It's on Us by Matthew Burkey-Gilchrist

Author:Matthew Burkey-Gilchrist [Burkey-Gilchrist, Matthew]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-10-06T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 11

“Convince your enemy that he will gain very little

by attacking you; this will diminish his enthusiasm” ~ Sun Tzu

The rest of Sunday was pretty quiet. I had stopped checking my email and social media accounts halfway through the afternoon. Neither Rory or Tab had gotten any messages either, which prompted me to think that no one from my school or hometown had seen it. Or it just wasn’t important enough for anyone to comment on. That thought was both liberating and anxiety-producing at the same time.

When my mom’s car rolled to a stop next Monday morning, there was a small part of me that thought I was home free.

“Are you sure that you’re going to be okay, honey?” she asked.

I took a deep breath and nodded. “Yeah, I think so. I mean, I put myself out there like this. I should be ready for whatever comes my way, right?”

“That’s a very adult way to look at it. You know that if anyone threatens you or says anything to you, all you have to do is go to the principal, right?”

“Yeah, I know.”

“I love you.”

“Love you, too, mom.”

I got out of the car. Rory and Tab came jogging over to me the moment I set foot on the pavement. They both wore concerned looks, which was especially disconcerting for me. Their faces were tense, something that I only saw right before a meet.

“Anyone say anything?” I asked, as we started walking toward the building.

“No one has said shit to me,” Rory replied. “Then again, they know that we’re best buddies, so I doubt that they’d be stupid enough to say anything to my face.”

“Point there,” Tab said. “As soon as we’re sure that he’s gonna be okay, I’ll branch out and get back to work on your campaign.”

“That’s really not important right now,” Rory said with a frown. “We aren’t leaving your side today, got it?”

“Even when I have to pee?” I asked, somewhat sarcastically.

“Then we’re there, too.”

I smiled. “Thanks.”

“But maybe we should think about posting it where everyone can see it.”

I glanced over at Tab with a raised eyebrow.

“What?” Tab asked. “I thought that you wanted people to know what you were doing? Putting it on your social media links might be a good way to do that.”

“I mean, yeah, that’s the idea,” I replied, feeling myself blush. “But maybe starting slow isn’t such a bad thing.”

“That’s also true,” Rory added. “You ready for this?”

“As ready as I will ever be.”

We stepped through the front doors, and I felt myself tense all over. I was prepared for the slew of insults and disgusted looks that I was sure were going to be flung my way. Ever so cautiously, we walked through the lobby, and began to make our way to our lockers. I got the occasional odd stare, but that wasn’t new. Rounding the corner that lead to our hall, I saw the first spot of trouble. Cody and Adam were standing near my locker, talking in hushed tones.

“What do you guys want?” Rory asked.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.