my way to my seat, trying to end this conversation.
But even after I sit down and try to focus on the worksheet in front of me, I can still hear the small talk—the giggles, the jokes, the name-calling.
I see kids pointing at me and whispering, and even nudging other kids to get their attention to talk about me some more.
I don’t know if they’re that oblivious to how obvious they are or if they just don’t care that I know they’re talking about me.
I’m ready for this day to be over and to go hang out with my actual friends. Even though I hate shopping normally, I’ll gladly take the distraction right about now.