Page 3 of The Other Princess

I would lift my sister up above myself any day of the week, but knowing that everyone else felt I was beneath her, or thought that I was going to turn out like my mom – or their opinion of her – that was a hurt I could never wrap my head around. I hadn’t done anything to earn that sentiment other than being born to the wrong woman. Yet, my own family’s reactions today proved they’d been waiting for the proof that my mom’s DNA had tainted me just as surely as they thought I had been. Never mind I was half my dad too, and that I’d had Lucy raising me almost as long as my own mom had. They were waiting for me to become my mom, and now Jay’s lying-ass girlfriend, and their willingness to believe the worst of me, painted me as the person they always thought I was.

Everyone except Momma-Luce thought so anyway. She had believed me right away. She had held me, stood up for me, and if my heart weren’t so damn broken right now it would swell to bursting with the love and appreciation I had for her.

Before I knew it my alarm was blaring from beside my bed, rousing me for a fresh new school day. I had never, in my entire life, dreaded going to school. Even after my mom died, and I moved to a new town and a new school, I looked forward to the structure and mind-numbing work to keep me occupied. Today though… It was the first day that I didn’t want to crawl out of bed and go be a student.

Lucy had an ice pack ready for my still cry-swollen face when I went downstairs. I gladly threw it over my messy red-tinged cheeks and puffy eyes as I drank the protein shake she’d made me after I declined breakfast. “You missed dinner last night, and I know you’re stomach is probably knotted with tension still, but you need something to help get you through the day,” Lucy had explained while she made it for me. “Are you sure you don’t want to take the day off? We could go to Savannah for the day or something, and walk around, do some retail therapy?”

“Momma-Luce, it will be bad enough going back to school today after what happened yesterday, but it will be far worse to skip out with everyone knowing why. The torment will still be waiting for me when I return anyway.”

She hugged me tight to her side as I heard my brother’s distinctive clomping footsteps enter the kitchen. He must have grabbed something to take with him, because he mumbled out, “Gotta run by the clubhouse before school. Can you drive her?”

I heard Lucy huff from above me, and felt her tense up. She was no doubt giving my brother a death glare, but she agreed to take me to school today as my brother retreated from the kitchen quickly. “If anyone gives you a hard time today I want you to tell me, you hear?” She whispered into my ear.

I just laughed. “Sure, I’ll hand you the school directory when the day’s done.” I took the cool pack from my face in time to see the sympathy etched in her eyes. Momma-Luce wasn’t a dumb woman. She knew exactly how cruel people could be. The club whores had done a number on her years ago, and had driven her away with their antics. That’s why my dad didn’t know he had a son until Toby was three years old.

Once we got to the school I took a deep breath, threw my shoulders back, slung my bag over my right side, and headed into my locker with my head held high. I wasn’t blind or stupid, I saw the people whispering about me as I passed them. I just chose to pretend it wasn’t happening. All of my pretending ended the moment I got to the hall my locker was on. I saw Toby standing in the hallway with his fists clenched at his sides. He looked ready to blow his top. Just down from him were Jay and his girlfriend. She looked happier than a clown being freed from the bottom of clown car pileup. Jay stood stone-faced beside her with one arm slung over her shoulder in a proprietary manor.

Slowing my pace would only delay the inevitable. I moved quickly through the hall until I got to my locker. “Ev,” my brother started to say, but I ignored him and read the writing on the wall – or the locker in this case. “Homewreking Slut” was written there in bright red marker, most likely Sharpie so it wouldn’t be easy to get off.

I sighed and turned to see a group of Tiffany’s bitchy cheerleading friends laughing. I plastered a smile on my face and looked each of them in the eye. “Do they only teach you how to spell out simple words for your cheers? One of you bitches spelled this shit wrong. I’m thinking you need to try harder next time.” With that, I turned and walked away. I’d just carry my little notebook that I kept tucked in my messenger bag with me all day, and transfer my notes where they needed to be tomorrow. It’s not like I did any homework to speak of last night anyway.

“Did she really just try to make us look stupid?” One of the twats asked another.

“Doesn’t she know she’s the home-wrecking slut?” The other asked. “I don’t get it. What does any of this have to do with the cheers we spell out?”

“Way to prove her point, morons!” I heard my best friend, Erin call out as she ran to catch up with me. That was a testament to how rattled I really was. I hadn’t even noticed Erin was back there too.

