A week had passed since that new girl Claire talked to me. She didn’t say anything to me since that incident with Jordon.
She had found herself some friends. I didn’t know if I knew them but it was a girl and two guys. She seemed really happy with them.
As usual Jordon kept bullying me at school and I kept getting stares and whispers thrown my way. Jordon was being more brutal now.
He started giving me punches and kicks. It was a good thing that he was being considerate at least and only left bruises on the places that could easily be covered by clothing like my back and stomach.
It was a Monday and I was walking to school as usual. The cars were passing by me and the weather was just great.
I had my hood over my head and I was listening to music. Ironically music was the only thing that I always found comforting.
Reaching the school grounds, I didn’t take long to get inside the school building.
I made my way towards my locker keeping my head down, so that I wouldn’t attract a certain jerk. I opened the metal door and got my books out that I needed for today and I closed it.
Just as the locker door closed, my whole body was slammed into it. I bit my bottom lip to not scream in pain. I already had a huge bruise on my shoulder from all the pushes he had given me since day one.
‘When would he just give up?’
I heard his disgusting laughter and I just wished for the beating session to finish up quickly. It wasn’t entertaining to get beat up on a daily basis.
I turned around slowly and waited for his fist to connect with my stomach but it didn’t happen instead he stood there in front of me with a smirk playing on his lips.
He laughed once again before talking.
“I’m sorry but today I won’t be able to beat you. I’m in a good mood and I think beating you up would just bring it down.” He clarified.
I looked to his side to see Kyle looking at me coldly. The crowd that had gathered to see me get beat up groaned and went to their classes. No entertainment for them today.
“But don’t even think that I would spare you later. There’s a whole day ahead of us.” He smirked again and both of them went their way.
I shook my head and started walking towards my first class. As I rounded the corner I saw Claire with her friends. She looked beautiful as usual.
In the past week, I couldn’t stop myself from admiring her beauty. I had also noticed some little things about her like the way she would scrunch up her face when thinking. She would bite her nails when in concentration. The way her eyes would change color when she was happy.
Yeah, I noticed a lot about her to be honest. But it wasn’t my fault she was so beautiful.
As if feeling my eyes on herself, Claire turned her attention to me and the moment our eyes met, she smirked as if knowing that I had been watching her for a while now, like a creep may I add.
I shook my head and walked inside the class room where only a few students were seated. I went to my seat at the back.
After a moment, Claire walked in with one of her friends. It was the girl.
She came and sat next to me.
‘Why is she sitting here, she usually sits in the front?’
“Hi.” I turned to look at her smiling at me.
I turned back and looked out the window. Hoping she wouldn’t try to talk to me again. I heard a sigh and then she didn’t bug me again.
During class, she kept passing me notes, and I kept giving them back without opening them.
I could feel the smirk on her face which annoyed me more than anything.
‘She is quite persistent.’
“You can’t keep ignoring me.” She whispered in my ear and I felt more annoyed now.
I turned to look at her smirking at me.
Oh, she’s getting on my nerves.
Relax, relax. Breathe. In and out. Out and in.
I mentally controlled myself. She passed me yet another note but this one wasn’t folded, it was open and I could read clearly what was written on it:
Heads up.
What is that supposed to mean?
“Ms. White, would you please pay attention in class?” Mr. Hayes scolded.
I nodded my head at him and he began teaching again. I looked beside me to see Claire and her friend trying to hold their laughter.
I looked back at Mr. Hayes who kept glancing at my direction, to see if I was paying attention or not.
I paid attention in the whole class then. I had to.
……………
After class Mr. Hayes told me to stay behind and then he lectured me about how teachers work hard for students and the students should do the same.
I sighed as I got out of Mr. Hayes class finally.
A cough caught my attention and I was enraged to know that it was the same person that got me in trouble in class.
I glared at her and started walking away from her and her friend. But they followed behind and held my shoulder.
