Gabriel's belly started to rumble, but he didn't want to head towards the one place he knew for certain Harry would be.
"Jai, there's no way I'm going to the cafeteria. Not a chance. They're all in there and look how the day's started already."
Jai-Lee stopped walking. She turned to Gabriel and grabbed the side of both of his arms. "Gabe, you need to tell someone," she said, concern etched into every word.
"If I tell, you know how that goes for me. Harry isn't the only one that hates me; it's practically his whole cheerleading squad. That would just create a whole leap of problems I or my family just don't need right now."
"I get it, Gabe, but you've got to do something. You can't live like this. Why don't you just come to lunch, grab some food to go, and we'll eat somewhere else?"
Gabriel's eyes widened with fear. "There ain't no way I'm going in there for anything. The second I step in there, there's no guarantees I'm stepping back out how I stepped in."
Jai, realizing she was fighting a losing battle, released her hold on Gabriel's arms, then took her bag off of her shoulder and began to rummage through it.
"Jai," Gabriel said, trying to hold a straight face. "What is it that you're pretending to look for?"
"Aha! I knew my dad packed more." Jai-Lee pulled out two sandwiches that were wrapped in metal foil. "See? Problem solved. I knew my dad packed more than one sandwich in my bag. We stood by the door debating it, but he made sure he did. Now you don't have to go in there and you can fill your clearly… hungry belly."
"You're a lifesaver, y'know, Jai. What would I ever do without you?" he said as he began to walk.
"I dunno. Probably starve every day and get into trouble all the time," she laughed.
"Haha, how funny."
Gabriel kept his head low, but his eyes stayed vigilant as he made sure to avoid anyone who was on the football team. His footsteps were fast and his strides long. Jai-Lee's little legs struggled to keep up, but she knew Gabriel's anxiety during this period was high.
As the pair reached the side door, they slipped out like a shadow in the night. They walked outside then cut across the back field. Gabriel kept his shoulders hunched and eyes down but alert so no one could sneak up on him by surprise. Jesovalt at times felt like a jungle: territorial, loud, and full of predators and bullies preying on people weaker than them—like Harry, who didn't need an excuse to hunt in a field littered with an abundance of targets.
"Finally," Gabriel said quietly as the pair reached the oak tree behind the track where the chain-link fence bent awkwardly near the corner. It was shaded, quiet, and mostly out of view—his own little hiding spot to get some peace and quiet. He dropped his bag and sat with his back to the bark, stretching his legs out and letting the cold grass press against his palms.
As Jai-Lee sat next to him, she looked up. "Gabe, relax. You look like a haunted man. He's all the way in there and you're all the way out here. You're safe."
"Safe. Safe? I'll feel safe when the bell rings and I'm no longer in this school. That's when I'll feel safe. Harry seems to have eyes and ears everywhere. Remember when Dean tried to hide out at Ping Pong Club? The last place where anyone would expect him to be, but ten minutes later, Harry and his group crew showed up."
"Yeah, I remember," said Jai as she looked up to the sky, remembering what Harry did to Dean. "He took his trousers and made him walk around school in his boxers until one of the teachers noticed."
"And when the teacher asked, he said he didn't know because he knew the consequences of telling would be that much worse. It's like he's running a mafia here that no one's safe from. So sorry if I'm always on edge."
"No need to apologize, Gabe. I get it."
Jai-Lee opened her box and handed him half of a sandwich. "Now, enough Harry. Eat something before you pass out."
"Thanks."
Gabriel took it but didn't bite right away. His stomach felt like it was in knots. Fear, anxiety, stress, anger, confusion—his whole body went through a rollercoaster of emotions. They sat in silence for a while, the quiet broken only by the noise in the distance; the basketball team were yelling across the field and someone was blasting music far too loud from a large speaker.
"I saw Harry watching you again in history," she said finally, between bites of her Quorn ham sandwich. "What is his problem with you? It's starting to get a little creepy."
Gabriel gave a dry laugh. "Me, apparently."
"Yeah, but why? It's like he's obsessed. Like his every thought is about you and what you're doing rather than focusing on himself."
"I wish I could tell you. He's always had a problem with me, but today it feels a hundred times worse." Gabriel shook his head. "It's like he's trying to push me into something."
Jai-Lee narrowed her eyes. "You're not actually thinking about fighting him, are you, Gabe?"
