The Girl Across the Street

The Girl Across the Street- 3

"Shhh. No, you can't blame yourself. It's not your fault. You never could have expected this. There is nothing you could have done." I soothe. "He's alive. He is going to be okay. You know Will; he's probably already awake and cracking jokes about this whole mess right now. And I know that he would never, ever blame you for this. I promise you, everything will be okay." Kelley's body rattles with a sob again and she starts to breathe heavily. I pull her away from me and look her in the eyes. "Do you think that Will wants you to be like this?" She meekly shakes her head. "Well, I knowthat he doesn't. He loves you and wants you to be happy, not worried about him. If he were here right now, he would be saying how it's just a scratch or that it will be a really cool scar. Maybe he would even make a Harry Potter reference just for the occasion. Think like that, think like him."

She nods and wipes her eyes, smudging her already smeared make up. I almost grimace when I think of what my shoulder looks like now, but I don't for her sake. She sniffles a few times but seems to have gained control of her tears. "Thank you." She whispers, wrapping me in a hug. I hug her back, reminding her that I'm here for her.

"If you need anything today, let me know. I told Brian to tell Will that I will look out for you today, make sure you don't get overwhelmed." I assure her. She nods and makes sure she has my number saved in her phone contacts. She thanks me again then goes off to talk to her friends.

I put my ear buds in and jog down the bleachers. As soon as my feet hit the track I'm off. I run one lap thinking about my conversation with Kelley and the events of the day so far, then on the second lap I focus on Coldplay's Viva La Vida playing in my ears and soon enough, I find myself lost in my steady footfalls on the track.

I don't hear anyone calling out to me until Simon runs over and grabs my shoulder, stopping me.

I stop the music and look at him. "Dude, everyone else went in. The period is almost over. You must have gotten really lost in the running. Come on, let's get back, we still have to go to science." I nod and we jog back inside.

We are some of the only people in the locker room and I'm glad. I splash some cold water on my face, run a hand through my short hair and leave.

The bell rings at the exact moment that I open the door, 11:25. Walking to my locker, I realize that I still have my English books; I never bothered or thought to get others from my locker. I throw the stuff for English into the cluttered metal locker and grab my science binder and textbook. I slam the door closed and shove the books into my bag as I go.

I get to class just as the bell rings. At this point, no one bothers to even look up. Shockingly, they must have accepted that something is seriously screwed up about today.

I see Emma's purple backpack and pink highlighted hair in the second row as she crouches over the desk, desperately scribbling something in what seems to be a bright pink pen. I ignore her and find my regular seat, right next to Simon.

Mr. Holmes spends the whole period going over a lab from last week so I don't bother paying any attention; I got a 100% on the lab anyway. I watch Emma, still writing frantically, for a while but that gets boring after long enough. I spend the duration of the period studying my classmates. Some girls pass notes, giggling over the guys. I see my teammates Martin falling asleep on his textbook and Chris already drooling on his.

Finally, the bell rings. It's lunch time. I go to my locker again to pick up my books for the two periods in the afternoon, drama and history. At my locker, I shoot my mom a quick text asking about Will, then, with Simon, I head to lunch.