Free Tears of the Broken by A.M Hudson Page B

pre-rehearsed questions came flooding back.
    “ Well,” Emily chimed in, “David sits with the giant,
incredibly gorgeous guys that are throwing food at each other.” She
grinned at David. “More like monkeys, really. And I sit with that
group out there by the tree.” She pointed to the windows that cover
the back wall of the cafeteria. Outside, in the sunshine, a large
group of boys in tight-fitting tee’s, with styled hair, and girls
in cheer-uniforms—like Emily—gathered under the oak tree, laughing
and throwing water, or looking at things on each other’s
iPad’s.
    David leaned closer and whispered, “Two I C.”
    Hm,
second in command? So, it goes footballers, then Emily’s group.
Well, where does that place me if I hang out with one of
each—assuming David is a footballer?
    Emily’s voice trailed back in with my attention span. “And
Ryan hangs out on the basketball courts, mostly.” She looked at
Ryan for confirmation; he shrugged with a small nod. “And Alana
hangs with those guys.” She pointed to the muso’s sitting behind
her.
    “ Cool.” I nodded. “Well, thanks for keeping me company today,
you guys. I would’ve felt like a total loser sitting by
myself.”
    “ That would never happen.” Emily tilted her head to the side.
“Someone would’ve come and talked to you. If they could get past
David, that is.” She threw him a mock annoyed stare.
    David grinned and leaned back in his chair, resting his hands
behind his head. “Can you blame me? I kinda like fresh
meat.”
    I
inched away from David jokingly and a sudden whoosh of air brushed
past my hair. “Ah!” the kid at the table behind us yelped and
rubbed his head. Everyone in the cafeteria turned around to stare
at him—silence washed over the room.
    “ What gives?” His friend stood up and looked over at the
football jocks.
    “ What up, losers? Mummy forget to pack your helmet for you?”
one of them jeered.
    Those total jerks! I can’t believe they have so little regard
for the feelings of another human being.
    Apple pulp covered the boy’s head and shoulders, and the
remainder of the offending fruit rolled around on the ground just
near his feet. He stood up and grabbed it, his knuckles turning
white as he stared across the cafeteria.
    “ Just leave it, Dominic. It’s not worth it,” one of the chess
club guys called to him.
    I
wonder if throwing the apple back might result in a worse attack,
later.
    The
boy, Dominic, squeezed the apple a little tighter, and his face
turned bright red around his tightly clenched teeth. I slid my
chair out a little. I should go over and see if he’s okay, maybe
even take the apple and throw it back at those boys myself. Stupid
teenage boys. They think they’re so cool.
    As I
stood fully and took one step, something brushed past
me.
    “ David? Don’t!” Emily yelped.
    I
looked back at David, standing near our table with his arm raised
behind his head and the apple in his hand. How did he get the
apple? Did Dominic throw it to David without me seeing
it?
    Dominic’s eyes narrowed and he looked at his hand, then at
David. I followed his gaze just in time to see the apple explode
into a million pieces on the wall above the jocks’ heads—showering
them in a cloud of apple pulp and juice.
    A
cool silence lingered. David’s arm came back down to his side, with
his shoulder still leaned in to the throw when the whole room
erupted—every person, sitting or standing, started clapping and
cheering. Even the jock that threw the apple raised his thumb at
David and laughed.
    With
a numb kind of shock, I held my breath. What the hell was that?
Where did he learn to throw like that? David looked down at the
ground, his eyes displaying amusement, but betraying anger. As he
sat back down, I closed my gaping mouth and walked up to the
chess-kid, now sitting at the table, rubbing the back of his head.
“Hey? Are you okay?” I asked.
    “ Yeah, I’m fine,” he moaned. “Those guys are