I jerked my shoulder away from Claire’s grip quite harshly and saw that she had a shocked look on her face.
I mentally face palmed myself for letting her find out that her actions had affected me.
I quickly regained myself, but it was too late. She already saw me glare at her. She was smirking at me and I wanted to scream at her to stop all the smirking.
She crossed her arms and spoke.
“Do you want to eat lunch with us today?” She still had her signature smirk on.
I was taken aback by her question. She ignored me for a week and then out of nowhere started talking to me again. What were her motives?
I stared intently at her, to try to figure out why she would ask me to have lunch with her. This time her friend spoke up for the first time.
“Please. We just want to get to know you better.”
I stared at her friend and then back to Claire.
‘No way.’
I started walking away again and this time they didn’t stop me and I was thankful for that.
………………
I didn’t see Claire after first class and I was thankful that I didn’t. I was in all honesty annoyed by that girl. She didn’t have the right to just start talking and annoying me again after a week of peace.
I didn’t see Jordon today either, part of me was grateful to not have been made a punching bag but the other part of me knew that something was up.
School had just ended and I was following the crowd of teenagers out of the school building. Once I was out the school building I breathed again. It was just so hard to be a teenager.
I was putting my hood over my head when I was yanked back and my back hit the hard-concrete wall. I groaned inwardly and opened my eyes to see who had done it.
I was met with blue and I groaned inwardly again.
There stood Jordon holding me from the collar of my button up shirt. He had a smirk on his face and I just knew that my part time job of being a punching bag was about to begin.
“Leaving already?” Jordon mocked.
I looked at him with no emotion. I knew that if I responded to his words and actions, he would just know how weak I was.
“I don’t like it when you ignore me bitch.” He sneered and punched me in the stomach. It was full of force and I was gasping for air. It was just the first, I knew more would come and they did.
One after another he punched me and kicked me, something he was all too familiar with now.
I was on the ground with my lip bleeding and my lungs asking for air. I was gasping like I had been hit by a truck. My stomach was stinging and I knew more bruises were going to appear.
Jordon was going to kick me again when Kyle stopped him. Jordon turned to Kyle and frowned.
“Why did you stop me, Kyle?”
“I think that’s enough.” Kyle simply answered.
Jordan’s frown grew deeper.
“What do you mean, enough? I just got started.” Jordon complained.
“I don’t think we should waste our precious time on her. Look she’s got enough beating for today. You can beat her up tomorrow.”
Jordon scrutinized Kyle for a while and then frowned again at him.
“You still consider her as a friend, don’t you?” What Jordon said made me feel my heart swell.
Did Kyle still consider me as a friend?
“N-No, it’s not that dude.” Jordon raised his left eyebrow.
“Then what?” Jordon asked getting irritated.
“S-She’s pathetic and I think we should j-just leave her here before a teacher finds us and we get in trouble.” Kyle answered.
Jordon kept his eyes glued to Kyle and I was still gasping for air like a fish gasping for water.
“Okay we’ll go.” Jordon said after a while with a crooked smile. Kyle smiled and started walking towards his car. “If you kick her.” Jordon continued.
What?
“What are you saying man?” Kyle was the one frowning now.
“If you kick her once we will get out of here.” Jordon repeated with a smirk now.
Kyle looked at him then at me.
Was he choosing between Jordon and me?
Would he seriously hurt me?
‘I don’t know.’
“Hurry up man, we don’t have all day.” Jordon persisted.
Kyle came closer to my body and then looked back at Jordon. Jordon gestured him to continue. Kyle lifted his foot and I could hear my heart break in my ears. It was quick and painless yet it still hurt.
Jordon highfived Kyle and began to walk to his car. Kyle stayed behind.
I was still breathing hard and it was difficult to keep my eyes open now. My eyes were slowly closing and the only thing I heard before I slipped into unconsciousness was:
“I’m sorry”.
