Intertwined

Chapter 39

"Lay down sweetheart, close your eyes. I'll let you know when we're leaving. Don't worry, this is normal. You're only going to get better. Just don't do that next time, okay?" She says. I just lazily nod my head and close my eyes. I hear whispers and shuffling around me but I can't really hear any of it since I was so caught up in my own thoughts. I screwed up...badly. 

I don't know how much time has passed but I snap out of my daze when Lauren shakes my arm. I look up at her, "You ready?" She asks me.

"Ready for what?" I'm confused as heck.

"School." She says. I just look at her, terrified.

"This happened to me several times in the past. The best thing to do is to continue on with your day. Laying here in bed will make it worse. Don't think that you can get out of school that easily." She says with a smile on her face. I just stare at her.

"Haha alright, sit up, I'm going to re-braid your hair and then you are going to go and wash your teeth and your face. You're lucky that I woke you up early so you can get to school early and find your classes. We still have just about enough time for you to get there just as the bell rings." She says. I sit up and do as I'm told. Before I know it, I'm in the car with my bag on my lap and my knee bouncing up and down anxiously. Lauren has already gave me two pills. One to settle my stomach and the other is for something else but it's something Lauren takes everyday. All the girls already gave me reassuring talks about school and helped me out before I left. My energy is already back and I feel fine again so I should be fine, like Lauren says, as long as I keep myself busy.

The car pulls up to prison and Lauren gives me a hug and tells me she loves me. She places a kiss on my forehead and waves goodbye to me as I walk across campus to find my first class. I have my schedule and the room numbers to my classes clenched in my hands. I walk around, lost and scared. Some kids look at me strangely as I walk by them. I'm too intimidated to ask them where my first class is. So I walk around looking at room numbers wondering where my class is. But then something catches my eye. It's not a something but a someone. On a nearby bench by some flowers there is a girl, who looks my age, reading a book. She looks through her glasses down at the book, reading it intently as her hair hangs like a curtain around her face. 

I find myself walking slowly towards her. "E-Excuse me." I stutter out to her. She looks up at me calmly. "I'm new here. Can you please tell me where I can find this classroom." I say shyly and rather quietly, hoping that I wouldn't stutter.

She smiles up at me, "Sure" 

Instead of telling me where my class is she leads me there. "Luckily for you, this is my first period too. And looking at your schedule now, we have third and sixth period together as well. So today shouldn't be so bad. I'll help you out with your other classes as well." She says as she walks up the stairs and down a hallway with blue lockers lining the walls. We reach a door at the end of the hallway and she stops, "Here we are, advanced English. You must be a pretty smart new kid if all your core classes are advanced. Looks like we're going to get along just fine." She smiles. The bell rings loudly and doors to classrooms start opening as teachers allow their students in. She introduces me to the teacher, Mrs. Bell. The teacher tells me to stand off to the side of the classroom so that when class starts she can introduce me and assign me a seat. I nod and do exactly that. So far everything is going great. I hope the rest of the day goes this smoothly as well.

After a couple minutes, the whole class is full and the late bell has rung. Mrs. Bell tells everyone to get out their writing journals and then waves me over to the front of the classroom while everyone is doing that. "We have a new student this semester as well. Listen up, she's going to introduce herself." She says once everyone has settled. The whole class goes quiet waiting for me to speak. I gulp the giant ball in my throat down. I clench my shaking hands. "M-my name's Danielle. B-but I just go by Dani." I stutter out nervously. I curse myself out on the inside for sounding like a wimp. Now everyone must think she's pathetic.