[Chapter 22]
Déjà Vu

I snuggled more into the oversized black jacket — it draped over my shoulders heavily, as if it was wearing me instead. I smiled to myself, inhaling the fresh new leather scent as I thought of my mom.

"Hey, loner!"

I shut my eyes in frustration at the familiar voice, this time letting out a loud deep sigh of irritation. I looked up to Tommy, only to see him with his usual smirk plastered on his face, along with a few of his carbon copies behind him. I looked past him and his little posse, confirming my suspicions when I saw Rachel and her friends whispering and snickering to each other as they 'subtly' glanced over at me.

I rolled my eyes and softly scoffed, knowing that she was the one who set Tommy up to torment me since she was too much of a scaredy-cat to do so herself — like she always did. And knowing Tommy, who everyone knew had a huge, fat crush on Rachel, he'd do anything to give her a reason to go out with him.

The large leather jacket was suddenly snatched off of me, easy for them to do so especially since it was hanging so loosely around my shoulders. I instantly stood up from the unexpected action, narrowing my eyes when I saw the jacket in Tommy's hands.

"Give it back!" I screamed at him, which earned the attention of everyone in class since I'd always keep to myself whenever either Tommy or Rachel decided it was fun to bully me.

Tommy cocked an eyebrow and smirked, slightly impressed. "Oh wow, so the motherless freak could speak." He rhymed, riling up a few laughs from his squad. He then threw the jacket around his shoulders, pulling the sleeves up his arm through the armholes. "You know, I think I'm going to keep this. It looks so much better on a boy, don't you think?" I frowned in return, which only widened his grin even more.

"I'm going to say it one more time." I growled, my hands balling up into fists, trying to control my anger by digging my fingernails into the flesh of my palms. "Give me my jacket back."

Tommy looked at me with wide, surprised eyes then started laughing hysterically, causing everyone else in class to follow suit — even though they were just as puzzled as I was. He wiped a fake tear from his cheek and grinned at me. I glared at him, still a little confused but still just as furious.

"Or else what? What are you going to do about it?" He sneered, taking a step towards me as he crossed his arms.

I scowled at him, utter hatred flashed through my eyes, the wrinkle between my eyebrows now becoming deeper as my eyebrows knitted together resentfully.

"What? You're gonna go crying to your mommy?" He teased, then stopped and smirked. "Oh, that's right. Your mom's dead—"

Everything went by in a blur and the next thing I knew, I was on the floor on top of Tommy, slapping his face as hard as I could. Despite having his arms held up before his face in attempt to shield himself from every punch I threw, he was utterly defenceless. Everyone just stood in a circle around us, too shocked to do anything as they watched me rip out strands off his hair while Tommy screeched out in pain.

Soon enough, I was pulled off of Tommy, who now had terrible scratches all over his face and arms along with some minor bald spots all over his scalp. I breathed out in heavy and sporadic pants, my chest heaving up and down as the adrenaline was still running through my veins. Another teacher rushed to Tommy's side, whose eyes were welled up with tears of humiliation. I smiled smugly in satisfaction, not once caring about the murmurs floating in the air or the wide-eyed stares.

"Florence." A stern voice spoke up from behind, causing me to look up, only to see Mrs Johnson staring back down at me with a cold and disapproving look. "A lady should never lash out like that, no matter what is said or done to provoke her." She then ushered Tommy over, who hesitated to come any closer. "Now, I want you to apologise to Tommy."

"I don't want to." I hissed, crossing my arms as I glared at the boy.

"Florence." Mrs Johnson warned.

I sighed then lowered my head, averting my eyes to the ground. "I'm sorry."

Mrs Johnson smiled and nodded her head in approval. "Good—"

"I'm sorry you got your butt kicked by a girl." I smirked, causing the two teachers to gasp out loud.

—

"I hate her. I hate her. I hate her." I growled, stabbing my burger repeatedly as I narrowed my eyes at them. "I hate her so fucking much." I glared daggers at the two as they both sat at another table diagonal from us. Leo slung his arm around Michelle in comfort while she feigned sadness, using it to her advantage as she snuggled closer to her.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't quite catch that. You hate her, is that right?" Kathryn teased. I looked over at her with a blank expression, in which she responded with a nervous gulp. "Too soon?"

