Despite the Pain

Chapter 12

The first day back at school was painful. Callum and I spent two hours in the woods beforehand, shivering and numb. Albion turned up for our third class. The room went silent as he wheeled himself in, heading for a chairless desk at the back of the room the teacher had the foresight to arrange. She approached him before class started, her voice quiet and kind, and I strained to listen to the exchange.

"I'm very glad to see you back," she said, leaning close with her hand on Albion's back. He nodded, flashing a tight smile at her. "If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask. And I'm sure your father told you, but all the same; I'm more than happy to tutor you a bit after school, any day you like, with anything you may need."

"Th-thank you," he said quietly, shifting and pressing his hand to the side of his face to cover the twitch in his jaw. She smiled and patted his shoulder before returning to the front of the class. He caught my eye briefly, dropping his eyes to the desk as Miss Jones began her lecture on the coming semester. As I shifted to face the front of the room I noticed Miles Miller turning around as well. He'd been staring at Albion, and I didn't like the smirk on his face one bit.

I wasted a few minutes at my desk after class, making a show of gathering the few textbooks I'd accumulated during the morning. They didn't even let us keep them through the winter break. Afraid we'd burn them, I'm sure.

I wanted to catch up with Albion, but I didn't want to do so when any of the kids from town would be around to notice. Most of them spent the last minute or two of every class perched on the edge of their chairs, ready to take to the halls the second the bell rang so they could mill around as long as possible. I assumed Albion would take his time and leave after most of the students had filed out of the classroom, but by the time I looked up he was gone, and I couldn't find him in the hall.

His schedule consisted of one class every day. They rotated to a different one each day of the week to cover the five academics we were required to take. When Mom explained it to me I assumed that meant he was exempt from the rotation of Life Studies, PE, and study hall that filled our sixth class period of the day. Skipping gym went without saying, and as much as I envied him for not having to suffer through the lectures on marriage, health, and our roles in society, that seemed a bit backhanded to me. It was as if those lessons on what the society considered a responsible, productive adulthood no longer applied to him.

The second day was worse. The hush that fell over our fourth period class when Albion wheeled himself in was broken by whispers and half-stifled laughing. It didn't help that Collins hadn't bothered being as courteous as Miss Jones had about the desk, just pointed Albion to an empty one at the back of the room. He kicked off our second day of class with a quiz as Albion moved from his wheelchair to his seat. One of the Carson twins all but stared Albion down as he sat. I hated the cocky smirk on his face. Even more than that, I hated the look he shot toward Miles when he turned around.

Fourth period was split in half by lunch, and I left the classroom as quickly as I could. I glanced toward Albion on my way out the door; he was sitting sideways in his seat, looking at the wheelchair at the back of the classroom and frowning.

"I'd like to eat today too, Mr. Bryson, if you don't mind picking up the pace," I heard Collins say just before I turned down the hall. There were a few laughs behind me and it made my skin crawl. I walked faster, trying to get away from them, and the pace just brought me right up behind Miles and his crowd of simpering assholes.

"Can you fucking believe that chair after we saw him walking around town?" Victor Carson elbowed Miles as they walked.

"I told you he was milking it," Miles chuckled. I wanted to elbow my way between them and set them both straight. Point out the mile and a half walk to and from the school, the jostling in the halls, and maybe knock the two of them against the damn walls while I was at it. Instead I just stared daggers at the backs of their heads, trying to listen to every other conversation in the hall but theirs until I could duck around them when we reached the cafeteria.