“You just slayed them with your zero fucks given attitude and the spelling jab. Sadly, they’re too stupid to realize that you made them look like bigger idiots.” Erin told me. I stopped, mid-step, causing her to run into my shoulder.

“How bad is it, Erin? Locker insults aside…”

She frowned at me. “Everyone believes it all, because Jay has never questioned you before or called you out like that publicly. So, they assume there was proof or something, and that you really were trying to break them up to get him to notice you. Of course, that has all the other bitches he’s dated feeling vindicated in the lies they told about you too. So, now everyone thinks you’re some lying, conniving whore.” She winced, so I knew there was more. “And after what Jay said about your mom, they’re repeating that too.”

“Oh,” was all I said. What more could I possibly add? Nothing. Not one damn thing. We started walking again, heading towards my first period class.

“Ev, wait,” I heard Toby call after me. I didn’t even bother looking back over my shoulder the way Erin did when she heard his voice. She had as big a crush on my brother as I’d had on Jay. Once upon a time ago, we fantasized about being true sisters one day when she married my brother and I married Jay. I laughed inwardly at that thought, and continued right on into my class where I sat in my seat in the back corner, took out my notebook, and proceeded to pretend my brother hadn’t followed me inside.

“Mr. Brothers, do you have somewhere you’re supposed to be? I know for certain it is not in my classroom,” my U.S. History teacher scolded him.

“I just need to talk to my sister real quick,” Toby explained.

“It doesn’t appear as though your sister wishes to speak with you, and I will be starting class as soon as the tardy bell rings in about 45 seconds. Get going to class.”

“We’re talking later, Evs.” Toby sighed as he left the room. Mr. Danvers knocked his knuckles against my desk, getting my attention.

“I saw your locker this morning, Ever. I already put in a work order to have it cleaned off. Do you need to talk to someone?”

“No, I’m fine.” My response was curt as Mr. Danvers wrapped his knuckles against my desk once more before moving to the front of the class.

When someone coughed out an, “Ever the Whore” comment a minute later Mr. Danvers spun around and eyed the entire class. “One more outburst like that and this entire class will suffer the consequences.”

It only took about five minutes before some twat called out “home wrecking slut,” and Mr. Danvers threw a can full of pens across the room. “Put your books away. Anyone caught with phones, or any other device out will get a zero on the next five quizzes. Test me if you wish. One piece of paper. One pencil. On your desks now. It’s pop quiz time, and I hope like hell you all studied, because this counts as a big test since you couldn’t keep your mouths shut.”

I aced the quiz, but Danvers did me no favors. By trying to keep kids from harassing me he ended up fueling their hatred even more. The rest of my day went just like that and worse. I actually got punched, kicked, and had my hair pulled throughout the day, randomly, and usually by assholes walking by me in the hall. No one had the balls to stand toe to toe with me. Once, my brother saw a junior boy shoulder check me, and he ended up pummeling the kid right there in the hallway. I didn’t bother sticking around to watch. It was just a shame the kid was a cowardly little asshole and didn’t get one hit in on Toby, because my brother deserved to have his own ass kicked for the way he had treated me the day before. It was rather hypocritical of him to attempt to come to my rescue when he’d destroyed me far more than any shoulder check from a random kid ever could.

The best part of my day had come at lunch when I had an entire plate of spaghetti dumped on me along with the open chocolate milk container that had been on the tray that “accidentally” tipped as someone tripped on their way by me. When I looked up from that incident it was to see Jay siting at a table with his girlfriend watching, and seeming perplexed by the event. Perplexed. Like he was trying to puzzle out why people were treating me so horribly. I turned away from him and walked out of the lunchroom, leaving my own saturated lunch behind on the table as I went. I cleaned up as best I could in the bathroom sink, and continued on with my day, spaghetti stained clothes and all. What did it matter? I’d probably just get worse by the day’s end anyway.

I had two months left of school for the year. It didn’t get much better. Every time my locker was cleaned off something new would be waiting for me the following day. The physical abuse tapered off after my brother got suspended for a third time for beating the shit out of a guy at school who touched me. I refused to speak to my brother though; no matter how many assholes he tackled in the hallway. He still didn’t comprehend the fact that he had caused more damage than all of them put together.

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