I couldn't help but chuckle, knowing that she was only trying to cheer me up. I glanced back at Michelle and Leo, my face hardening once again as I clenched my jaw tightly. Michelle locked eyes with mine, then smirked as she cuddled closer towards Leo. The grip I had around my fork tightened, squeezing it so hard that it broke the plastic material.

You know what, fuck it.

I stood up abruptly, causing Kathryn to jump in surprise. "That's it. I'm telling him the truth." I scowled, and before she could even reply, I was already marching towards the table where Leo and Michelle sat.

I stopped in front of their table with crossed arms and furrowed eyebrows, instantly capturing their attention. "Leo, I need to talk to you." I hissed through gritted teeth as my eyes managed to find Michelle's, glaring at her in hopes that a dagger might go through her head.

I just want to rip that smug son of a bitch into shreds.

Leo's eyebrows knitted together slightly, staring at me as if I was a Rubik's cube he was trying to solve. He soon nodded his head and stood up to leave, not before being grabbed by the wrist by Michelle. He gave her a questioning look, his eyes flicking to her hand attached to his wrist with slight irritation.

"While you're up, can you get me a soda?" Michelle asked with a small sad smile, adding some sniffles for an extra effect. I rolled my eyes and scoffed out loud, accidentally feeding her satisfaction.

Leo huffed out in exasperation. "But I really need to talk to Flo—"

"Please?" She asked, jutting her lip out in a pout as she stared up at him with wide, almost teary, eyes.

He sighed and nodded. "Sure." He walked around the table and stopped when he reached me. "I'll be right back, okay?" He attempted to flash a small smile at me, but I just glared back in return, still angry by his quick judgements and accusations earlier today. He frowned, then sighed, walking straight past me.

"Thank you!" Michelle called after Leo, a smile plastered onto her face until he was out of hearing range. She then turned to me with a wicked grin, her hands clasping together as she leaned her chin against them. "Don't even bother trying to convince him — we both know who he's going to believe more." She sneered.

I narrowed my eyes at her and placed both hands on the table. "You're underestimating me too much. You're walking into dangerous territory."

She smirked. "Dangerous, you say? Funny you brought that up." She chuckled. "Danger seems to follow you wherever you go and whoever you were with, especially your mother." I froze at the mention of my mother, and I could already feel the lump forming in my throat. I stood back, no longer leaning against the table as I stared at her with wide, unblinking eyes.

"No, you're lying." I shook my head in denial as humourless chuckles rolled off my tongue. "You don't even know me. You couldn't have known."

Michelle rolled her eyes at me. "God, you really are stupid, aren't you?" She scoffed, making my fingernails cut through the skin of my palms. "Haven't you heard of the internet? You can find anything there — it just requires a little bit of digging."

There's no fucking way she could've found those articles. My dad has done too much of a spectacular job of hiding them.

"You don't know what the hell you're talking about!" I roared, my voice slightly cracking from the volume my voice was projected at. Heads were now turned towards us with every pair of eyes glued to the two of us, eager to witness the scene unfold. "You better shut your mouth or I'll do it for you." I muttered, loud enough for only her to hear.

Michelle smugly smiled, calming leaning back in her chair as she crossed her ams in a relaxed manner. "So violent." She huffed. "Haven't your mother ever thought you not to be rude to strangers?" She clicked her tongue in disapproval. I could feel a little bit of blood starting to rush out from the deep cuts my fingernails had established on my palms.

"To strangers? Yes — human beings, to be more specific." I shrugged nonchalantly, despite the blood boiling within my veins. "But you're not human — you're a fucking snake." I spat.

She shook her head at me as she let out a sinister chuckle. "Of course your mother wouldn't have taught you some proper manners." She then stopped and smirked. "After all, as the saying goes, like mother like daughter—"

Then I snapped.

And it was déjà vu all over again.

WEW. Finally found some spare time to finish this chapter. Hope you've enjoyed it! Please VOTE and COMMENT. Thanks!