Chapter Seven: The New Girl

“How was the dance?”

Sammy turned to her father with a smile. “It sucked.”

He frowned. “Did something happen?”

“You can say that.” She said with a nod as she headed for the stairs.

“I guess you didn’t get Homecoming Queen this year.” He said as she placed her foot on the first step.

She shook her head. “No, but I left with the King.”

He laughed as he watched her walk up the stairs.

Sammy got into her suite and sighed with relief that her father hadn’t asked too many questions. He will probably hear about it from the principal anyway. It’s not every day that someone slaps the quarterback.

Other than dancing in Boone’s arms all night, the dance really had sucked. Pizza after was much more fun. She and Boone had gotten to talk about things that they hadn’t been able to talk about, during the summer with her parents around, and she found that he is much more than a pretty face.

She sighed as she changed into her nightclothes and hung the dress up in her closet. She touched the fabric fondly. Tonight will always be one of her favorite memories.

~*~

Monday came too fast for Sammy. She wanted to crawl back into bed and pretend it was still Sunday. But she was going to have to face the music someday, it may as well be today. But when she walked into school Monday morning, nothing happened. No one made fun of her, no one belittled her, no one hated her. She walked around campus so confused.

What was going on?

“Hey, Sammy.” A girl Sammy barely knew said as she passed her.

“Hi.” Sammy said as she turned and watched the girl walk past her.

“Sammy!” Another girl said as she passed her and kissed her on the cheek.

Okay, what was going on? Sammy felt like she had walked into the twilight zone.

“Sammy, you look great. How does your head feel?” A girl asked as she stopped in front of Sammy.

“Better.” Sammy said as she gently touched the back of her head.

“Great to hear. If you need anything, and I mean anything, just let me know.” The girl said before she passed her with a wave.

Sammy felt like her head was going to explode.

“Sammy, the Principle wants to see you.” A student monitor said as she walked up to Sammy.

“Okay.” Sammy said as she headed to the Principal’s office.

She had known this was coming. You don’t slap the football hero and not get in trouble.

“Sammy, please, come in.” The principle said when Sammy knocked on her door.

Sammy entered her office and closed the door behind her.

“How are you feeling?”

Sammy stared at her. “Fine.”

“Good, good.” The principle said with a nod. “Look, I know I should punish you for slapping Pryce, but I know what happened to you, and I know what everyone was saying. I straightened them out and told them what had happened to you Friday, after the game. I hope that was okay.” She said as she watched Sammy.

Sammy stared at her. That would explain why people were being so kind to her.

“That’s fine.” Sammy said as she swallowed past the lump in her throat.

“And I guess, so Pryce doesn’t cause trouble, I’ll umm, give you after school detention for one day, for hitting a student. Though I think he deserved it.”

Sammy stared at the Principle. That was light punishment.

The principal saw the shocked look on her face and sighed. “My sister was raped in High School and no one would do anything about it, they said that she had to have wanted it, after all, she wore skirts to school.”

“Skirts?” Sammy asked shocked.

“Yeah, and they were floor-length too. Anyways, to keep people from harassing you and me, for what you did in front of the whole school Saturday night, I think detention after school today will suffice. I have already told your parents.”

Great, now her parents know, what next?

“You wanted to see me?”

Sammy turned to the familiar voice and smiled when she saw Boone’s head come around the door.

“Yes, Mr. Zimmer, please come in.” The principal said as she motioned for him to enter. “You are free to go now, Miss Prescott.”

Sammy nodded then left the room. She stood outside the door and listened. What could Boone have done to get himself into trouble?

“Well, well, well.” The Principle said. Sammy could imagine the woman shaking her head. “It would seem our quarterback has a black eye this morning, would you know anything about that?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

A black eye? Oh lord, what did Boone do?

“Have anything to say about it?” The principal asked.

“He was telling the rest of the football team that Sammy was a tease and got what she deserved Friday night.”

Sammy’s ears rang. Really?

“I see.” The Principle said with a sigh. “I guess I have to punish you.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Sammy could imagine Boone standing there, straight as a board, nodding his head.

“I guess after school detention for the next three days.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Sammy could see in her mind’s eye, the grin Boone had on his face. He looked so good when he grinned, like a God beaming his light into your eyes…

“Thank you.” Boone said as he stepped out of the room and bumped into Sammy.

Startled, Sammy started to fall over. Boone caught her and smiled at her.

“Spying?”

She smiled back up at him. “And waiting for you.”

He laughed softly as he finished closing the door, then took hold of her arm and headed down the hall. They didn’t speak, but they didn’t need to. He had stuck up for her, against his own teammates. That said it all.

“I’ll see you at lunch?” He asked as he stopped beside her homeroom door.

“Yeah.” She said barely breathing.

“Don’t get into any more trouble.” He said with a grin as he leaned down and kissed her cheek.

“You either.” She breathed.

He grinned at her. “I can’t make any promises.”

She laughed softly as he turned from her and walked away. She watched him for a moment before she turned and walked into her homeroom classroom. She saw Kendra at their normal seats and opted to sit in the back, on the other side of the room. She didn’t feel like dealing with her ex-friend right now.

“Class, we have a new student.” The teacher said as she stood in front of the class with a girl at her side. “This is Raye Applebome, she and her parents just moved here from, where did you say you’re from?” The teacher asked as she looked at the girl.

“I didn’t.” Raye said as she watched the students snicker at her last name.

“Oh, okay. Well, where are you from?”

“Outer space.” Kendra said with a laugh. Everyone else around her laughed with her.

“New York.” Raye said as she glared at Kendra.

