2. Behind The Bleachers
1309 Words
Aria
By the time lunch bell rang, I was already dragging. My stomach hurt, but it wasn’t the normal kind of pain. It was the empty kind. Like my insides were folding in on themselves.
Everyone stormed into the hallway in loud groups. I stayed behind, holding my books tighter, pretending like I was still reading something. I wasn’t. I just didn’t want to walk into the cafeteria like I had anything to do there.
I didn’t have money. I never did.
The one time I asked Mrs. Blackstone for some, she laughed like I was asking to borrow her wedding ring. Said, “What do you need school food for? Don’t I feed you?”
Yeah. Dog scraps and insults. Breakfast of champions.
So, I walked straight past the cafeteria. Past the vending machines. Past the line of girls asking their boyfriends to buy them food. I ignored the smell of chicken and fries. My feet took me to my usual place...out back, near the broken fence by the field.
No one came here. It was behind the supply shed and the bleachers. Just a few patches of grass and gravel. Some old chairs were dumped there last semester. I cleaned one and claimed it as mine.
I dropped my bag beside it and sat. Pulled out the crumpled nylon from my hoodie pocket.
Cold rice. No stew. No meat. Just plain rice. White. Sticky. From two nights ago.
I picked at it with my fingers, shoving a clump into my mouth before it slipped. My hands shook a little from hunger. It tasted like nothing, but it filled the hole.
I chewed slow, staring at the field where the junior wolves were practicing. A few were doing push-ups. A few were fooling around. Their shouts faded into the background. I didn’t care.
Then I heard footsteps.
I stopped chewing.
Voices.
I ducked a little, lowering my back against the chair. I could still see though...just enough through the space between the bleacher bars.
Cassian Draven.
He was standing near the edge of the fence with a girl. Blonde hair. Tight jeans. Her name was Brielle or something. I’d seen her a few times hanging off his arm in the hallways. One of those girls who looked like she was born popular.
She was crying. Her eyeliner was running, and her voice kept cracking as she talked fast.
“Cassian, please,” she said, grabbing his sleeve. “It didn’t mean anything, I swear...”
“You slept with them,” Cassian cut in, cold. “With two guys. From another pack.”
“It wasn’t like that. I was drunk. It was a mistake,” she whispered, eyes darting around like she didn’t want anyone to hear.
Cassian shook his head, jaw clenched. “You don’t make that kind of mistake. Not with me. Not with my name.”
She moved closer to him, hands on his chest. “We can fix this. Please, just...just talk to me.”
He stepped back like she burned him. “We’re done.”
She flinched.
“I’m not your second option. I’m not the guy you come back to when you're bored.”
He turned like he was ready to walk away. She grabbed his arm again. “Cassian...please, baby...”
“No,” he snapped. “Don’t call me that.”
I blinked. My mouth was still full. I had frozen mid-bite. The rice was stuck to my teeth now, cold and dry and weird. I slowly chewed again, watching them like I was stuck in some teen drama no one invited me to.
Brielle’s shoulders dropped. She looked... wrecked.
And Cassian? His face didn’t change. Not even a little.
He turned to walk away.
And then he looked in my direction.
Right. At. Me.
Our eyes locked.
I froze again. My fingers still hovering near my mouth, another lump of rice halfway there.
His eyes narrowed just a bit. Like he hadn’t noticed me there at first, but now he did.
I panicked. Looked away. Looked down at the rice in my hand like it suddenly needed attention. My face went hot. My ears buzzed.
Crap. Crap. Crap.
I didn’t know what was worse...watching him dump his cheating girlfriend or getting caught spying while eating cold rice like a starving rat behind the school.
I didn’t look up again. I just forced the rice into my mouth and kept chewing.
And prayed he’d forget I existed.
I stayed out there longer than I meant to.
The bell rang. I didn’t move. I scraped the last bits of cold rice from the bottom of the nylon and shoved it into my mouth. My fingers were sticky, my throat dry. I didn’t even have water. Just air and shame.
I wiped my hands on my jeans and stuffed the nylon into my pocket. My fingers felt numb. I wanted to pretend like that moment…Cassian catching me mid-bite…didn’t happen, but my heart was still racing.
I kept my head down as I walked back to the building.
The hallway was already full. I slipped through the crowd like a ghost, invisible. The hallway noise was loud, chaotic, and sharp. Lockers slamming. Laughter. Phones buzzing. I hated this part of the day.
I just wanted to get to my locker. Grab my books. Go to the next class.
But Maddie had other plans.
I didn’t see it at first. She was leaning against the wall with two of her friends, Sierra and Kate. All three of them had their arms folded like they were waiting for someone.
Me.
“Look who finally crawled out of her hole,” Maddie said loud, her lips already curled into a smirk.
I tried to keep walking. Tried to pretend I didn’t hear her.
But Sierra stuck her foot out at the last second.
I tripped.
My hands flew out, but it was too fast. I hit the floor. Hard. My knees scraped the tiles, and my chin almost slammed the ground.
My books scattered. So did the stupid nylon from my pocket. The one I forgot to throw away.
It landed right in front of Maddie’s white sneakers.
She looked down at it, raised a brow, then kicked it back toward me like it was trash.
“Oh my God,” Kate said, laughing. “Is that what you were eating?”
“Looks like someone raided the trash can for lunch,” Maddie added.
I sat up slowly. My palms were scraped. My jeans torn even more at the knees now. My throat was burning.
Sierra snorted. “She was probably watching people eat from behind the bleachers like some starving raccoon.”
They all burst into laughter.
My cheeks burned. I reached for my books, but Maddie kicked one farther down the hallway.
“Oops,” she said with a fake smile. “You dropped this.”
I didn’t say a word.
I crawled forward, picking up the pieces of my day like always. My fingers shook, but I still picked up the nylon, folded it small, and shoved it deep into my pocket.
People were staring now. No one said anything. No one helped.
Jordan walked by then. He saw me on the floor, saw Maddie laughing, and just chuckled under his breath like it was normal.
Like it was fine.
He slapped Maddie’s palm like it was a game they just won.
“Careful, Aria,” he said. “You’re gonna wear out the floor.”
More laughter.
I got to my feet, finally holding all my things to my chest.
And I did what I always did.
I walked past them. Head down. Shoulders tight. Ignored the whispers. Ignored the laughter.
But something inside me twisted.
And I wasn’t sure if it was anger, shame...or just hunger all over again.
- Writer