He didn't answer. He just sat there for a minute staring into space.
"Gabe… answer me. You're not seriously going to try and fight him," she said, her voice rising "Gabe… no."
"I don't know, but I'm running out of options. I can't keep living like this," he said quietly. "I've been running from that bully every day since sophomore year. At some point, you have to stop running and face up to your bully."
"And just when I thought your stupid days were behind you," Jai-Lee said as she sat there shaking her head in pure disbelief.
Gabriel sat there scratching his head. "If you've got any better ideas, I'm all ears."
"What happens if you get kicked out of school? How do you think your mom's going to feel, getting kicked out of two schools? She's going to start thinking she's the problem, not Harry. Your mom's barely keeping it together as it is. Just tell someone."
Gabriel looked away. He couldn't look at Jai anymore. He knew she was right, but he was sick and tired of the endless antics Harry put him through daily. "I'm not trying to get suspended."
"But?"
"But I can't keep dodging him forever either," Gabriel said.
Jai-Lee stared at him, her lunch forgotten. Her bracelets clinked as she crossed her arms. "You don't need to prove anything to him. He's a meathead, a bully with too much testosterone and not enough brain cells in that fat head of his. Fighting him is exactly what he wants. Don't give in to him. Don't let him win."
Gabriel didn't know what to say. Because deep down, he wasn't sure what counted as a win anymore: getting left alone, or finally fighting back.
They finished lunch in silence, then the bell rang and they walked over to class. As they entered, they saw Harry, but for the first time all day, he wasn't paying Gabriel any mind. Gabriel let out a sigh of relief and sat down in a seat in the far left-hand corner, hoping that he wouldn't be spotted.
But it didn't matter, because as the chemistry teacher began to read off the register and finally came to Gabriel's name, Harry's face lit up when he heard his voice.
"Gabriel," Mr. Wall said.
"Here, sir," Gabriel said, raising his hand.
"Your physics paper was excellent, Gabriel. You scored an A-star. Keep up the hard work," said Mr. Wall as he broke out into a congratulatory smile.
Gabriel's heart started to race. He couldn't see Harry through the sea of students in front of him; he was seated too far in the corner. He knew he shouldn't lean over and look, but his anxiety got the better of him and he looked anyway. And looking back, like the scorching sun, was the entire football team making threats with their hands.
Gabriel's head flung back and he kept his eyes forward, focusing on nothing but the class. Time seemed to go slow at first, but as he started to get into the meat and potatoes of the lesson, time flew by. Then, what seemed like out of nowhere, the bell rang.
Gabriel's heart thumped violently against his ribs. His hands started to drip with sweat and he began to bite his nails. Every nerve was trickling like a live wire. He grabbed his books then bent down quickly and put them in his bag. When he went to sit back up, he saw a large shadow stretched across his desk.
"Hello, Gabriel," the familiar voice echoed.
The voice was calm, almost friendly. But Gabriel didn't need to look up to know who it was. It was Harry.
He straightened up slowly. To his left was a member of the football team, and when he looked to the right, there was another member there also. In the center Harry stood, arms folded, expression cold as ice.
"You free after school?" Harry asked, his voice loaded with malicious intent.
Gabriel met his eyes reluctantly. "Why? What do you want now, Harry?"
"I just wanna see what Jesovalt's top physics student is made of. Behind the gym. You and me. Unless you're scared."
A moment passed and students nearby were already pausing, listening. A crowd was forming like sharks circling blood. Gabriel didn't flinch. He was tired. Tired of the looks. Tired of walking around school with a target on his back. Tired of being seen as a problem when he hadn't done anything wrong.
He didn't think. He just said it.
"Okay."
Harry smirked like he'd won something. "Didn't think you had it in you, Private School."
Gabriel turned away before he could see Jai-Lee's expression. He didn't want to face her; he knew she would be wearing the look of disappointment across her features, and he didn't need another lecture on the right thing to do.
He clenched his fist tightly around his bag as he pulled it off of the ground and got up from his seat. He was scared—he hadn't had a fight before, and didn't even know if he could fight—but in a moment of impulse, he chose the first thing that came to mind. There was no backing down now. If he didn't show, he'd be the laughing stock of the entire school.
So he left the classroom and headed towards the storm he had avoided for far too long.