Chapter 33
Chapter 33
Ava sat up straight and glared at me.
“That’s a modern interpretation, but valid,” Mr. Henry said, nodding. “The core principles of strategy are timeless. You could frame it that way.”
Madison and Sarah quickly walked to me when it was time to form a group.
“So,” I said, pulling out my notebook. “For our project… who do you suggest we pick?”
Sarah shrugged. “Catherine the Great is pretty cool.”
“Yeah, she was,” I agreed. “But it’s a little… obvious, don’t you think? I want to do something more creative. Something interesting”
“Like what?” Madison asked.
I tapped my pen on the desk, pretending to think. “What if we did it on a fictional character? To make it more fun and relatable. Someone who is a master of social manipulation.” I paused for effect. “Like… oh, I don’t know… maybe Regina George from Mean Girls?”
Sarah’s eyes lit up. “Oh my god, yes! We can totally compare her to a historical figure!”
“Exactly!” I said. “We can talk about her tactics, the gossip, the fake compliments, the burn book. It’s all about psychological warfare after all.”
“It’s perfect,” Madison laughed. “Mr. Henry will either love it or hate it.”
“He’ll love it because it’s smart,” I said confidently. “And we’ll be the group that made history class actually interesting.”
SLAM.
We jumped in fear. Ava had slammed her textbook against her desk. The sound echoing in the classroom.
“Is there a problem, Ava?” Mr. Henry asked, his voice laced with annoyance.
“No,” she muttered, her face flushing bright red. “Sorry.”
I gave her a small, sympathetic smile and chuckled quietly when she looked away, fuming.
***
I walked out of the toilet and was blocked by Lily, Daniel and Arthur.
“Hi Avery,” Lily said, crossing her arms. “Why are you ignoring us?”
“Hi guys” I let out a sigh. “Can we please talk later? I will call you guys.”
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Chapter 33
“We need to talk now,” Lily insisted firmly.
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“I’ve just been busy” I said, which was partially true. “It’s just been crazy. You all saw what happened”
“We’re sorry” Daniel blurted out, shoving his hands into his pocket and staring at the floor. “For… you know, not doing much to back you up at the principal’s office”
Arthur nodded. “Yeah, we should have had your back. I was scared of offending your parents” he whispered sadly.
I reached out and placed my hand on Arthur’s arm, giving it a gentle squeeze. “You guys protected me to the best you could,” I smiled, “I promise to call you as soon as I can, okay” they nodded at me and I walked out.
***
I walked in, my yogurt stained sweater tied around my waist, to find Mom pacing in the living room, arms crossed. Ava was on the couch, fresh tears already streaming down her face. She is good. I’ll give her that.
“Avery,” Mom snapped, stopping her pacing to glare at me. “why are you just coming when your sister had been home close to an hour ago?”
“I’m sorry mom,” I replied tiredly, I was discussing my project topic with my group partners.”
“Ava told me what happened at lunch. She said you let y’all friends ganged up on her and provoked her until she had a panic attack.”
I stopped, letting my backpack slide off my shoulder and thud to the floor. I turned to stare at Ava then back at Mom, then at Ava.
“Is that what happened, Ava?” I asked quietly. “You had a panic attack?”
“You know I did!” she wailed, burying her face in a cushion. “You were all staring at me! Ganging up on me!”
I turned my gaze back to Mom. “She dumped her entire lunch tray on me, Mom. Yogurt, everything. In front of the whole cafeteria. Sarah and Madison had to help me clean it off.” I gestured to the sweater around my waist. “The evidence is right here.”
Mom’s eyes flickered to the stained sweater. For the first time, she looked uncertain. “Ava, is this true?”
“They were excluding me! They were being so mean!” Ava cried, not directly answering the question.
“We invited her to be in our project group,” I said calmly. “I insisted, actually. I told them we couldn’t leave her out. That she’s my sister and I love her.” I let that sentence hang in the air. “She’s the one who said ‘forget it‘ and threw her food at me.”
Mum looked from my sweater to Ava tear stained cheeks.
I’m sure she’d figure out who was lying.
“Ava, go to your room,” Mom said at last, her tone final. “We’ll discuss this later.”
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Chapter 33
Ava shot me a glare before stomping upstairs. The second her door slammed, Mom turned to me.
“And you,” she said, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Why is there always drama with you, Avery? Why can’t you two just get along?”
The old me would have screamed. The new me just looked tired.
“I don’t know, Mom,” I said, picking up my backpack. “I really don’t. I’m going to go start my homework.”
I didn’t wait for a reply. I walked upstairs, but instead of going to my room, I stood outside Ava’s door for a moment. I could hear her muffled sobs. I knocked softly.
“Go away!” she snarled.
I opened the door anyway. She was lying on her bed, face buried in her pillow.
She sat up, her face puffy and furious. “Get out of my room!”
“I just came to say I’m not mad about the yogurt,” I said sweetly leaning against the doorframe, not fully entering her room.
“You’re evil,” she whispered, “just get lost.”
I gave her a small smile, blowing her a kiss.. “Sweet dreams, sissy.”
***
The next morning, I deliberately took my time getting ready. When I came downstairs, Ava was already at the table. Mom sipped her coffee, her eyes flicking between us.
“Did you two… talk things out?” Mom asked, her voice hesitant.
“I tried,” I said, pouring myself some orange juice with a sad sign. “I went to her room last night to apologize for the misunderstanding at lunch.” I took a slow sip then looked down, my lower lips trembling just enough to be noticed. “I was just trying to help her, not trying to be evil.”
Mom’s eyebrows shot up. “Did you do anything evil?”
“No… but Ava called me evil. Why can’t she understand that I love her” I cried
“Oh,” Mom said, looking at Ava with a puzzled frown. “Well… I’m sure your sister is just going through some stuff, she loves you too Avery.”
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
