Byte Me: Byte Me, #1

By Celinda Labrousse

Your life
or the Truth. 

What would you choose? 

High school parties are supposed to be fun, not life threatening. Too bad no one warned Mae about party zombies. When students start disappearing, there is only one choice:
Play the game or die trying. 
Because once you join you can never stop.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Between the Presses
• Release date: Feb 22, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201635640

Celinda Labrousse

Celinda Labrousse is the author of 1 AM a collection of poetry from thoughts we think when we can’t sleep. She lives in the Northwest with her husband, daughter and cat Tootles.

Book preview

Chapter 1

What is it about best friends, falling, and me, I will never know. I might have experience with both: having a best friend and the inability to stay upright when it counts. But combine the two? Yeah, not so much. So I knew the moment the word kiss came out of her mouth that this was not going to be my day.

Kiss me, she said, standing on her tiptoes, her lips pressed out towards me.  I popped my head up so fast our faces collided.

Ouch. That's not exactly what I had in mind, Lee Ann said. I blushed as she rubbed her nose. Her makeup was unperturbed by our collision. Her waist-long blonde hair remained tied back in her ‘I’m trying for smart today’ bun. Which looked effortless, messy and cute on her. A brown curl fell across my face. Even armed with a straight iron, she and I had never gotten my hair to look nice in that style. Or any style for that matter. It plain refused.

What? I stuttered. Wherever Lee Ann was headed with this I didn't want to go. 

Kiss me! She puckered her bright red lips, blocking me from getting the rest of my books from my locker. 

No way, I said, pushing her aside. Man, this bag seemed to be gaining weight. What were textbooks made of these days, lead? Two more years. That’s all I had left. Hopefully the books wouldn’t break my back before then. The strap of my backpack cut into my shoulder. I slammed the locker shut and made to go towards our next class. At least I had back fat to protect me. Lee Ann had negative body fat numbers except where it counted. Not that I didn’t have a chest and butt. It just wasn’t toned like hers.

Get those out of my face, I said, pushing her back again.

Her lips started to pucker; all candy apple red, her backup flavor. Proof I'm not the only one running slow this morning. Or maybe I’m just not the first person she’d tried to kiss since breakfast.

She tucked her bottom lip under the top one. Her face produced one of the most attractive pouts on the planet. No one pouted like Lee Ann.

Come on. Just a little peck?

N capital O! I said, heading for the exit. Why do you keep asking, anyway? I turned my body to face her better as we walked out the door. Our next class being Japanese required that we huff it to the top of the atrium; a good five minute walk from my locker. I looked at my watch. We had three minutes to the bell. I couldn’t afford to get on Mrs. Chow’s bad side. Not with my grades. 

Mom played her tunes this weekend and this halfway decent song played about this girl who kissed another girl and liked it. I wanted to give kissing a girl a try, she said. Please?

She was begging. I hated it when she begged. Her dark brown eyes were made for puppy dog faces. It’s why no guy I’d ever known could tell her no. Luckily, I wasn’t a guy.

The truth was there no way on God's green earth my first kiss would be with a girl friend. MTV set me straight about that. Our next class neared. 

What's wrong with all those boys’ kisses? I made the mistake of turning to ask her while still walking forward. 

Hotness alert, Lee Ann warned while avoiding my question. Too little, too late. Static shock coursed through me my body collided with another student running late to Japanese. Our bodies, bags, and books landed in a heap, mixing together on the floor.

Oh please, what had gravity done to me this time? I didn’t want to, but I opened my eyes anyway to survey the wreckage only to find myself face to face with the hottest guy in school. 

Hey, Mae. The sound of Gideon's voice enveloped me. Can you swoon when you are already on the floor? Or maybe it was just the contact with the heat that was making my splattered body weak at the knees. We're kind of blocking the rest of the class.

‘Oh, God! Please no,’ I prayed. I blinked rapidly, hoping the face would change. Of all the people to run into, why Gideon Main? I heard my heart pounding in my ears. Indecision froze me in place.

Ah, Mae? He said my name. Gideon Main knew my name after sharing one class together, Japanese. The natives are getting restless. 

He was right. A crowd gathered around the door. An Indian girl with long hair and short legs tried to step over us, but between Gideon’s and my bodies, books, and papers, her legs would not reach.

Get out of the way, she said as she stepped on me, unable to step around. The heel of her platforms dug a hole in my back. I turned my head up to stare up at her, the pain obvious on my face.

I caught a glimpse of her anatomically correct zombie bite mark tattoo showing below her micro mini as she passed. Bite My Butt was walking all over me; of course it was her. Only Jasmine Basu would feel so entitled as to not give a person the chance to stand up to get out of her way.

