Not suitable for children and minors.
March 6th
It was lunchtime at school, and Lucy couldn’t find Amanda. Lucy wore a T-shirt with “Caltech no matter what!” on it. She didn’t want to wear an actual Caltech T-shirt because she hadn’t deserved it so far, she thought. She usually had lunch alone when Amanda wasn’t around but yesterday she decided to be more open-minded, so she sat next to a branch of girls. She knew them, but they weren’t her friends.
- Hey, Lucy, right? – a girl asked Lucy. She was Mandy.
- Yeah, I’m Lucy – she answered.
- Lucy, we have a little game here. You wanna play?
- Okay … what game?
- I tell you some insulting with an “a”, then you tell me some rude with a “b” and so on. Ok?
Lucy nodded. The rest of the girls were trying to hide their smile and pretending eating. They knew what’s next.
Mandy suddenly yelled to Lucy.
- Lucy, you’re an asshole! And not a nice asshole, a really disgusting one!
Everybody started to laugh at Lucy, even the guys at the next table. Lucy’s face turned red and she wanted to say a smart riposte. But she was distracted by Mandy’s enormous knowledge of human anatomy.
“There are nice assholes?!” Lucy thought.
Unfortunately, she wasn’t the master of quick, sharp responses, so she said that:
- You’re … you’re a bastard!
The laughter ceased unexpectedly and Mandy looked straight into Lucy’s eyes. Lucy hated that kind of look and Mandy knew it.
- Hmm, Lucy, it was a very rude thing to say … in the 19th century! You suck! I skipped to “s” if you don’t mind!
Everybody laughed at Lucy again, but it was more humiliating and outrageous than the first time. Lucy didn’t cry but she was mad, because she couldn’t stand up for herself.
Somebody showed up to save Lucy.
- Hey, Mandy, shut up!
It was Amanda. She was glowing like a heroin from a movie.
- Hey Amanda ... we just … - Mandy stuttered.
- Everybody, game over! Mandy, go f*ck yourself with a stick! Your ugly friends show you how to use it!
The other girls left the scene quickly. It wasn’t clear they left to find an adequate stick for Mandy or just returned to their usual school activities. Mandy fiddled about her plastic tray a bit but a strict glance from Amanda made her hurry.
- Lucy, you okay? – Amanda said.
- Yeah, thanks … you know something rude with a “b”? – Lucy asked.
- Bitch. – Amanda said with no hesitation.
- And that’s why I love you. I said bastard, but it didn’t hurt her at all. When they started to laugh at me, I almost said laughing could be lethal. That ugly friends thing was really good, by the way.
- Thanks! Really, laughing can kill you? - asked Amanda suprisedly.
- Oh yeah, laughing is deadly serious! I saw in a docu series, Curious and unusual deaths.
- Bastard, docu series? It was a miracle that I found you alive. Anyway, I gotta go to English lit.
- My next is Math – Lucy said.
- Okay, honey, then go to Math and be an astronaut.
- Almost. Rocket engineer.
- But closer than ever, right? – Amanda said and they parted ways.
