"Hey, ready to go?" Ben grabbed Lyric's purse off the ground and shrugged it over his shoulder.
"Yeah, now would you mind handing my purse over?" Lyric giggled, reaching out for her bag.
"Eh, I wouldn't mind, but I just don't want to." he laughed, running down the hall with Lyric at his heels. They ran into a familiar white room, dodging the maroon chairs arranged into a circle.
"Ben, come on!" Lyric whined. "I need that!"
"Hmm, let's see. Lip gloss, pencil, pen, ooh a wallet!"
"BEN!"
"Oh just chill out, L." Ben chuckled, tossing Lyric her bag after he zipped it shut.
"L?" Lyric caught her purse in midair, whipping herself in the face with its strap.
"Yeah, you know, like a nickname. Are you chill with that?"
"Chill? Yes Ben, I am chill with that." She smiled, taking a liking to her new name.
"Awesome." Ben sat down in a chair, leaning against the back and folding his arms. "Now, just don't go around calling me B. Nicknames like that only work with certain people."
"Wow, I'm so glad I'm special enough for the name to work!" Lyric cheered sarcastically. Kids from the 'Help The Underprivileged' group started flooding into the room, interrupting Ben and Lyric's conversation. The leader of the group followed the members in and sat in her usual chair in the center of the circle.
"Welcome back! I hope you all had a nice day."
A roar of quiet voices erupted from the group as they all tried to explain their day to the person sitting next to them.
"Quiet down, please. Now, I hope you all are getting along with your 'partner' during your meetings."
Lyric remembered how Zane had come to visit her in the hospital last week. Yeah, we've been getting along real well.
"Now, for your next assignment, I would like you to figure out why your partner is considered 'Underprivilaged'. Once you do, come to me and I will tell you the next step in making this world a better place for everyone." The leader explained. She took questions from the group for the next half hour about their partner and the problems they are having with communicating. Lyric and Ben glanced over at each other the entire time, smiling whenever they both looked at them at the same time.
***
Lyric and Ben left the small classroom after the meeting was over. Lyric made sure that her purse was slung over the arm farthest away from Ben, being careful not to give him a change to snatch it away from her.
"Hey Ben?"
"Yeah, L?"
Lyric smiled at the mention of his name for her, "Why haven't I ever heard of your partner?"
Ben's smile changed just the slightest bit before he responded. "Um, I don't see her that often."
"Why not?" Lyric wondered. "If you don't mind me asking..."
"No that's okay." Ben thought for a while before he looked down at his feet and started to explain. "She's just, sensitive, I guess. Last time I saw her, I said hi and she started crying. Then, she took out this hairpin thing and started to scratch her wrist until she drew blood, and and lifted her arm to her mouth. Kind of vampire-ish I guess, it just scared me a bit. I told her to stop but she didn't, she just took her wrist out of her mouth and started digging another cut into her flesh. She went to actual counseling, instead of having a random kid at her school talking to her and causing her more stress than she needs."
YOU ARE READING
The Unforgivable
Romance19 year old Lyric Hadly lives with her foster parents after her mom and dad died in a plane crash. When her foster dad gets a job out of state, she is forced to move away from her best mate, Allan. In her new home, she has trouble making friends, bu...