Sammy watched the new girl. She was cute, she had short brown hair, that glistened in the overhead lights of the classroom. She had a cute nose that made her look like an angel, but the stern eyes said, don’t mess with me.

Sammy liked her instantly.

“Okay, that’s enough.” The teacher said disapprovingly when the students continued. “You can sit over there.” She said as she pointed in Sammy’s direction.

“Yeah, you can sit with the cheater.” Kendra said with a laugh.

She stopped laughing when no one else laughed with her. She had lost that one, Saturday night.

Raye sat at the desk closest to Sammy. Sammy smiled as she held her hand out to Raye.

“Hi, I’m Sammy.”

Raye studied her hand then shook it. “You the cheater?”

Sammy’s face paled and Raye laughed.

The rest of the class went by fast. Sammy discovered that Raye was in almost all her classes, she even had the same lunchtime, and they sat together in the cafeteria. People whispered around them, but Sammy ignored them.

“So, what test did you cheat on?” Raye asked as she leaned in across the table.

“I don’t cheat on tests.” Sammy said with a shake of her head. “I don’t need to. I’m the one others’ cheat off of…”

Raye looked at her confused. “Then why did that girl call you a cheater, and why is everyone staring at you as if you are an enigma?”

Sammy laughed at Raye’s choice of word. “Last Friday night I was attacked. The guy almost raped me, I got stitches from him slamming my head against the wall…” Sammy stopped talking when Raye stood and leaned forward to feel the back of Sammy’s head.

“Go on.” Raye said with a nod as she sat back in her seat.

“The one who called me a cheater, she made up a rumor that I was screwing some man on campus, and my date caught us…”

“Date?” Raye asked intrigued.

Sammy smiled. “My date for the dance Saturday. He had just asked me before the game had started.”

“Cutting it close don’t you think?”

Sammy laughed. “Boone is a very complicated guy.”

“Boone huh? Sounds alien to me.” Raye said as she took a bite of her burger.

Sammy held back a laugh. “You have no idea. Anyways, everyone thought I had cheated on Boone. But in reality…”

“He had saved you.” Raye said with a nod.

“Right.”

“I’d like to meet this Boone.” Raye said as she picked up a fry.

“That can be arranged.” Sammy said as she watched Boone walk into the cafeteria. “Here he comes now.”

Raye turned her head and her eyes opened wide. “Hubba hubba.”

Sammy couldn’t help it, she burst into laughter. Those were her thoughts of the boy as well.

“Sammy.” Boone said as he sat down next to her.

“So, you’re the hero.” Raye said as she watched Boone.

“You must be the new girl.” Boone said as he looked across the table at her.

“Yep, that’s me.” Raye said with a grin.

“I see you two are getting along.” Boone said with a smile as he looked between the two girls.

“We bonded over Kendra.” Sammy mumbled.

Boone sighed. “Yeah, the only one I can’t hit.”

“You hit someone?” Raye asked, intrigued.

Boone nodded, then told Raye what had happened Saturday at the dance and what Pryce had said in the boy’s locker room, this morning.

Raye laughed. “So, let me get this straight. You two both have detention after school today?”

Sammy and Boone both nodded.

Raye grinned. “Let me see what I can do to get the same.” She whispered as she looked around the room. She paused when she spotted something or someone, and got to her feet.

Sammy and Boone followed her with their eyes as she walked over to the table where The Circle sat eating lunch. Raye stopped in front of Kendra and said something. Kendra jumped to her feet and Raye punched her in the face, knocking her backward, into the twins.

Sammy’s eyes opened wide in shock as one of the teachers dragged Raye away.

“See you tonight!” Raye hollered with a wave of her hand as she walked out of the cafeteria with the teacher.

“I like her.” Boone said with a laugh.

Sammy watched The Circle whine and complain to another teacher, as Kendra was taken to the nurse’s office with a black eye. She smiled, her first genuine smile at school, ever.

“So, do I.”

~*~

“How long did you get?” Sammy whispered to Raye in the next class they had together.

“Five days.” Raye said with a laugh.

“Wow.” Sammy said with wide eyes.

Raye laughed. “It was worth it; did you see the look on those girl’s faces? I hate rich snobs.”

“Right.” Sammy said with a frown.

“Principal said it would have been longer, but since I’m new, she’d go easy on me. Yeah, like five days is easy.” Raye said with a laugh.

Sammy laughed softly with her. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“Do what?” Raye asked as she looked at her.

“Hit Kendra for me…”

“It wasn’t for you. Well, okay a little. But all I did was ask her if she could give me a tour, and she stood up and called me a dike, so I hit her.”

“What?!” Sammy said with a squeal.

“Miss Prescott.” The teacher said with a stern look.

They were supposed to be reading today’s chapters of the book the class was reading.

“Sorry.” Sammy whispered as she pretended to read the book.

“Yeah, that’s part of why I didn’t get suspended. But anyway, I knew she wouldn’t want to give me a tour and knew it would provoke something out of her. The rich girls never surprise me.”

“That was a nasty thing to call you.” Sammy hissed.

“I’m used to it. When you look as cute as I do in a pixy cut, the other girls get jealous.” Raye said with a smile as she patted her short hair.

Sammy laughed. “I’m not jealous, and I think you look great.”

“Thanks. But you’re not a rich snob…”

“Miss Applebome.”

“Yeah, right, reading.” Raye said as she stuck her nose in her book.

Sammy stifled a laugh. There was no way Raye could see the words let alone read them, with the book that close to her face.

“We’ll talk more in detention.” Raye whispered.

Sammy nodded and went back to reading the book. Though, she had no clue what the words were actually saying to her.

She had read this book for recreation last year anyway and knows exactly what happens in it.