6.
1065 Words
Chapter 6
RINI POV
The twins humoured me and wheeled me inside but refused to take their jackets back even when I insisted they were like wearing a furnace.
It figured they wouldn’t listen to what I wanted, when had anyone?
“Where are my books?” I asked, realising I would need them for the rest of the day.
“My locker,” Ralph replied as he handed me my English books. “You can switch it out after each class.”
“Don’t you need your locker for you?” I asked.
He gave me a look that quite clearly said I was being stupid and didn’t reply.
I checked my old cracked watch and sighed in relief. It was nearly time for my next class, soon I could be free from these arrogant males and finally take a free breath of air.
“Well thanks again for all your help,” I said with a fake smile. “I’ll be sure to give you a good review should any damsels require references.”
“Rabbit,” Rafe smirked. “Are you trying to get rid of us?”
“Is it working?” I asked flatly.
“Nope,” they said, faces in identical grins of mischief.
I rolled my eyes and began wheeling away from them, I was well and truly done with this morning and I needed them to get away from me before students began filling the halls on their way to their next class.
“You’re going to wrong way!” Rafe called out as Ralph cackled beside him.
Gathering as much dignity as I could manage I turned around and wheeled past them with my nose high in the air. My traitorous pink cheeks told another story though.
They were both cackling now.
“Are you sure you don’t need our help?” Ralph snickered. “Hard to pass a class when you can’t even find it.”
I flipped them the bird instead of replying but it only made them laugh harder.
“See you at lunch Wheels!”
Yeah right. I would do everything in my power to avoid that happening.
*
“Yo Dim Sim!” I grit my teeth as one of the jocks yelled out his racist slur to me. “Accident at the Chinese shop?”
“I’m not Chinese you moron,” I snap.
He gave me a nasty smile. “You’re not? Then what exactly are you?”
I walked right into that one I guess. I hated that he was right, apart from a few hazy memories of my parents and early childhood I really didn’t know anything beyond what the Argo family had told me. I could be half Chinese for all I knew.
Sadly I probably would never know.
“That’s what I thought,” he sneered. “If you’re not full Chinese then you’re some kind of mutt.”
I sighed and went back to ignoring him.
This was all Lyall, Rafe and Ralph’s fault. They held all the power in this school and had done not one single thing to dissuade the bullies from targeting me.
Oh sure when Josh Pollack slapped me in the face when we were 14 they put him in hospital, but that was more to do with seeing me as part of their pack and needing to show dominance.
No one ever touched me again after that, but they did nothing to stop the racist and fat phobic comments the i***t boys and some girls levelled at me.
“Did you hear me Pumba?” Alex hissed again from behind me. “I said you better check the weight limit on that chair, wouldn’t want you to fall through it.”
Pumba like the Worthog from the Lion King. How original.
“Mr Richard’s, do you have something to share with the class?” Mr Burtson asked mildly.
I didn’t dare look around but I could feel Alex’s embarrassment from behind me.
“No Sir, I was just telling Rhino over here that it was rude to talk in class.”
“Rini.” I said quietly, but firmly.
“What?”
“My name is Rini,” I repeated. “Not Rhino.”
I braced myself for whatever vitriol Alex would spew next but instead a deep voice cut him off.
“You heard her.”
What. The. f**k.
Did Lyall Argo actually
1. Turn up for class and
2. Back me up against my biggest bully?
If it weren’t for the persistent pain in my feet, I would be certain I was dreaming.
“Whatever,” Alex muttered but everyone knew that once Lyall spoke, it was over.
Suddenly I was furious. Livid even. He could have done this all along, could have put an end to the cruel words years ago with just a few words and instead he let it drag on.
All three of them could have given me the bare minimum and made sure they kept the guys in check, even if they had zero control over most of the girls.
Why now? Why this sudden show of support when I had every intention of leaving ASAP. Were they worried about losing their servant and trying to get me to stay?
Or did they feel guilty about this morning? That had to be it because I had heard them on multiple occasions ask the Luna to hire a bigger team to look after the cooking and cleaning, had told her it wasn’t right that I was doing it.
She had obviously ignored them.
I clenched my hands into fists, actively working to control my anger.
Fuck him. f**k all three of them. I didn’t need their guilt and I didn’t need their pity.
I had survived most of my life with very very little and I didn’t need anyone trying to rescue me now.
Remembering the tools the child psych had given me years ago I worked on relaxing my muscles, limb by limb and breathing deeply into a peaceful state.
Why were my emotions so close to the surface today? Usually I was a calm pool that couldn’t be shaken.
It’s fine. Probably hormonal. The guys would bore of this new game soon enough, things would go back to normal and then I could leave this place and never, ever look back.
- Writer