Sorry, sorry, I apologized instead of saying what I really wanted: ‘Impatient much?’ But those words wouldn’t form. Bite My Butt, as I liked to call her, was the head cheerleader. And she’d already proven that she could make my life miserable, so I kept my side comments to myself. Holding my aching side, I started collecting my stuff to make a path. When I finished I took a minute to regain my balance before trying to stand. 

Out of the way, fatso. Two hands pushed me back down. All of my stuff spread out to cover the entrance to class once again. My full body flattened into Gideon yet again. At this rate he might think I was doing it on purpose.

Shove off, John, I muttered between gritted teeth. Bite My Butt’s boyfriend and the self proclaimed hottest boy in school, John Griffin stepped in the middle of my back, using me as some sort of gang plank. He also happened to be my sworn enemy.

I got back up to my knees and started grabbing for my stuff again. Every part of my body was on fire. Rage and embarrassment fought to take control.

I think you're forgetting something, Gideon said into my ear. I blanked. What had I possibly forgot? 

Gideon still lay beneath me. My embarrassment grew in leaps and bounds. I didn't believe my cheeks turned this color. I hurriedly stood up and got out of his way. In the process I backed into Lee Ann, in the line of people that hadn’t stepped over us to get into class. Jerks, the lot of them. It wasn’t like they would be tardy. The bell was at least a minute from ringing.

Sorry, I said to Lee Ann and Gideon. I was loaded with apologies today.

Gideon stood up, brushed off his pressed jeans, picked up his bag and headed into class without another word. 

'Wow,' I thought, 'his hot backside is a view I'll never tire of.' Lee Ann stared at the same body part I did. The second bell rang, waking us up enough to step into class. 

You don't want to be in Gideon's way or you might be crushed, Lee Ann teased as we made our way past his desk to our assigned seats. 

This time I crushed him, I pointed out.

Well, you do spend this period crushing on him, she said back.

We took our seats in the back of class. Midterm exams were behind us, so the teacher put on a classic Japanese movie. Un-subbed, of course, but hey, Lee Ann and I seen it subbed.

Isn't Anime the best part about this class? Lee Ann said a little too loudly.

Shhhh, said Bite My Butt. Some of us care. The two girls that made up her group giggled.

It isn't like the movie's new, I whispered back.

Shhhhh! Bite My Butt needed to get a life. Our conversation paused.

Why didn't you? Lee Ann asked when the movie got to a lull point. 

Why didn't I what?

You know perfectly well, she said.

Shhhh.

No time like the present I always say.  She lived it too. Lee Ann went through boyfriends like I went through Baskin and Robbins ice cream on my period.

No way, I mouthed trying to keep the noise down for the hussy posse. I was ready when Lee Ann hit me with her pout but not for another shhhing.

Shhhhhhhh!  one of Bite My Butt’s sidekicks chimed in.

'You shhhhhh yourself,' I told her off in my head. They were getting annoying. The movie wasn’t that good. Of all the classic anime that the teacher could have picked, this wasn’t at the top of anyone's list. At least not in this room. It was from the 50s or something ridiculous like that.

Lee Ann stopped the conversation for a moment. The movie was picking up again. I flipped through my notebook to one of my favorite Japanese projects.

Fine, but you know you're going to regret it, she whispered.

I sighed. I knew she was right, but this was one regret that I'd live with. 

Tommy would never pressure me, I said.

Whatever, Lee Ann went back to staring at the movie. He was your brother’s best friend, not yours. I’m your best friend. You need to get over him.

I went back to my self-inflicted assignment. 

Maeve, someone from the front said, Maeve McMillan, 

Um, Mae, Mrs. Chow is calling you, Lee Ann said, poking me hard in the ribs. 

'Doesn't Mrs. Chow remember my name by now?’ I said to myself. Being a Japanese immigrant married to a Chinese-American soldier did not give her the right to refuse to study English. ‘She seems competent enough to remember, so why is she calling me Maeve today?’ I wondered. No one calls me Maeve, my mom included.

What? I looked up from my work.

Mrs. Chow held her cellphone in one hand and used her other hand to wave me forward.

The movie's over? I asked Lee Ann. She shook her head. 

No, she just stopped the tape and started calling your name. Your full name. Full names were never good.

Maeve McMillan, Mrs. Chow repeated. Everyone in the class turned to peer at me.

‘What is going on?’ I thought. Did falling suddenly become a crime? Or had she gotten upset about us chatting? We were in the back and we did it all the time. She’d never called me to the front before on it.

