ANNABELLE
The crying game had me at a standstill in the bathroom during lunch. Intuition screamed… “Mind your own business! Nothing good will come out of this!”
But I was Annabelle Simms, and my emotions pretty much ruled everything about me, and right this second… compassion killed common sense.
I cleared my throat. “Um, are you okay?”
“Shit,” the crier hissed.
The stall door popped open and there, standing in front of me, with mascara running down her cheek, a ruffled ponytail, and tears dripping down her face was… Latisha, AKA… the lovesick idiot.
She has no idea that I know her secret.
“I’m fine,” she croaked, making her way over to the sink. She glanced at me through the mirror and sneered. “Not that you and that show off care anyway.”
Good-bye compassion.
“You think I care about you? I don’t. I thought it was someone else crying her eyes out.” I gave her the dirtiest look I could. “I don’t feel sorry for you. Why would I anyway? You’re clearly not a good person.”
That did it.
Red-faced Latisha swirled around and faced me with anger in her eyes, and a curled lip. She reminded me of a King Cobra circling its prey with its tongue out, hissing.
“You shut up!” she screeched menacingly, pointing her finger at me. “You and that idiot…. don’t know shit. Who are you two, to judge me! Who made you guys the judge in all things good?”
“I don’t need to listen to this,” I snapped and began to back away, but Latisha blocked my way out.
“I helped you that day. Don’t you remember?” Latisha growled. “If it wasn’t for me that day, Donna and Stacey would have beaten you to a pulp. Where’s my respect? You owe me.”
She’s losing it.
I jerked my head back in shock. “I owe you? Are you mad? Whatever good you did that day has gone to the dogs. You tried to humiliate Jenna, brought up her family situation and used it to blackmail her. What kind of a person does that?”
Latisha moved out of my way and leaned against a sink. “You have no idea what I’m going through! You have no idea the pressure I’m under every day! You think it’s easy being me right now? It’s not.”
On my way out of the washroom, I had a few parting words for Latisha. “You chose your path… now you’ve got to live with the consequences.”