The next day, I tried to forget about the night before. I figured I was just super emotional and chalked it up to that. I went to school and was not ready for the shitstorm that was about to arrive.
I was at my locker getting out my chemistry book when David came over and hugged me from behind. I didn't know who it was at first but then I smelled his terrible cologne. I tried to squirm out of his embrace but he was too strong. "Let go of me, David," I said forcefully.
"What's wrong, baby?" he asked innocently. His grip on me loosened.
I turned around to face him. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"What are you talking about?" David leaned in to kiss me and I was just barely able to dodge him. "What's your problem?" he announced loudly. Kids in the hall started to look over at us.
"Please David, don't make a scene," I pleaded with him. "I broke up with you last night. It's over between us."
"Oh come on! I figured you were just on your period or something like that. You didn't really mean it." His eyes were laser focused on me. I could tell he was about to get angry.
I tried to say it as calmly as possible. "Sorry David, we're done." I turned and walked away from him. I prayed that he wouldn't yell but I wasn't going to get that lucky.
"Whatever Olivia!" he screamed at me. "Everyone knows you're a slut, anyways."
I kept my head held high as I walked away. I'd been called that word before but it didn't cease to hurt every time. I got to my Chem class and took a seat. Everyone in the room was staring at me. It seemed everyone in school heard the fight David and I had in the hallway. I kept my head down for the rest of the class and tried not to make eye contact with anyone.
After class, I walked through the crowds of kids whispering about me. My very public bout with David was today's hot gossip but I didn't let it get to me. I knew that everyone would be onto something new tomorrow.
During lunch, I hung out in an empty classroom. I just didn't want to deal with all the talking behind my back in the cafeteria. I sat at one of the tiny wooden desks and thought about my life choices. I was definitely done with high school boys. Too much drama. I had to set my sights on bigger fish. College and above. I only had a few months left of high school anyway.
After school, a group of my friends spotted me outside, walking towards my car. "Hey Olivia! What the hell happened today?" Jennifer yelled from across the parking lot. Jennifer was the blonde prude in our group. She was always criticizing my decisions. The last thing I wanted was to talk to her. I quickly opened my door and jammed the key into the ignition. My tires squealed as I peeled out and raced out of the parking lot.
I knew right away that I didn't want to go home. I drove aimlessly through town listening to the radio. Cyndi Lauper's Time After Time blasted through the speakers. I wished that I could speed up time and go to college. I just wanted to start fresh.
After a couple hours of driving, I found myself pulling into the driveway at home. I was so zoned out, I had no idea I was driving to my house. I sat in my car with the engine still running. It was just about dinnertime and my mom was probably setting the table. I couldn't stay in my car forever. I hesitantly turned the car off and went inside.
The smell of burnt meatloaf and black smoke emanated from the kitchen. I walked in to see my stepdad wearing an apron and waving away smoke from the oven. "What happened?!" I yelled. I rushed over, ready to help.
He coughed before he could reply. "Your mom went to bible study and left me in charge of dinner." He showed me the baking sheet with the burnt to a crisp meatloaf. "Sorry, it looks like I'm going to have to order take out. Pizza okay?"
"Yeah that sounds good. Order the pizza and I'll clean up." Lucas went to the phone while I tossed the meat brick into the trash. I opened the window to air out the smoke.
After he was finished ordering, we both sat down at the dinner table to await the arrival of the delivery boy. I couldn't help but laugh at his lame attempt at cooking.
"Hey! I slaved away in the kitchen for that meatloaf," he responded to my laughter.
"Yeah well, I think you need some more practice," I giggled.
The pizza guy came about twenty minutes later which was unfortunately well within the "Thirty minutes or less or your pizza is free" slogan. The delivery guy was kind of cute but my mind was elsewhere. We dove into the pizza, scarfing it down as fast as possible. I didn't even realize I was that hungry until we had eaten the entire thing. So much for eating healthy.