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Chapter 14, Part 6
Back to: Chapter 14, Part 5 Next: Chapter 15, Part 1

Valo bowed her head and closed her eyes. The past few days had been increasingly difficult for her to deal with. I don’t know how much more I can take, she thought. The insults, the cruelty… it’s too much for me to handle. I don’t know what to do anymore.

Valo flopped over onto her bed and stared at the ceiling. She closed her eyes, seeking an answer and finding none. She rolled over onto her side and stared at the wall, as though a solution were written on it in vivid letters. She sighed and began to pray silently.

Hey, she thought, sorry we haven’t talked in a while. I know I try to talk to you to thank you or ask for help, but I know it’s not enough. I apologize. That being said, I need some help, or at least, some reassurance. As you know, things are getting bad. Really bad. So, I’m not going to ask for any miracles. I’m not going to ask you to make the situation go away, because I know it won’t. But at the very least, I would like some strength, some courage so that I can deal with this situation in the best possible way. If I have enough strength to handle the problem without forgetting who I am, then not all is lost. Please, send me guidance and strength and courage so that I can survive this. Let it be so, and let none be harmed.


Valo closed her eyes for several seconds, listening to the sound of her breath. If she expected to hear reassuring words, they did not come. She sighed and sat up, then leaned over and turned on her radio. The Linkin Park song “By Myself” blared through the speakers:

What do I do to ignore them behind me?
Do I follow my instincts blindly?
Do I hide my pride from these bad dreams?
And give in to sad thoughts that are maddening?
Do I sit here and try to stand it?
Or do I try to catch them red-handed?
Do I trust some and get fooled by phoniness,
Or do I trust nobody and live in loneliness?
Because I can't hold on when I'm stretched so thin
I make the right moves but I'm lost within
I put on my daily facade but then
I just end up getting hurt again
By myself…


Valo smiled a little, relating to the lyrics of the song. She switched stations and found herself listening to “Take It Easy” by the Eagles:

Take it easy, take it easy
Don't let the sound of your own wheels
Drive you crazy
Lighten up while you still can
Don't even try to understand
Just find a place to make your stand
And take it easy…


Valo smiled a bit more and changed stations once more and caught part of “Don’t Let It Bring You Down”:

Don't let it bring you down
It's only castle's burning
Find someone who's turning
And you will come around…


Valo chuckled softly. “Okay, I get the message,” she muttered. “Don’t let the problems drag me down. Fine…”

___________________________


Tiffani fidgeted in her seat. The jury’s been discussing this for over two hours! she thought. Shouldn’t they be about done by now? She looked worriedly over at Lyle, who smiled reassuringly at her.

“Calm down,” Lyle whispered. “If these people have any common sense, they’ll see things your way.”

“That’s what I’m worried about,” Tiffani responded. “That they won’t have that kind of common sense.”

Lyle squeezed Tiffani’s shoulder. “Relax. I know things are going to go well.”

“How?” Tiffani joked. “Did you bribe the jury?”

Lyle chuckled. “Nope, they’re not that stupid,” he replied.

The jury silently reentered the courtroom. “See,” Lyle whispered, “they’re here. I just know they’ve made the right choice!”

Maya nodded toward the jury. “Have you reached a verdict?” she asked.

The representative for the jury rose and smiled, looking slightly apologetic as she glanced over at Tiffani. “We, the members of the jury find the defendant, the Oakdale High School Cheerleading and Dance Team, not guilty.”

Tiffani’s jaw dropped. What? she thought. They see nothing wrong with what’s going on, even with all the evidence we brought forth? What the hell is wrong with them? She could not hear anything Maya said. Lyle had to help her rise and gently guide her out of the courtroom and into the hall.

“I have to go,” Lyle said softly to her. “Are you going to be okay?”


Tiffani nodded wordlessly, still in shock. Time passed, although she was unsure of whether it was seconds or minutes. Ophelia and Emily hurried over.

“We heard all about what happened!” Emily gasped out. She hugged Tiffani tightly. “I’m sorry things went so badly.”

“Yeah, those jerks had no common sense,” Ophelia added.

Tiffani squirmed a little, shrugging off Emily’s embrace, yet secretly pleased that Ophelia and Emily actually cared about her. It’s funny, she thought, my so-called friends, the cheerleaders, have been nothing but mean to me. Yet, these two… as cruel as I’ve been to them, they don’t hate me. They’ve been kind to me, even when I haven’t returned the favor. They’ve been better friends to me than those cheerleading idiots. I’ll never admit to it, but they’re the Clique News Crash people are the closest I have to friends.

Ophelia smiled kindly at Tiffani. “Hey, let’s go get some ice cream. At least then, the day won’t be a total loss, right?”

Tiffani smiled a little. “Sure,” she agreed. She slung her arms over the shoulders of the two girls. “Let’s go.”

____________________________


“Hey, sweetie,” Grant said, setting down a sack of fast food. He planted a kiss on the top of Valo’s head. She smiled up at him. “What’s up?” he asked her.

Valo grinned and leaned against Grant. “I just finished deleting and blocking all of those negative people,” she explained. “And also…” Here, she paused. She started again. “And also, I plan on only going in that negative place for work. I’ll be spending more time in my room, of course, but at least it’s better than dealing with those jerks.”

Grant nodded. “It sounds like you’ve got this all figured out,” he remarked.

Valo sighed and replied, “I may have lost the battle, but I will win the war.”

Click Next: Chapter 15, Part 1 to continue...

 
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