The girls giggled happily but Megara's made Hugo's heart flutter. He quickly looked back at his phone when she caught him watching her.
The bell finally rang, and students rushed out of the cafeteria. Megara scanned the crowd, hoping to catch a glimpse of Uriel. His words from yesterday had left her feeling uncomfortable and restless; he seemed like he needed help, or perhaps he craved the coffee for comfort.
"What's going on, Megara? You seem troubled," Hugo asked, his voice laced with concern as he touched her shoulder. Megara flinched, startled.
"It's nothing," she replied with a forced smile, walking out of the cafeteria. "You guys go, I'll catch you later. I need to use the restroom."
"Okay, girl, but don't be late! We have P.E. training in a few minutes," Jane reminded her, waving. "If you're late, you know how Mr. Thompson behaves. You'll run the laps."
Megara winked, her smile faltering as she headed toward the restroom. Inside, she barely made it to a stall before she began throwing up, emptying the contents of her stomach. She closed the toilet seat and sat on it, tears streaming down her face. "Dad, I miss you," she whispered. "I need to be strong for myself and for my father."
Just as she was about to leave, she heard voices outside the stall – Amaya and Tanya. Megara quickly climbed onto the toilet seat, hoping to conceal herself and overhear their conversation.
"Amaya, can you believe it? Because of that foolish girl, Megara, we've lost face, and not only that, Brianna still sweeps the streets!" Tanya complained, her voice dripping with contempt.
"I can't say anything less than what you've said," Amaya retorted, her voice equally venomous. "I wish I could just strangle her or even get rid of her."
Megara almost laughed at their "wishful thinking." Dream on, sore losers, she thought to herself.
"This, I cannot let it slide, Amaya. We need to do something, or else she wouldn't be expelled, and Uriel seems to have given up his agenda on getting rid of her," Tanya said. Megara, squatting on the toilet seat, nodded, not anticipating their next words.
"Brianna says we shouldn't leave her to rest in peace in this school or gain the upper hand. We'll have to destroy her ourselves, without Uriel's knowledge," Amaya suggested. Tanya cackled wickedly. "When we're done, she wouldn't even know how she died."
Meanwhile, Amaya and Tanya were casually applying their makeup, completely unaware of Megara's presence. They looked around like thieves before whispering their next plans, which were lost to Megara.
Once they finished, they both left hastily. Megara carefully climbed down from the toilet seat, peering out before finally slipping out of the stall. Two fools, one goal. Even from outside, Brianna won't let me have my peace. Guess I'll have to teach these fools a big lesson they'll never forget.
Megara walked out of the bathroom and headed for her locker. She opened it, but to her horror, her P.E. uniform had been shredded to pieces. She held the tattered uniform in her hand, then slammed the locker shut, the sound reverberating through the hall as she stormed off towards the basketball court.
Everyone was already gathered, and Mr. Thompson was taking attendance.
"Hugo Arnold!" he called, scribbling on the register after Hugo raised his hand. "Isla Bellingham!"
"Here!" Isla answered, chuckling.
"Megara Smith!" he called.
Silence. No response, just the murmurs of students.
Amaya laughed, winking at Tanya. "Sir, save your breath! Megara isn't coming. She said she'd rather stay at the fountain than attend this stupid class." She lied, and Tanya nodded in agreement.
Mr. Thompson nodded, but Hugo and the others didn't find it funny. "Are you insane, or just delusional?" he snapped, startling Amaya. "Megara wouldn't skip her sports lesson for anything."
Amaya scowled. "How would you know?" she interrogated, stamping her foot. "You've only known her for a month, Hugo. How can you be so sure she wouldn't miss it?"
"That's true, Hugo, how would you know?" Tanya chimed in. "We saw her sitting at the fountain. She even said she was better than all of us and wouldn't participate in this training. After all, she's a slut and a nobody, stealing other people's men, so how would she have the time for training?"
Laura stepped out from behind Hugo. "Keep your filthy mouth clean for me and spare me the lies you've cooked up!" she snapped, almost charging toward Tanya but was held back by Jane.
Hugo's teeth clenched, a metallic taste of blood flooding his mouth. "Tanya, you shouldn't slander others just because you don't like them!" he scolded, turning to Mr. Thompson. "Mr. Thompson, Megara isn't feeling okay today, but she wouldn't miss this for the world. I'll go look for her immediately."
Mr. Thompson nodded in agreement. "Find her and bring her here this minute!" he said, his voice cold and authoritative. "This matter will be reported to the principal. She is actually misusing her privileges and position as a golden student to skip classes."
The murmur of the students grew louder with each passing minute. Hugo raked his curly brown hair before running out of the basketball court.
Meanwhile, Megara was heading downstairs to the basketball court when she was fiercely dragged into a room by a group of boys. She fought fiercely, but their numbers were overwhelming. She knew martial arts and many deadly tactics, but using them here could kill them, and without proof, she would be expelled.
She decided to distract the boys and make her way to the door. Megara glanced at the thirteen boys, each holding a baseball bat—a clear disadvantage when using only her fists.
Megara tied her hair into a bun, folded her fists, and adjusted her stance. "Who sent you?" she asked in a baritone voice. "Answer me, or I'll blow your f***ing head off."
A well-built, muscular boy who had been sitting on a chair obstructing the door walked up to his colleagues. "I see you're as tough as a honey badger, but you cannot get past us today," he declared, pointing his racket at her.
Megara scoffed, too stunned to speak. "You do know that this is illegal, and you could go to jail, but you still dare to do this?" she retorted, her voice sharper than expected. "Who put you up to this? Is it Uriel or Brianna?"
"Knowing too much can kill a person, Megara," he replied, his voice deadly and sharper than any blade. "You could have stayed in your poor neighborhood and community school, but here you are."
Megara calculated his move, her eyes still fixed on him. "You aren't bad yourself, knowing too much about me and telling me what to do. Isn't that foolish enough?" she mocked sarcastically. "Stalking me and trying to take me out in my own school? Isn't that absurd and a little too untrained?"
The boy chuckled, handing his bat to one of his gang members. "Look, missy, it's a waste of time talking to you, but since you're so eager to die, I'll let you know." He remarked, stepping closer. "This is a soundproof room. You can scream all you want, but no one will hear you."
"You've offended people you shouldn't have offended, but it's time to kill you before others start rebelling," he said, walking back to his seat. "You can begin the fight, boys, but don't kill her yet until we've had our fun."
The boys nodded before rushing towards Megara. She narrowed it down that Uriel had sent them after the confrontation from yesterday, and she promised that if she saw him, she wouldn't hesitate to get rid of him too.
The fight turned brutal, with each boy bleeding profusely. Megara, on the other hand, was not far from worse. She was bleeding from her head, her vision blurry, but she held herself, trying to focus, or else she might meet her end. She fell to the ground on one knee, and summoning her strength, she stood up, curling her fists, ready for battle.
"Damn, this girl is a cockroach! She doesn't die!" another guy exclaimed, holding up his broken arm.