I didn’t come this far to only come this far.
#GraduationBound #ScrewDeRosa #MotivationMonday
Standing in the parking lot that morning, the warming spring breeze swirling around me made me realize just how much of the year had passed. Last time I dreaded entering school, it had been ice cold and snowing, but now I had all three of my boys and a bottle of pain medication in my bag for my hand.
It’s Monday, Emma, remember your motivation.
With that one-liner pep talk, I started toward the door. I went to shift my bag, a hiss of pain leaving me as I used my injured hand to do it out of habit. The cuts throbbed under the gauze, my fingers feeling as if they were broken any time I moved or bent them, so I stuffed it into my hoodie pocket the best I could so I wouldn’t be tempted to use it again. Thankfully, when we entered the building, there wasn’t much in the way of staring. Most of the student body was unaware of what happened, but I knew it wouldn’t last long.
Kind of hard to hide with a big, gauze-wrapped Mickey Mouse style hand.
The bell rang before we could make it to our table, the four of us splitting up to go to our respective homerooms after a quick kiss and goodbye. Jesse’s hand, callused and warm, held my free hand, his thumb stroking gentle circles over my knuckles. Even in the crowded hall no one looked at me, my attempt to hide my injury working well.
“How’re you feeling, Em?” Jesse questioned when I winced, pulling my hand from the pocket and accidentally hitting it on my desk when we reached homeroom. “Do you need to take your meds?”
“I’m good, just being clumsy. I took meds before coming to school when I ate breakfast so next one will be at lunch if I did my math right. Though knowing me, that’s probably not the case,” I joked, hoping to ease the tension and worry lines that tightened around Jesse’s eyes.
“Ha ha, oh so funny,” he teased back, giving me a flat laugh. “I just want to help the best I can even though I know there’s not much I can do while it heals.”
“Thank you, Jess, I appreciate it. I’m sure there will be plenty of things you can help me with, because up until today, I didn’t realize how many things require both hands. It took me twenty minutes to get my shoes on.”
“Well, then you just tell me what you need, and I’ll do it, okay? Though,” he whispered leaning over to talk in my ear. “I’d much rather help take things off than put them back on.”
“Hmm, I might have to take you up on that offer,” I murmured softly, thankful the bell rang at that same moment to help cover my words from prying ears. Jesse gave me a sexy grin, pecking me on the cheek and helping situate my bag on my shoulder. “All right, let’s get this walk and inevitable run-in with Dylan over with.”
Jesse grumbled under his breath, but in the crowded hall I couldn’t hear what it was. Preparing myself for the confrontation as we walked through the halls, I took a few deep breaths. Except he never stepped in our path. I was surprised, glancing around and taking note that none of the students who laughed at our expense were there.
“Well… that was unexpected,” I murmured. “Maybe our luck is turning around?”
“Ha, good joke,” Jesse countered. “It would be nice, but with our luck Dylan was probably the douche from last night.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” I scoffed. “Think our lives will settle when we graduate? ‘Cause this whole one thing right after another stuff is starting to wear on me.”
“I fucking hope so, but I think I found what helped keep them at bay today,” Jesse revealed, discreetly waving toward the end of the hall. When I looked over, I found Ms. Ester standing there with her arms crossed, her head dipping slightly in acknowledgment. Giving her a grateful smile, I felt myself breathe easier as we neared my class.
Now to just hope the rest of the day goes smoothly.
So far so good, I noted pleasantly, but I knew I was about to have some questions to answer as Kingston walked with me to nutrition. Hopefully recounting everything won’t suck too bad.
“Oh my gosh, Emma, what happened to your hand?” Ashley whispered in shock when I sat down at my desk.
“Oh, uh,” I hesitated, realizing I hadn’t actually had to talk about it, having been left alone for most of the day. “Got attacked on my way back to my car after work yesterday. Was able to hit him with my keys but the force also cut up and bruised my hand pretty bad.”
“Holy shit, do they know who did it?” she exclaimed, her voice not growing above a whisper, but based on her horror-stricken face and surprised tone, she was barely keeping it that way.
“Unfortunately, no. My lawyer’s looking into it with the police,” I explained.
“So, it wasn’t Brad? What about Dylan? He seems to have a lot of issues with you and the others,” Left Twin added, trying to be helpful. I gave her a grateful smile before shrugging.
“Who knows at this point. Brad’s still in jail, last we all heard, and surprisingly, Dylan has been leaving me alone today. Apparently his bullying caught the attention of the teachers, so right now it’s just a waiting game.”
“Miss Clark?” my Nutrition teacher called out, holding a hall pass slip. I got up, figuring it was a call slip to see Ms. Rogers as it had been before, but when I got up there and stepped into the hall, I felt my stomach drop.
ASAP. Principal’s Office, Principal Rudley, Reasoning: Student Conduct.
No matter how many deep breaths I took or how many times I tried telling myself it was probably nothing, panic seeped into me. A knot formed in my throat, my chest constricting as I walked through the halls. The sooner I get there, the sooner it’ll be done, I tried to convince myself.
“Miss Clark?” the receptionist asked when I walked in, glancing at the slip in my hand. Nodding, I couldn’t seem to detach my tongue from the roof of my mouth. “Principal Rudley is waiting for you in his office.”
“Thank you,” I forced out, my voice sounding small and scared despite doing my best to calm down. Her smile was bright, clearly unaware of my internal worries as I walked around the large counter and to the door labeled ‘Principal.’ Gulping in a poor attempt to swallow the lump in my throat, I raised my hand and knocked twice, not wanting to bust in despite what the front desk said.
“Come in,” I heard through the wood. As if it couldn’t have gotten worse than being called to the principal’s office for ‘student conduct,’ behind the thin man sitting in the office chair was Assistant Principal DeRosa.
Because why the heck not? Seems like I walked under a ladder or broke a mirror when I know I didn’t.
“Have a seat, Miss Clark,” Principal Rudley instructed, his thin, bony hand gesturing to the metal chair in front of his desk.
Following his instructions, I took in the principal as discreetly as I could. It was the first time I’d really seen him since coming to Elk Ridge. He was blond but balding, his hairline severely receded. Huge glasses sat on the bridge of his nose, amplifying his ice blue eyes among the almost frail and sunken features of his aging face. Stick thin, wearing a sweater vest and tie, he sat straight in his seat, long fingers threaded together on top of his desk as he waited for me to take my seat. The more I looked at him, the more off-put I became. With his frown and sharp gaze focused on me, making my stress worsen, I tried to take in my surroundings. My feeble attempt to ground myself amongst the worry didn’t work, my heart was beating too loud to calm. Almost too fast, making focusing on anything other than my growing anxiety impossible.