Page 7 of Intercept My Heart

“Nadia! Navy. Y’all help me!” Brielle begged while I clutched her hair in my left hand. I didn’t care who jumped in because if I ended up suspended, I would make it worth it. Of course, Nadia went for my hair, yanking my neck back so far I thought I may have heard a snap. I blacked out the moment her fist connected to my head. Dennis’s face flashed before my eyes, and I thought about the way he would punish me once he found out I was fighting.

Tears sprang to my eyes as I fought both girls at the same time. Life wasn’t fair, and I was so tired of being on the losing end of things. Nadia continued to throw blows to my face and head, but I refused to let go of Brielle. She wanted to fight me, so I was going to give her a fight to remember. My adrenaline was so high, I barely felt Nadia’s licks.

Reaching back, I punched her in the middle of her chest, and she stumbled back. The oohs and ahhs from the crowd didnothing but fuel me even more. I was sure there would be a video floating around the internet, but I didn’t care. Hopefully, people learned not to pick on people they didn’t know. You never knew what someone went through or were dealing with at home.

School was supposed to be my one place of refuge to escape from my reality, but they took that away from me.

“Aye! What the fuck is going on?” The sound of a deep voice boomed from behind me, but my mind was too occupied to make out who it was. I didn’t care whether the principal came out. No one would be able to get me off her without effort.

“Yo! Get her!”

“Why the fuck are you just standing here watching it happen?” More voices sounded off, and I could feel the presence of more people surrounding me.

“Get this bitch off me!” Brielle cried as if she was the victim. Blood covered my right hand, but I refused to let up until a strong arm wrapped around me as they attempted to separate us. My legs dangled in the air while they carried me away. Nadia was within reach, so I drew my foot back and kicked her as hard as I could.

“Bitch!” She lunged for me, but the person next to her stood in the way. It took me a moment to realize it was Drake. He gave me a sympathetic glance, but I didn’t want his pity. He knew what his family was doing to me, and he never once tried to help me. He could save his fake concern for someone else.

“Calm down! I’m going to let you go, but I need to know you aren’t going to go after anyone when I do.” My heart rate sped up once I heard his voice. Embarrassment flashed across my face because he’d seen me act a complete fool out here. Not to mention the fact that I’d beat up his little girlfriend.

“Are you good?” How could he even ask a question like that? No, I wasn’t good, and I probably never would be. I lost track of my thoughts as the robust scent of his cologne took over mysenses. He smelled so good I didn’t want him to let me go. If I could stay wrapped up in his arms forever, I would.

“I’m not letting you go until I know you’re okay.”

He turned me to face him, and I burst into tears. Dinero wrapped his arms around me while I cried my heart out. I should have been embarrassed since he didn’t know me that well, but I needed someone to comfort me. I was out here in this world alone, and I needed someone to tell me it would be okay. Even if it wasn’t true, I desperately needed something to hold on to.

Dinero rubbed my back while I held onto his neck for dear life. I kind of felt bad because my clothes were still wet, so I knew I’d probably gotten some on him as well. He didn’t seem bothered by it, so I wouldn’t say anything unless he brought it up. We remained there until everyone began to disperse after the bell rang. Dinero stood me back on my feet, and I hated how much I missed the feeling of him holding me. When I looked up at him, he tilted his head over to the school building. My eyes followed his direction, and that was when I noticed the principal as well as the assistant principal. My head dropped in shame.

“Pick your head up. You don’t have any reason to feel guilty for standing up for yourself. Now, Principal Lovett will more than likely give you detention, but they were the ones in the wrong, so don’t even trip.” His words were reassuring, but my luck wasn’t the best.

He reached out for my hand as we walked back over. They had sent everyone back inside, which made me grateful. At least the whole school wouldn’t be present for my punishment.

“Ms. Royster, I’m surprised to see you involved in something like this. What seems to be the problem?” Principal Lovett was a short older white man. The only time I ever had to deal with him was when I got nominated for an award. I held perfect attendance for the last three years, because I never wanted to miss school.

“Oh my goodness. What happened to your clothes?” Mrs. Maverick asked. She was the assistant principal, but she really should have been the guidance counselor with how she poured into us students. She looked between me and Brielle. I would admit a smirk crossed my face when I saw her face covered in blood and bruises as the nurse walked her back into the building.

“All I wanted to do was eat my lunch, but they wouldn’t stop messing with me. Brielle came out here and poured her drink over my head.”

“Are you sure it wasn’t an accident?” My eyes cut to Principal Lovett.

“No, it wasn’t an accident. She stood over me and dumped her drink on me. She and her friends have been picking on me for years, but today, things escalated. They cornered me in the bathroom, pushed me in the hallway, and then continued out here. I’m sorry for fighting, but at the time, I didn’t feel like I had a choice. They weren’t going to leave me alone.”

“Well, fighting is certainly not the answer. Why didn’t you tell anyone?”

“I’ve done it twice, and both times, Mrs. Pritchard told them that I reported them, and they came after me again. I figured since no one was going to help me, I needed to suck it up until I graduated.”

Mrs. Pritchard was the actual guidance counselor, although I wouldn’t consider her very helpful. She was one of the people who favored the popular kids and brushed off the ones she deemed as damaged. Ciera warned me not to even waste my time, but I wanted to see for myself. I should have known better, because the school system functioned much like the foster care system. They pretended as if they didn’t see a problem until things got out of hand. As long as they were able to sweep things under the rug, nothing would change.

“Well, I’ll have a conversation with Mrs. Pritchard about this. For now, I think it’s best you go home for the day. I’ll make a call to your parents to come and pick you up.” My heart fell to my feet when I heard the principal speak those words. Although I knew it was inevitable, it didn’t make me feel any better.

“Hey, Principal L. I need to get home and change my clothes before practice. Would it be okay if I gave her a ride home? That way, she doesn’t have to inconvenience her parents while they’re at work.” My head whipped over to Dinero, wondering why he’d made such a request.

“Well, what do you think, Mrs. Maverick?” The sympathetic expression on her face worried me. I hated for people to have pity on me. Life was already painful enough without having others judging me from the outside.

“I’m okay with it. As you stated before, Ms. Royster hasn’t had any issues since she’s been here, and there were no records of any issues from the middle school either. Everyone has a rough day. However, you need to make sure this is the first and last time you use your fists to express yourself. If you feel as though no one is helping you, then come to me. Do you understand?” I nodded before whispering that I understood.

“I will be making a report about this so it’s on file. You will also have to serve two days in in-school detention. Please don’t make me regret this. You are much too bright to involve yourself in activities like this. It’s very unbecoming of you.” Principal Lovett had this way of complimenting you while also throwing shade. This was definitely one of those moments, but I was grateful for the leniency.

“Yes, sir. I promise it won’t happen again.” I prayed I could keep my promise, but if they tried again, I wasn’t backing down.

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