Other Worlds - The Wilds

Chapter 7

  The therapist that her old foster parent Mrs Conners made her see when she was 14 would have said she was slipping into old 'self-destructive patterns.' Toni would probably have to agree considering the carnage before her. She didn't look properly, but she did hear a lot of glass shattering.

  Despite her shakiness and the fear coursing through her veins, Toni managed to hold back angry, terrified tears as she directed her gaze to her now seething science teacher. "Of course Mr Winters." With that, she took a page out of Shelby's book and fled the scene.

  It wasn't that Toni didn't think about the consequences of her actions. She just didn't have time to think about them before she did whatever anger-fuelled, impulsive thing that popped into her head. It was only in times like these, after she had blown up, that the weight of her actions really hit. Only then did her brain catch up with her body to actually think about consequences. And there were a lot of them.

  Toni left the classroom running but after the adrenaline from her eruption wore off, that became too painful. Wheezing, she made her way to the locker room. She didn't bother looking for Shelby, if anyone asked she would just say that she couldn't find her. Right now she needed a shower and the spare clothes that she kept in the locker room in case of emergencies. As Shelby had so kindly pointed out, her hygiene had reached emergency status.

  After showering and changing, her lunch break had just about finished so she went straight to her next class. Throughout the rest of the day she could hardly focus. She could only dread her meeting with Carol and the Principal.

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  By the time 4 o'clock rolled around Toni was shaking uncontrollably. A girl she had never met before in her final period even offered her a jacket. She tried to talk herself down and convince herself that it wasn't going to be as bad as she thought. But then she really thought about the things Carol could be pissed at her for. Punching her friend and running away, Being called to meet with the Principal, Breaking school equipment, and existing. And those were only the main four.

  Toni was the first there and she took a seat opposite to Principal Evans. "Sorry," Toni said after a few minutes, "She isn't a very punctual person." He simply nodded and the pair sat in uncomfortable silence before a very haggard Carol burst through the door. Her body language was calm and she was polite to the Principal but there was a fire in her eyes that Toni instantly recognised.

  "So, Toni's been with you for 5 months now?" Principal Evans flipped through some papers. "How is that going?"

  Carol already looked fed up with the meeting. "She can be very unruly. It has taken a great deal of discipline to get her to behave even this well." Discipline is one word for it, Toni thought bitterly, her ribs twinging at the memory.

  The stoic man nodded before continuing, "Have you considered a group home? It says here that that is the next best option for Miss Shalifoe."

  Toni's heart-rate picked up. "Is this relevant?" She blurted without thinking.

  "Sadly it is. Misbehaviour at school is often linked to misbehaviour at home. It is important to know whether your additional behavioural needs are being met at your current home."

  Carol looked a bit personally attacked and interjected, "Toni is manageable at home. If anything unacceptable were to happen I would not hesitate to call social services and have her transferred."

  The conversation went on in that same vein, Toni was hardly able to listen because she now knew everything she needed to know. Carol would send her away the second she takes anything too far. The good news was, for now, Carol didn't seem to think she had taken anything too far. The bad news was the probably horrific punishment she was going have to endure.

  When the meeting ended, Carol and Toni walked to the car in total silence. As Toni reached for the door handle Carol slammed her hand onto the roof of the car, making Toni jump. "No. You can walk." She watched as her foster mom got into her flashy four wheel drive and took off, leaving the younger girl standing in the cloud of fumes.

  She walked home without music and without thoughts. Her mind was completely blank, almost in a state of dissociation after the day she'd had. She almost walked straight past her house. Defeated, she didn't even hesitate or mentally prepare before walking in.

  Carol, remarkably, was not waiting at the door with a baseball bat as Toni had half expected; but was sitting in the lounge watching TV. Toni slowly approached. "Carol, look, I am so sorry-"

  "Please, Toni, just shut up and get out of my face. I'll deal with you later."

  Shellshocked, Toni couldn't believe her luck. She stood there, staring at Carol completely dumbstruck. Suddenly terrified that Carol would change her mind if she just stood there, she quickly jumped into action and raced to her room. Finally a night with just her homework. No raging Carol, no beautiful Regan, no flighty homophobe, and no drama.

  Firstly, she brought up google on her phone and started looking for jobs. That microscope was not going to pay for itself. As she was on her phone a text drew her eyes to the top of the screen.

Basketball Girls - Betty: Toni, did you see the email? You're off the team

Basketball Girls - Issie: Damn that's bad luck, what did you do?

Basketball Girls - Isla: Man I'm sorry Toni, What are you gonna do, we need you!

  What am I gonna do? Good fucking question.