And bring that with you, she pointed at my notebook.

Oh no, Mae! Bite My Butt mocked.

Not helping. I snatched the book up and buried it in my large chest. If I hide the evidence she might forget about all of this. She didn't forget.

Hm. She peered over the contents of the book and ripped out a page. 

Write this out on the board, she said, sitting back down and leaving me all alone at the front of the room.

I looked down at the page. I could feel the blood fleeing my face as I realized what was there.

But... I started.

No ‘buts’! Mrs. Chow said with force. There was a very strange look in her eyes.

Please, I whispered, tears starting to form in my eyes.

Write or you fail the semester, Mrs. Chow said bluntly.

Forcing down the tears, I picked up a small piece of white chalk and started to draw.

The chalk shook in my hand. My palms were slick with sweat.

You can do this, Mae, I whispered to myself. The chalk dropped from my fingers, hitting the floor. The sound echoed off the walls. I reached down to pick it up, only to have it fall again.

‘Why is this happening?’ I thought. Teachers never cared about us before, as long as you got the work done. Today's class is a movie, for crying out loud.

We're waiting, Miss McMillan, Mrs. Chow chided.

I picked up the chalk again. It tried to fall, but I gripped it hard. I could do this. Being in front of the class was only one of my fears. Other people did it no problem, and didn’t make a fool out of themselves. If Bite My Butt could do it, so could I. I stood up straight, taking confidence from my thoughts, and promptly hit my head on the metal chalk holder by the edge of the board. Chalk, dry erase markers, and metal went flying. 

The class broke out in laughter.

I expect I might need a nurse, I told Mrs. Chow after checking the back of my head for blood. My fingers came away chalky. There did not appear to be anything bright red or sticky, but that meant little. I’d once gotten a rock thrown at my head. The bump didn’t come up for three hours. This could be like that.

What a clutz, Bite My Butt shouted over the laughter.

Ms. Basu, that is quite enough. As for you Ms. McMillan, stop dawdling and get to work, Mrs. Chow said. The stern look in her eye was telling. I pointed the dirty expression she deserved at the chalkboard. 

I drew the scalloped edges first, lingering on the details of the drawing. My hope was to avoid the inevitability of having to write the names. Chalk's a hard medium. Straight lines take time. I used this information to my advantage. I took my time making the circle indentations inside each marked side before moving on to the inside border. I could hear fingers drumming. I looked over my shoulder. Bite My Butt had an expression of pure boredom on her face. She wasn’t the only one.

I swear, Ms. McMillan. Mrs. Chow got up from her desk and came over to where I was by the chalkboard. She snatched the drawing from me and called, Mr. Main. 

Yes, Gideon responded.

Oh no! No, no, no, no, no! 

She handed the paper to Gideon. 

Help her finish this, she said, sitting back down expectantly. The eyes of the entire class zoomed in on us. Gideon stared down at the paper. The Japanese writing was my death sentence.

‘Please God, don't let him realize what's on it,’ I prayed. A smile crept across his face.

I died. Right there was the end of me. How was I ever going to go back to school? I’d be one of those high school dropouts. My mom wouldn’t mind. I had a decent job. People said the GED wasn’t that hard of a test. 

Gideon snickered as he filled in words.  I kept retracing the lines of the trim on my side. I bumped into his shoulder trying to reach a loop at the top of the board.

Need to share? he asked, putting the paper between us as we worked. I shook my head no. I didn't need the paper to continue. I had the whole thing memorized in three different languages. I just didn’t want the whole class to see what I’d written. It was from my notebook. No one else was ever supposed to find out about it. 

Japanese is my best class, I said. Late night anime paid off. I had been promoted to third level as a freshman. LeeAnn, John, and I were the only freshmen in the class. The rest were juniors or seniors. Except it landed me here, I reminded myself. 

I glanced over at Gideon as the bell rang, marking the end of the period. The first part was finished; nothing else. He wasn't at the names yet, either. I almost breathed a sigh of relief. He pocketed the note before heading back to his desk. My note. This was so not happening.

I stood unmoving, trying to come up with words. Everyone filed out for lunch, including Gideon with my note in his pocket.

Can you tell me about all of that? Lee Ann asked as we got our things. She waved her hand at the board. 

Don't ask because I don't understand myself, I confessed. We finished packing up in relative silence. At our lockers Lee Ann pressed the subject.

So, which one of your 'projects' was it, anyway?

I shrugged. The One. Lee Ann's eyes got super big. 

Yeah, my One, I said. In Japanese. 

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