Right before lunch…
“Julie come out of the bathroom. You can’t spend the entire day in there.” Dana said to the closed door. Julie had locked herself in the bathroom for most of the morning. They had one period before lunch started, and Julie showed no sign of leaving the bathroom. Unable to get the door open, her friends were starting to wonder if they should go for help.
Dana was trying to talk Julie out, but her attempts were rebuffed accompanied by false sniffling and sobs. Julie had hoped that the sounds of crying would deter any unwanted company. And it had worked, until Dana came around during her free period. Because after a good hour of crying, Julie was left with nothing but anger. And left to stew for another hour, Julie felt downright murderous.
She was angry at Brian for “dumping” her (though the two had never been in an official relationship), angry at Frieda for playing her like a violin, angry at Spencer for “stealing” Eric away from her, angry at everyone in school for publicizing her “breakup” with Brian, and most of all, angry at Eric for not suffering the same way she was.
Another small part of her was angry at her parents. But they could be dealt with later. Right now, Julie was focused on getting even with her schoolmates.
“If you don’t come out on your own I’ll go get the principal. And then he’ll probably call your parents. Do you really want that?” Dana asked. There was a brief moment of silence before Julie responded.
“No…” was all she said.
“Then open the door.” Dana sighed. It sounded like Julie was shuffling around inside the bathroom. Dana took a step back and Julie opened the door. Her eyes were red from crying, but the expression on her face read anger.
“I know you’re upset, but to be fair it IS kinda…”
“Save the speech Dana. I’m not interested in getting lectured.” Julie said before storming off. Dana tried to follow Julie, but as the bell rang Julie was lost in a sea of faces. Most of them making a point to avoid the angry girl.
Julie was glad she had lunch next. She had a plan, and the sooner she got IT done, the better she’d feel. She waited until everyone else was settled before scoping out the room in search of Eric. She found him, sitting beside Frieda.
“Good. Two weres with one stone.” Julie thought as she approached the two. Eric and Frieda looked like they were having a nice conversation, but that all went to hell when Julie walked straight up to the table.
Julie didn’t even care that everyone’s eyes were on her when she cleared her throat and interrupted the conversation.
“Oh. Uh, hi Julie.” Frieda said. Julie glared at Frieda and was about to mouth off, when she realized something was off. She sniffed the air, accustom to smelling Eric’s normal scent, but couldn’t smell him. All she could smell was Frieda’s scent. And something slightly more masculine, still panther. It couldn’t be…
“You son of a bitch!” Julie spat, the revelation that Eric was no longer normal snapping some thin cord inside her brain. Eric HAD prepared himself for the possibility that Julie would try to attack him again. He wasn’t, however, expecting her to launch herself across the table and start pounding his chest.
“Julie! What the heck?” Eric said, trying to push her off him. Though he wasn’t a were, he did feel a rush of adrenaline. But Julie was persistent, and she kept hitting him. Calling him all manner of rude names, shouting that Eric was ruining her life. And then she started insulting Frieda and Spencer.
That did it for Eric. He could live with Julie spitting names at him, but not Spencer, and to a lesser extent Frieda. Julie wasn’t going to act like a rational person, so Eric saw no reason to act like a gentleman anymore. He’d had enough of her nonsense. He got a firm grip on Julie’s shoulder and yanked her down to the ground. Julie was caught off guard by Eric’s sudden display of strength, and crumpled to the ground.
Eric quickly got to her feet and stared at Julie. His fists balled by his sides, and heart pounding in his ears. He wasn’t taking anymore of Julie’s crap, and if she tried to attack him again, he wasn’t about to knuckle under and let her.
Julie was only motionless for a second or two, before getting to her feet again. She spit, literally, at Eric before lunging towards him. But Frieda grabbed Julie from behind and tried her best to restrain her. Frieda didn’t dare shift, knowing there were other normals in the lunch room. Thankfully the teachers sitting a few tables away jumped into action and helped Frieda drag Julie into the hallway. The emotionally disturbed mermaid, kicking, screaming, and shouting obscenities all the while.
Eric watched as Julie was dragged away, still behaving like a lunatic. He couldn’t have been happier he caught her cheating on him. At the time he felt like the rug was pulled out from under him. Now, it was like a blessing in disguise.
He turned around, meeting many of the onlookers’ gazes as he did. Eric wasn’t sure what to say or do. So he just shrugged.
“What are you gonna do? Julie’s nuts.” he said. The cafeteria erupted into laughter, and a few guys shouted out their support of Eric’s statement. Julie’s friends, Dana included, couldn’t help but join the chorus of laughter. Because in the past week or so, Julie had proven herself to be quite nuts.
She’d been a woman possessed, determined to ruin Eric’s life even though she had been saying for months that Eric wasn’t that interesting. But as soon as someone else showed the least bit of interest in him, Julie wanted him back.
Word of the fight quickly spread through the school. By the time freshman lunch came to an end, the entire school was buzzing about Julie’s breakdown in the cafeteria. Spencer found herself laughing, though was more relieved that Eric wasn’t hurt. Nate, Ben and Alex were also quite amused to learn that Eric had handled the situation so well.
“Someone better call the police. Eric’s been replaced by one of the Body Snatchers.” Nate joked to his friends. In reality, Eric had finally found the nerve to stand up for himself. It was a little late, but better late than never.