Mixing with the Wallflower

08:

Being considered the wallflower, means that I have a reputation to live up to. That reputation is the non-existent belief that I'm a nerd, or at least smart enough to get above average grades. This is because people think that my free time is consumed with studying and getting ahead of my classes to remain at a steady balance of high grades.

It's truly shameful that people don't realise that wallflowers, have a life too.  Irrelevant to the fact that I remain anti-social I like to think that my hours are well spent, and not by studying like a maniac.

However, that does not mean that I'm stupid. I'm actually quite smart, both with and without excessive studying. I can't remember a time where my days were filled with endless studying sessions in my bedroom. I've had other things I've had to attend to during my time outside of school, I've had no choice but to be smart enough to pass with good grades with minimal studying. 

There have been other priorities. 

I sighed as my biology teacher began to talk about the heart valves again. It was one of those topics that everyone struggled with and so she felt that going over it multiple times was just something she had to do.

I suddenly found great interest in my pen , and began to fiddle with the mechanics of it, not like they were complex but they were entertaining enough. So, I settled to screwing and unscrewing my pen's spring. 

Heart Valves.

They're a hard topic. 

Not just for the average biology student but for anyone really, anyone who has to face a heart related situation, good or bad, their's or someone else's, it's a hard thing to digest.

I guess 'digesting' them was something that came with easy acceptance, I mean if a person could accept things easily in general, then finding out about a heart condition would be easy to accept, or at least they would be able to understand the issues that sourced around it.

I was suddenly pulled out of my daze when the school bell rang and the classroom started to become lighter. 

"Mr Ace" prompted a voice.

I stopped and looked up at the smiling face of my biology teacher. Miss White. She was a tall, blonde woman who wore smart skirts and a long lab coat over her attire. She had a very strong and distinct smell of roses and whenever she gave a sympathetic smile, her laugh lines would appear from under her eyes. 

I notice things. 

"Yes Miss" I smiled wearily.

"Just wanted to make sure that today's lesson didn't startle you" 

"How do you mean?" 

"Well, I know about the situation at home and I just wanted to make sure that I didn't stir anything up that could have been better left untouched?" 

It took me a moment to process what she meant, I'm not usually a slow thinker but her thoughts confused me. When I finally realised what she meant, I was able to process what she was talking about, allowing me to give her a fitting reply.

"Don't worry Miss White, I understood the lesson fine" I smiled just to prove that I was okay before she nodded, reminded me that she was always available to talk before letting me go. 

I raced to my locker and grabbed a few books I had left behind before heading to the doors. By now everyone had poured out of the school and taken cover in the school bus or their car because when I pushed open the back doors, the universe was balling its eyes out.

I shielded my head with my textbook and prayed that those late night runs had some effect.

I legged it.