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I realised I was staring at him and shook my head quickly to get myself back on track. “I don’t like him,” I said.
“You do.”
“I don’t.”
“You do.”
“No way!”
“Yes!”
“No way!” I got up to throw my rubbish and stood there, crossing my arms. “I don’t like him, that’s all. Also, could you change the score, please? Add one point for me.” I smiled to myself and did a little dance called the Cabbage Patch in my head. I couldn’t help but smirk when I saw his face scrunch up.
“Why?” Kieran asked, sounding shocked.
“I got the last word in our last argument.”
“What!”
“Yeah, I won that one. Do you remember the cow one? Yeah, I think I remember I got the last word,” I said, tapping my chin and looking up at the ceiling as if I was remembering the argument.
Kieran got up slowly and stood across from me, leaning against a desk. He gave a little smirk. “So, who’s your favourite?”
“No one,” I said in a monotone voice.
“Liar.”
“I’m not a liar!”
Kieran took a step towards me. I took a step back. “You like Luca, maybe?” There was a hint of jealousy in his tone, but I ignored it and almost laughed at his accusation.
“He’s like my brother, idiot.” I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms again.
He took another step forward, while I took another step back. “Beck?”
“Seriously?” I asked, sounding a bit shocked, and laughed a little. “That’s not really an option.”
He took another step forward and I took another step back. He carried on throwing out random names and I kept denying everyone because I just didn’t like any of them. I almost yelped when my back finally hit the wall and Kieran came closer to me, leaning his lower arm on the wall above my head.
I blinked a couple of times when I realised what was going on. His smell was all around me and I inhaled it. The sweet, woody scent hit my nostrils and I almost closed my eyes in satisfaction. If I could just take his cologne and bathe in it, I totally would. The heat from his body radiated onto my skin from the proximity and it felt good. My hands twitched with the urge to pull him closer, but I stopped myself. Instead of holding him closer, I crossed my arms above my stomach and gripped my jacket. I looked up and saw that he was looking at me, and his lips were so close that they almost brushed against mine when he spoke.
“I think I know who you like,” he said, kind of smirking. His warm breath felt cool on my face somehow. I stopped myself from shivering with pleasure and drank really loudly.
“Who?” I replied, waiting for an answer.
Kieran leaned in close to my ear, as if to share a secret. “Is it me?” He whispered in my ear. I got the shivers when Kieran gently touched my earlobe. I was so tempted to collapse!
“Look who’s finally getting along,” someone teased. I pushed Kieran away and found Mr Brooks standing at the door with his arms crossed. He looked like he was having a great time.
I felt the blood rush up from my neck and colour my cheeks. “I’m afraid it’s not what you might think.”
I stammered and gulped loudly.
I practically ran to my desk, trying to get as far away from Kieran as possible. I put my head down and tried to get my heart rate back to normal and calm down. I looked up and saw Kieran over in the corner.
He gave him a smug look and pointed at him, throwing up three fingers. I groaned to myself.
Kieran: three points. Tali: Two points.
During the rest of the detention, I was wondering if he’d done all that just to win this stupid game of ours.
Just to let you know, I’ve got a few more things to add.
I plonked myself down on my bed and sighed. I really enjoyed the feel of my soft memory foam bed and warm comforter. I closed my eyes for a bit, feeling the cool breath of the air conditioner. Today was definitely not my day, and I felt quite unusual afterwards.
I groaned when there was a knock on the door and Elias popped his head into my room.
“Hey sis,” Elias said, looking at my tired face with caution. “Let me guess. You’re on your period? But, Tali, that’s six thousand times this month already!” He joked.
“Oh, Elias, stop it. Get out!” I moaned and covered my eyes with my arm.
He laughed and said, “I’m only joking. Bad week?”
“Yep.”
“Welcome to high school, little sis. I just thought I’d pop by to drop off your mail. Looks like someone’s got a secret admirer.” Elias dropped a Tiffany blue envelope on my desk and gave me a wink.
I jumped out of bed. “What?”
“Stop pretending you don’t know. I’m cool with you having a crush and all that. But if this guy’s a creep…” I was expecting Elias to say something about beating him up and protecting me, but instead he just said, “Well, good luck with that.”
I threw a pillow at him. Instead of hitting him, it hit one of the stands that held my fake flowers, almost toppling over the porcelain vase. I groaned, wishing I had better hand-eye coordination.
“OK, fine, I’ll leave,” Elias pretended to be hurt.
He shut the door behind him. I got up, made my way over to the envelope and took a closer look. This could be from anyone. Kieran?
I thought, nah, he’s too dumb to do that.
I picked up the huge envelope and ran my fingers along the edges, taking a closer look. At the front, a huge heart was drawn with a black marker, and my name was scribbled in the middle. That wasn’t Kieran’s handwriting. But the writing looked a bit familiar, like I’d seen it somewhere before.
I tore the envelope open and I was shaking with fear before I even finished reading it.
There, in my hands, was a collage of pictures of me sneaking out of my room, me straddling Kieran, and me in detention. And there was this scribbled mess in black marker across the glossy paper, which said:
‘Ms. Innocent not so innocent? Classic. Let’s hope this doesn’t end up in the wrong hands. Maybe your mum’s lovely little hands.
Love, the Iron Justice. (:’
My shaking fingers dropped the photo, which suddenly felt like acid in my hands. I was sweating like crazy, even though it was freezing in my room. It felt a bit claustrophobic, even though the room was as big as a mansion.
I made sure all the windows and doors were locked and the curtains were drawn, but I still felt uneasy. I felt a bit sick and grabbed my stomach. Throwing up sounded like a good idea, but it didn’t work. My head started to spin and my world suddenly came crashing down right in front of me.
I thought it was a prank. Some stupid joke someone wanted to play on the ‘new girl’, but I underestimated this person. She or he was cleverer than I thought. It seems like someone didn’t like me. To be honest, it felt like they wanted me out.
I saw my terrified face in the mirror on the other side of the room. I looked completely drained. I caught the glistening of tears streaming down my cheeks, which I didn’t know were there before. Then I had a thought.
Was the Iron Justice watching me now? Are you laughing at my misery? I was wondering if you thought my tears and life were just some humiliating and entertaining game to play with? Was I just a plaything?
No, I thought. This ‘Iron Justice’ will not bring satisfaction.
I stood up straight, feeling pretty good. I looked straight ahead, giving him a hard stare and slowly turning around to check that they’re being watched. I did my best to keep a poker face on. I made a thin line with my mouth and grabbed the photo off the ground before saying, “You think this is funny? Well, guess what?” I asked, surprised at how confident I sounded. “No one’s laughing.”
I got my handbag from the stand near the door and my car keys from the bowl next to it. I put my boots on and left my room. I had to get out of there. I felt a bit closed in and watched from there. Kieran was the first person I thought of because I needed comfort and company.
I said, “I’m off,” and my voice echoed around the room as I rushed down the stairs.
“Is someone going to see a special someone?” Elias stuck his head round the corner and piped up. He gave me a little smirk and wink.
I rolled my eyes. “Just a friend.”
“A friend, huh? Is it that same person who gave you that love letter?” He waggled his eyebrows and came into the front room.
I felt like a cold shiver ran down my spine and, without meaning to, I shot him a frosty look. That note was bad news. I brushed it off quickly. Elias didn’t know about this. I gave him a look that said I was well aware that I didn’t have a boyfriend.
“A girlfriend?”