"Griz, wait!" Barbiee yelled, chasing after me.
"If you take one more step forward, I will cut off your legs, Steven!" I heard Chloe shout from a distance.
When I reached the school's garden, I finally stopped.
"Griz, please, look at this first," Barbiee said, approaching me.
She turned on her phone, and immediately a video played. It was Nikki yelling at Steven in a club.
"Steve, I'm sorry, but how can you choose Duckling over me?" she cried out.
"Nikki, I never chose Griz over you," Steven replied.
"But you went to her house, bro. How else would you know about her great drawings?" one of his friends, Ryan, added.
"She literally begged me for a ride, and I was bored—I needed something to do. No one can ever replace you, Nikki, but you still broke my heart into a thousand pieces," Steven said, using his lies to tarnish my image and praise himself.
"She's been hitting on you for a long time, Steve. Haven't you noticed?" Tia said with a smile.
"She's not my type—not even a friend. Enough of this nonsense," Steven yelled before walking away.
I felt suffocated and numb.
"Griz! Griz!" Barbiee called, shaking my shoulders.
I slapped her hand away and shouted, "Get out of my life, please! I was fine before this. Please hang out with people who are your standard, okay?" Tears streamed down my face as I ran away.
Just when I thought I was having a good time, nonsense from both home and school kept coming at me.
As I ran down the road, a car suddenly stopped in front of me. I looked up.
"Get in. Now!" It was my dad.
I opened the back door and slid into the back seat. Without another word, my dad drove off.
"What's wrong with you?" he asked, trying to control his temper. I didn't answer.
"Listen, I understand you're upset that I lied to you, but that's no reason to run into the street," he continued. Still, I said nothing.
"Are you that mad at me? Baby, I'm sorry I didn't tell you about her sooner. I swear it only started recently. Come on, talk to your dad," he pleaded.
His apology touched my heart, but my pain wasn't because of him. You all know why I'm like this.
"Dad, I'm fine. I'm just not feeling well. I suppose you're headed to the office, but could you drop me home?" I said quietly.
"Okay, as long as you're not mad at me again," he replied. I nodded and forced a smile.
A few minutes later, he dropped me off and said as he drove away, "I'll get you your favorite ice cream—chocolate—tonight!"
I smiled faintly and walked into the house.