Don't look 'em in the eye,
Don't look 'em in the eye,
Or cross my heart,
It'll make you want to die.

Brie could hear her mother's sing-song voice repeat the rhyme over and over again in her head. When she was little her mom would take her tiny finger in hand and together they would draw that cross over her heart. The verse had been drummed into her thousands of times and was part of her earliest memories.

Today, the hardest day of her life, Brie would follow her mother's advice.

The school bus pulled up and the big yellow doors peeled apart. Clutching her backpack to her chest like a shield, Brie climbed the stairs with feet that felt like concrete blocks. She had heard the phrase "dead man walking" and had no idea what it really meant, but it sure seemed to fit how she felt right now.

Brie flashed her pass at the driver but didn't make eye contact. Instead, she looked at the large round steering wheel, the knob for the emergency door release, the sign that said no animals or eating on the bus, anywhere she could--except at his face.

"Welcome aboard," the man said. "Go ahead and find a seat." He sounded like he was trying to be friendly, but he was clearly agitated. Brie glanced in his direction, focusing on the multitude of colorful pins stuck to his vest and forced a smile on her face, knowing it probably looked more like a grimace than a grin.

Keeping her head down, she followed the rubber aisle runner. She didn't raise her eyes, but through her peripheral vision could tell the bus was nearly full with middle and high school students. Voices around her dropped to a whisper and the phrase "new girl" bounced back and forth across the seats like a soccer ball. Her cheeks heated. She could feel the other students watching her, and their stares bore holes in the little confidence she had.

Brie desperately hoped to find an empty seat in the front of the bus so she didn't have to walk the gauntlet to the back. In the third row on the left, she got lucky and found a spot next to a little blond girl. Doing a happy dance in her head, Brie slid onto the green vinyl bench. She'd hit the bonus round here--she wouldn't have to go any further and the girl was young. Slouching in her seat, Brie made herself as small as possible and glued her eyes to her backpack.

*

Emma watched the new girl get on the bus. The teenager kept her head down and watched her feet, like she was scared or something. Em thought she might be pretty but it was hard to tell with her hair over her face. She seemed nervous and kind of sad. Emma felt sorry for her. It was scary going to a new school. When the girl took a seat next to her Emma decided she would be the new girl's first friend.

"Hi. I'm Emma. Jade usually sits with me, but she's home sick today."

The new girl squeezed her eyes shut, making her forehead wrinkle.

Emma's dad did that when he had a headache and she wondered if the girl needed some aspirin.

"You're new in town, right? I mean, if you weren't, I would have seen you around before. What's your name? I'm eleven, how old are you?

The new girl started to bite her fingernail but didn't answer.

"Are you sick like Jade?" Emma asked. "Because the way your face is all scrunched-up it looks like you're going to hurl."

*

Brie didn't want to be rude, but she knew if she answered the little girl's questions it would only encourage her to ask more. Unfortunately, the girl didn't understand when someone gave you the silent treatment it meant they didn't want to talk. Talking was a problem for Brie. Because generally when you carried on a conversation with someone the other person expected you to look them in the eye.

When the little girl told Brie she looked like she was going to "hurl," Brie couldn't help but laugh. Like Pops always said, laughter was the best medicine and she found herself relaxing a bit.

Wearily, without looking directly at her, Brie tried to get a reading on the little girl. When the back wheels of the bus fishtailed on the icy country road throwing everyone to the left, Brie bumped into the eleven-year-old and got her answer. Tensing up, she waited for the zap of electricity. But it never came. Brie took a deep breath and blew it out of her mouth.

Emma was safe.

Meeting the little girl's faded-blue-jeans-colored irises, Brie thought she'd never seen prettier eyes before.

Smiling she said, "Hi, Emma. I'm Brie. You're right; I am new in town. I've only been here for a couple days. I'm seventeen. This is my first day at Piedmont High."

*

Six rows back on the right, Gary Johnson sat with several senior members of the varsity football team. He stretched his muscular arms out across the top of the seat, taking up the whole bench. No one ever sat next to him. They knew better than to ask him to move. He was the captain of the football team and at six-foot-two, 250-pounds—he was a badass. No one dared mess with him.

He watched as the pathetic-looking girl got on the bus. Walking down the aisle, she kept her head bent and her face covered.

Just his luck, a fresh piece of ass had shown up at school and she was uglier than his dog. Gary's mouth pulled up in a sneer.

There was just something about her that irritated him. Nerdy girl's hair was the color of mud and hung like a closed curtain over her face. He couldn't tell exactly, but it didn't look like she had much going on under that ridiculous white parka. It made her look like a giant campfire marshmallow. And her ugly, large glasses were the worst.

The way she hid behind her hair made the anger bubble up inside him again. Before his brain even realized what he was doing, his knuckles hit the hard seat back in front of him. A loud womp cut through the student chatter. Everyone froze and lowered their eyes.

Gary raised his bloodied hand to his face. He studied it for a long minute, turning it over and around, as if it were a foreign object. Finally, he shook it out and swore loudly. He hoped it wasn't broken. That would be an issue. The football coach and his dad would kick his ass. He'd have to wash the blood off before he went into school and find a way to hide the damn bruises.

It was all that new girl's fault. That stupid, stupid new girl. Hatred wrapped itself around Gary like a snake, until he practically couldn't breathe.

*

Behind the group of football players several rows back, three cheerleaders watched the dark haired girl take a seat.

"Who's that? She must be new," Paige leaned in and whispered to the other two girls.

"Must be," Brittany replied, "I wonder who she is."

Jordyn's eyes widened when she remembered a conversation she had heard in the office. "I overheard Mr. Turner on the phone Thursday talking about a new student. I'll bet that's who she is. He was all serious like. I wonder what her deal is."

"Damn, I don't know, but she sure looks terrified," Paige said, collecting her things and swinging her backpack over her shoulder.

*

The bus slowed and let out a loud hiss as it pulled into a parking space. When Brie enrolled on Friday, the woman in the office told her the bus made one stop for both the middle and high school, so she knew everyone would be getting off here.

Brie let the others in the seats ahead of her go and waited to exit. When it was her turn, she stood up, stepped out into the aisle, and was suddenly thrown forward. She went sprawling onto the floor, hitting her lip on a large metal bolt under a bench.

Emma screamed, "Hey!"

The taste of blood filled Brie's mouth. When she brought her fingers up to her lips, they came away wet and bright red. She turned to see who pushed her from behind. As she rolled over, her eyes locked with a hulking giant of a boy.

The vision came at Brie with such loathing and disgust it stole her breath.

A woman laid across black and white kitchen tile, her legs stretched out, one hand flat on the floor holding her up, and the other cupping a mangled jaw. One of her eyes was swollen shut and her lips were covered with welts. Hair the same color as the boy's was matted dark red, and a nose that matched his gushed blood. Over the cowering woman the boy stood, just as he loomed over Brie now.

The boy's eyes narrowed, and then widened with surprise.

Brie knew his secret. But that wasn't the worst part. As their eyes locked, information passed between them both ways.

Gary could tell she knew his secret, too.

__________

Author's note: Thank you for reading, voting, and commenting.