Labelled by Blood

      We talked all the way until the last five minutes before class started. And we only stopped because he had been late to too many classes. He blamed me, but I didn't think that was true. He gave me what I needed, and I hoped I made his day a little bit brighter. We headed in through the front doors and the hallways were full of life, now. And they smelled different. Instead of the usual intoxicating smells of cologne and perfume, I smelled something sweet in the air. Did home econ bake cookies? This early?       Jesse led me through the hallways, everyone moving out of ways without him needing to even stare or ask them to. Some cheered him on, others patted him on the back. A few did to me, too. It was a weird feeling, but I kind of liked it.       Then I got some death stares from a few girls I passed by. They clutched their bags or whatever the had in their hands and I wanted to stick my tongue out at them. I didn't, though.       I knew Jesse was popular, but I don't think I'd ever seen it come to life like this. It was almost as though I was taken to a new world entirely. And I was almost apart of it. As we made our way and finally split off, Jesse ruffled my hair and gave me a kiss on the cheek. A teacher warned us about PDA and I couldn't control the muscles in my cheeks as they fought their way into a smile.       Today was off to a great start. Until I was a few feet from my class. There was one of Jesse's football friends, but he gave me the same death glare the girls earlier did. He was fidgeting with with his sunglasses. He spun them loosely around one of the temples. Right as I passed by him to squeeze into class, he whispered something.       "You're not one of us."       The world fell from underneath me. When I whirled to say something, he was gone. Only a sea of faces I didn't know. I turned into class, tears prickling at the corners of my eyes. I sat in my seat and took out my notes from last class. They were half finished and I couldn't remember why.       What did he mean? Why now? Was he jealous, too? I didn't want to think about it, but it didn't stop gnawing. Class started and I hadn't noticed. It wasn't until Mr. Hakim called on me to answer the bell work question. I didn't know it. He did the thing where a teacher calls on another student to answer the question then has me repeat their answer.       It was embarrassing. I wanted to go home. But that wasn't going to happen. Mr. Hakim didn't let up in class, and I was on the verge of tears the entire period. After the bell rang me called me up before I could leave and disappear forever.       "Ms. Linnet," he started, but stopped when he saw my face. I couldn't actually meet his eye line. "What's wrong?"       I shook my head. He didn't actually care. He just spent an entire class bullying me.       Mr. Hakim placed a pale magenta sticker at the edge of his desk It said "you gave 100%!" Then he spoke some more. "You're not usually like this. What's got you so upset?" I paused. He continued. "Usually you get everything right. I thought maybe you needed some push."       I told him the bare minimum. Rough day. Teen drama. He nodded and apologized. It made the difference, but what happened happened. He eventually let me go and I started heading out.       "One more thing," he said. I stopped in my tracks. "You do not go by Miss Linnet, do you?"       This got a smile from me. I shook my head.       "Mister, then?"       I shook my head again.       "I don't think I'll ever understand this generation," he sighed. "Alex, then."       I nodded. He chuckled. I did, too. Then he really let me go and I rushed to my next class. I decided to wear the sticker he gave me over my heart. I did give one hundred percent. Even if it only felt like fifty. When I got to my next class, I decided I would zone out just enough. I went with the flow and it went by without a hitch. Then I moved on to the third class of the day. This one also went by pretty alright. The smell of cookies had left the hallways after first period, so everything felt normal, again. But it was lunch time, now. And my stomach told me I needed some fuel.       I hadn't heard from Jesse or Parker, but I assumed we'd all meet in the courtyard. We always did on Tuesdays, and today was that day. But I was far from there. Across the school far. I decided to take a detour through a back exit. While it technically was a longer route, it had far less traffic and I wouldn't get stuck between the freshmen trying to get to the cafeteria and the juniors and seniors trying to leave campus through a different back entrance.       When I got outside, I noticed it was drizzling. I didn't bring an umbrella, either, so I was going to get there wet or get there late. The courtyard had covered seats, so that wasn't a problem. I trudged onward, alone with my thoughts and the speckles of rain that slowly soaked me cold. No one was out here. It was strange, but it made the walk a lot more calming and zen than I would've thought. The rain gave me the sense that I was in my own world full of reminiscing, nostalgia, and petrichor.       Then I hit a literal roadblock. There were some haphazardly placed cones and way too much yellow caution tape blocking off the way forward. What for? It looked like they were digging up the ground out here. I guess I hadn't been out here in forever. When did they start this? And it kind of looked random. But I wasn't a construction worker, so maybe this was part of the plan.       The cold air made me shiver, but I was enjoying the rain. I looked to the nearest entrance to the school and saw kids hanging out and blocking it. I'd have to awkwardly ask them to let me in and then scoot through them. The thought made me feel colder than the rain did. The other option was to take a huge detour through the football field and around to the front of the school. That was going to take longer, but no one had texted me asking me where I was, so I figured they might be grabbing their lunches, still.       I took the path around the school. I wasn't about to talk to more strangers when today had already been so harsh to me. The gray void above gave everything below a gray tint. The wind picked up. I felt a small surge of anxiety but chalked it up to just being out of my element. The walk was peaceful and I walked right past the weight room. When I did, I heard a door open and then shut behind me in the distance. Were some people still out here? "Getting gains," as Jesse put it.       I kept going for a while longer. I was still a bit away from the front of the school and the idea that no one would be out here was both freeing and punishing. I turned the corner and slipped, nearly hurting my leg, but I caught myself. My shoe had untied.       I rolled my eyes and started to tie it. Then, it came.       A shoulder tackle that knocked me on my hands and knees. The concrete underneath felt sharp and scraped my skin I inhaled sharply. My brain didn't know what to do, my heart took over and pumped unfiltered panic through my body.       "Get up."       I did. What did I do? Did I accidentally make Toby or the twins mad? They wouldn't do this.       "You think you're so special," the voice said. It was a boy; tough, and not their first confrontation. "The way you cling to him and control him."       My hands were dotted with small dots of blood. My knees burned ever so slightly. I spun on my heels and saw him. The boy from earlier. He had his sunglasses on over his head like a headband. My world spun. My knees buckled. My arms went numb.       "You going to talk or just take it?" he asked. "Jesse doesn't even work hard anymore."       I shook my head in disbelief. I had the words. They just never came.