Chapter 9

                                    

                                          
Eliza turned up behind me, clad in a dirty apron and thin plastic gloves. She looked like a chef who had just walked through a pigsty.
                          
"Look at this junk I have to wear!" she whined. "For 'safety reasons.'"
                          
I muffled a laugh. "Well, at least you'll stay clean."
                          
"To hell with staying clean. I hate this."
                          
I rolled my eyes. "Well, you'll be glad to know I'll be sitting here during lunch." I motioned in the direction of Wendy and Georgia. Eliza's face lifted slightly. 
                          
"Good luck," she said, a small smile on her lips. She pulled a plastic bag out of her bag and I threw my sandwich wrap into it. She then trudged in the direction of the lockers to pick up the hordes of litter that surrounded them. She gave me a thumbs-up before reluctantly bending down to pull a black banana peel from under a bench.
                          
I placed Eliza's notebook inside my history textbook. Veronica acted just as usual. She sat poised and still atop the bench, and carefully placed small pieces of tofu in her mouth, ensuring they didn't graze her bright red lips. Georgia mimicked her behaviour, though she didn't manage to look nearly as neat or natural as Veronica did. She sat uncomfortably and chewed messily. For a moment, Veronica stepped away from the group for the bathroom, and Eliza waved frantically from a few metres away. She pointed obtrusively at Veronica and made exaggerated running movements. A juice-box flew out of the plastic bag in her hand and she fumbled after it, all the while mouthing aggressively at me. I made out the words "Ask Veronica about the party."
                          
I raised my eyebrows at her and mouthed back. "No way!"
                          
She clapped her hands together in front of her and made to get on her knees. "Please?"
                          
I rolled my eyes. I had to admit that I wanted to know as much as she did, but I was terrified. I had never spoken to Veronica or any of her friends, and they were pretty much as intimidating as you could get. But I felt I had no choice. I didn't reply to Eliza, but got up and made my way in the direction of Veronica, Eliza's victory dance in my hindsight.
                          
I waited awkwardly for Veronica a few metres from the entry to the girls' bathroom. It felt as if I had stood there for hours before she finally stepped out. I jumped up and walked towards her. She made to walk back to her friends, but I clumsily pushed in front of her. She gave me a look of contempt, which disheartened my spirits, but I forced my mouth open anyway.
                          
"H-hi?" I stuttered. It was almost a question. For a moment, I was worried that she wouldn't reply, but she soon pulled her lips apart. 
                          
"Um... hi." Her voice was monotonous and her face unchanging. She glanced over to her friends and made a disgusted face. Despite this, I continued.
                          
"Uh, I just had a quick question, if you don't mind. Um, I just wanted to ask you a question about... uh... I just wanted to know-"
                          
"What?" she asked, exasperated.
                          
"Uh... how was Sam's party?"
                          
She looked at me incredulously. "Who even are you?" she asked. "How do you even know about Sam's party?"
                          
"I was just... I just heard somewhere and I just wanted to know if you went?"
                          
"Uh, yeah. I went. Why?" she asked slowly.
                          
At this point, I was too anxious to continue. "Ok bye!" I said, a bit too loudly, and raced back to Eliza. I knew she'd be disappointed that this was all I got, but at least I did something.
                          
I was out of breath when I got to the lockers. I couldn't see Eliza. She must have moved on to a different spot. The lockers were looking surprisingly clean. I went around the corner and saw her picking litter near the gymnasium. She wore a huge frown on her face and glanced up every now and then. I turned to see who she was looking at and saw Phoebe and Jill standing behind her. But they weren't just standing. Jill held Phoebe aggressively by her tie, her muscles bulging as loudly as her eyes. Phoebe's tiny feet barely touched the ground. Her face was red and small, eyes full of tears. Jill was reaching into Phoebe's pocket and feeling around for something. She whispered something in Phoebe's ear with a scowl on her face and pulled fifty dollars from Phoebe's skirt pocket. Fifty! Who brings fifty dollars for lunch?
                          
But that wasn't my biggest worry. Phoebe looked so red I thought she might faint - again. And Eliza, standing no more than two metres away, was doing nothing about it! She was just watching calmly and pretending to mind her own business. I wondered how her conscience wasn't giving her hell for not speaking up. Jill threw Phoebe onto the ground with a smirk and ran quickly to find her friends. I slowly stepped over and helped Phoebe up. She acknowledged me with a worried look and squirmed off, in her usual timid fashion.
                          
Eliza sees me and smiles slightly. "So how did it go?" she asked as if nothing had happened. I glared at her. I was not in the mood to speak to her about what had happened, but I resolved I would confront her after school when I had calmed down. I waved her off and left in search of my history textbook. Eliza would have to find out about Sam's party herself.