[b][center][h3]Bailey Gets Bullied[/h3][/center][/b]

Bailey was more than happy to let Taron take the front seat, she could slump down in the back, no one would see her, she'd hopefully make it to class just in time so she didn't run into her bullies first. Then she'd only have to tolerate them through lunch. Today could be a good day or ... well, a less awful than usually day. Hopefully. 

She muttered a [i]"thanks"[/i] as Ceren dropped her off outside the park. No friends waiting for her, but no bullies. She slid out of the backseat and skulked through the park gates. 

Maybe today would be a good day ... or rather, a less horrible than it had to be day. She could get to first period just in the nick of time, then Alice and her friends would only get to pick on her during lunch period and in one or two of her classes. She could skip the morning torment they'd saved up for her. 

It seemed today wasn't to be her lucky day ... In fact, it was as rotten as always, or maybe worse so. 

[b]"Hey Snailey. Saw you getting dropped off at the park today"[/b] Alice sneered.
[i]Shit ... they know ... they saw...[/i] Bailey's heart sank. Now they had more ammo. They had more things to laugh about, more things to tease her about. 
[b]"Was your mom and brother too busy to drop you off at school you had to get a lift from his Buttfriend-I-mean-boyfriend?"[/b] 
The girls erupted in giggling. 

[b]"Did your mom forget to make you lunch again today Snailey?"[/b]
[b]"No"[/b] Bailey insisted. Mom had made lunch. 
[b]"Really? Prove it"[/b] Alice sneered. 
[b]"Yeah, prove it Snail!"[/b]
Lisa grabbed a fistful of Bailey's still-damp hair and "squealed "yuck" as Alice snatched her bag, chucking out her things unceremoniously making snide remarks. 

[b]"Slimey-hair-Snailey"[/b] Lisa crowed. 
Alice made a lewd comment about Leith and Ceren doing inappropriate things in the shower, so that Bailey had to wash her hair with a yard hose like a dog. Lisa barked at her. Bailey cringed. She knew the birds and the bees, she didn't know how gay stuff worked and even though she loved Leith dearly, she didn't quite want to know how he had sex. He had the respect to keep his sex-life totally separated from her life. She knew he was careful, appreciated it ... Now the sanctity of that privacy, Leith keeping those things private to spare her, was broken and school-bullies were throwing rude remarks about her brother in her face. 
Lisa began making lewd gestures and cackling. Bailey wanted to tell her she had fat legs and a witch nose but she couldn't do it. She endured Alice and Lisa cackling and gagging at their own rude suggestions of what happened in Bailey's bathroom in the morning. 

Finally, Alice dug out Bailey's lunch and tossed her bag aside. 
[b]"Oh so you weren't lying."[/b] Alice remarked, waving the lunch bag in Bailey's face. [b]"Are you gonna cry and stuff your greasy face, Snail?"[/b]
[b]"Yeah, Fat Snail!"[/b] Lisa chorused.
[b]"Fat Slimy Snail, Fat Ugly Snail!"[/b]

The torment was broken by the bell ringing. Alice and Lisa cackled and walked away, parting with a few snide remarks as Bailey choked down tears, kept on her best brave face and packed her things into her bag.

This wasn't how she wanted to start her day ... this was't how it was supposed to be. She was careful, she went through the park, she didn't show up on the halls on her way to class until the last moment and still ... they got her. 

She avoided class. Zipped to the bathrooms and locked herself in the stall. Her throat and chest aching and her eyes stinging as she scrubbed away the tears. 

She was late to first period. Hoping her eyes weren't too red, she kept her head down and took her seat. She just had to get through lunch now, and that one afternoon class where Lisa sat behind her. 

Lunch was much the same as always. She tried to get away. To hide. But eventually they found her. The torment continued same as ever. This time Karen was there too, and one of the boys from the year above Bailey's. They circled her and pushed her around. 

"Choir practice" couldn't come sooner and by the time final bell rang, Bailey couldn't run fast enough to the cramped stall in the old gym toilets that was rarely ever used ever since the new toilets were installed. 

It was cold and dank and dark ... but at least she was alone. No bullies to find her. No aunt or mom to fret about her. No brothers or brothers-boyfriends ... The toilet stall almost felt more "hers" than her own bedroom since her two new tenants occupied half the space. 

Even now. As she wept into her lap, she couldn't blame Leith for being the way he was. He didn't even know the pain his lifestyle caused her. If he knew, he'd be crushed by it, she couldn't bear to dump that on him. She couldn't be mad at her mom for finding comfort in another guy who ... wasn't all that bad really ... rude and a bit stuck up, but he spoiled mom ... Even Leith had said, quietly, when it was just the two of them sitting on her bed, [i]"You don't have to like him, I don't like him ... but he makes mom happy. We have to be happy for her."[/i] Even pointing out his horrible comments didn't sway Leith's stance on Richard. He made mom happy, they had to just grin and bear it.

The ache in her chest didn't ease, but eventually she ran out of tears and washed her face in the sink. Sniffing and furiously rubbing her eyes, wishing the redness would subside. It was 4.30 now. Mom would be waiting at the school gates and she had to look "normal". She had to look like she just spent her time singing with choir and chatting to friends she didn't really have. 


Leith's day, by comparison, was going far better. Though he'd have liked to spend the day in bed with Ceren, exchanging nauseatingly-sweet comments, he had work. But he liked his work and Ceren would be there when he came back. He'd get a day off sooner or later and they'd make up for lost time. 

Right now, he was lying on a creeper, under the belly of a car, looking up at a maze of pipes and tubes and parts. 
[b]"Cmon girl, tell me what ails you"[/b] he mumbled to himself, inspecting a piece here and there. Overalls unzipped and the sleeves tied around his waist. A stained t-shirt on on top, beat-up sneakers on his feet. Leith, more often than not, looked delightfully scruffy. Even for his Coffee-shop job, he wore faded denim jeans, an ironic shirt and the same sneakers he wore when he worked on cars. A shame really, he had the looks of a model and would scrub up well if he wasn't committed to "looking like a grease-monkey" as his coworker Linda often reminded him. 

[b]"Try it again Nick"[/b] Leith called. Nick gave the key a twist, the engine creaked and groaned but still nothing. 
Leith slid out from under the car and lowered the jack. Scratching his head, leaving a black smudge on his temple, he popped the bonnet and leaned in, looking around and jiggling parts, utterly absorbed in his work.