……………
“Okay kids, we have a new student with us now and I want you all to be nice to him.” The teacher spoke with a smile on her face.
The teacher gestured towards a small boy who was hiding behind the teacher to come in front of the class.
He shyly came in front and failed to smile at the little toddlers.
“Go ahead, introduce yourself.” The teacher pushed.
“H-hi. M-m-my name i-is K-Kyl-le.” The little boy shyly said and then ran back to hide behind the teacher.
The teacher sighed and called for someone named Hayden.
A little girl with two ponytails came up from behind the building blocks which were hiding her.
“Yesh ma’am.” The little girl asked with her toothy grin.
“Can you please be Kyle’s friend.” The teacher gently smiled towards Hayden.
Hayden looked at Kyle intently, which made Kyle hide behind the teacher more, and then with another toothy smile took his hand and led him to the building blocks.
She made him sit down beside her and then picked up a building block and gave it to him.
She gestured with her hand towards the huge building thingy she made. Kyle didn’t understand what she said so he kept the block in his hand and stared at her as to tell her to be more specific.
“You put the last block on my building.” Hayden ordered but in a friendly way.
Kyle, now understanding what he had to do, got up and started to stand on his tippy toes to reach the top. Just as he was about to put the block on the top, he lost his balance and fell on the building which then broke onto the carpeted floor of the class.
Kyle was on top of the now destroyed building thingy and he started crying. His mother had told him before coming to school to never break someone else’s toys and he had just done.
Hayden standing there speechless went over to Kyle and stood in front of him with her hands on her waist.
Kyle knew what was coming so he stood up and tried wiping his eyes. He wanted to be Hayden’s friend but now he couldn’t because he broke her building.
Hayden unexpectedly started laughing, which turned into her rolling on the floor while clutching her stomach.
Kyle confused from the action stood there. After a while of rolling and laughing Hayden got up and smiled towards kyle.
She then took his hand and said:
“We gonna be friends for a long long time, Kyle.”
Kyle smiled back hoping the same and squeezed her hand.
……………………
I gasped feeling my throat dry and my eyes stinging. The room was too bright for my liking and the dream didn’t make it any better. My eyes stung really bad which felt familiar but it didn’t happen. I didn’t feel tears, only the stinging. I couldn’t cry. It made me want to cry but I was used to it now.
I was still shaken up from what Kyle did and I didn’t want to believe that it happened but I couldn’t just do that. Because it did happen.
Once my eyes got adjusted to the lights of the room I looked around and found out that I was in a hospital room.
Great, the place I hated the most. Hospitals only smelt of death and I didn’t do good with death.
The door to the room opened and I looked to see aunt Carrie coming in with a doctor.
When she saw me awake, she ran to me and hugged me tightly. I patted her back knowing that the waterworks would just start about now.
And they did.
“I was so worried about you. I was at work and I got a call saying that you were injured and beaten and bruised and – oh Hayden you don’t know how much angry I am. You nearly made me have a heart attack.” Aunt Carrie first cried then glared at me.
It’s like she’s bipolar or something. One-minute crying and the next glaring.
“Well Ms. White I wouldn’t want to interrupt your scolding but Hayden here is ready to be discharged, just ice those bruises and give her all the medicines I prescribed.” The doctor spoke then nodded and walked out the room.
Aunt Carrie glared at me and then sighed knowing that she wouldn’t get anything out of me.
“I love you Hayden but you shouldn’t try to give me a heart attack.” She gently said and I stood up and hugged her.
That was the first ever contact I initiated with anyone. Aunt Carrie was taken aback but trust me, I was more shocked than anyone here.
I think I just needed comfort from what Kyle did or was it that I was letting people in now but I couldn’t just forget about Kyle hurting me and I couldn’t just forget about our friendship either.
He’s my best friend. He’s my best friend. And I’ll get him back one day but for now, I think I need a nap and some water.
Friendship is a single soul living in two bodies.
– Aristotle.
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