Intertwined

Chapter 39

"Nice to meet you Danielle." Mrs. Bell says, "How about you go sit by Alex over there?" She points to the seat in the front row right next to the girl who had brought me here. I secretly thank God for putting me next to her. I walk over to the empty desk and put my things down. I rummage through my backpack to find a blank notebook and a pencil. Mrs. Bell begins with the lesson by instructing us to write a couple paragraphs that contain descriptive language in it, the topic she gave us to work with was a garden. I look over to "Alex" and see that her nose is buried deep inside the notebook with her pencil practically flying across the paper and filling up practically half the page in less than 20 seconds. 

I look down at my own paper and begin to write, thinking about the garden I used to play in when I was little. It was absolutely beautiful. The old couple across the street let me help them garden. I always went there when I was having a tough time. The flowers that surrounded me kept me distracted with their intricate veins in the leaves and their delicate petals. I can practically smell the soil right now. The soft sounds of the wind and the many colors that came with different plants that had different texture. Nostalgia fills my heart thinking about old times. I don't miss the abuse but rather the way the garden made me feel, especially when I was down.

Before I know it two whole sheets, front and back, were filled with my tiny handwriting. Mrs. Bell calls us up one by one to read our excerpts and give us constructive criticism. I thought I was safe because my last name was Williams but then I remember that my name is now Danielle Jauregui. So that means I'll be up next any moment now. 

But everything goes well. Mrs. Bell is very impressed by my writing and asks to keep the assignment as an example for her other classes. I agree and allow her to keep my notebook with her. We read a chapter of the class book together and then the bell rings. Alex escorts me to my next class and tells me to wait for her after class so that she can come and get me to take us to third period, where me and her will spend the class together. The rest of the morning goes well, Alex picks me up after class like she had for all my other classes and takes me to the cafeteria. I tell her that I don't eat lunch and she says that she doesn't either so we go out to the exterior of the cafeteria and sit on the bench there. 

"So you're a writer?" She asks me. 

"It's complicated. I like to write. I don't really consider myself a 'writer'" I respond, her eyes are locked onto mine.

"What else do you like to do?" She asks, her brow furrows and her face tightens a bit.

"Well, I like photography, reading, drawing, music, and adventure. I'm kind of...boring." 

"Boring?! What are you talking about?! You're amazing!" She practically yells out. I giggle and tell her to quiet down. She just laughs and yells, "OH YOU WANT ME TO BE QUIET? HUH DANI? WELL I AM QUIET! AND GUESS WHAT? I SWALLOWED A ROCK AND POOPED OUT BUTTERFLIES! HOW DO YOU LIKE THAT DANI?!" Tears well up in my eyes from the laughter. At this point I wasn't even breathing, I was just red and clapping with a smile on my face and my mouth wide open. Alex laughs along with me and pats me on the back. I finally let out a breath that relieves the stress I was putting on my lungs. My stomach hurts from the laughter.

"Butterflies? Really?" I giggle. She nods proudly. 

"You know, you're stuck with me now." She chirps out happily.

"Then I'm glad I am. I'm also glad it was you." I say, looking her sincerely in the eyes. She looks back with a cheeky grin on her face. I can't help but let go of the smile I was trying to hold back.

"I'm glad it was you too..."

~

For the next couple weeks I practically jump out of my bed on weekdays. Alex and I get closer as friends and have even made plans to go out to the mall of to the movies. It's so much fun and I'm so happy. I've made so much progress with my eating habits. Lauren has taken me to the doctor several times so that I can get check ups and so far I'm doing great. I've moved on to small proportions of normal food. Alex knows about my eating disorder and has recommended her therapist to Lauren. Lauren actually took her advice and got me her therapist who has been nothing but a blessing. Alex has been really supportive and I've found myself opening up to her more and more. I've even told her about the whole human trafficking/prostitution thing. She was amazed but she was so kind and said comforting things to me, making sure she reassured me. Sometimes, after school, I go over to her house or she comes over to ours. Speaking of school, all of my teachers got together and called Lauren for a meeting about me the other day. I thought I had been in trouble but really they just wanted to talk to Lauren about testing me for the gifted program. Apparently I was really smart and talented so they wanted to put me in this program. I tested for it the other day and passed. They said i had a really high IQ compared to normal kids my age. I'm now in the gifted program which I never thought would even happen to me. Alex is in it too, which is not a surprise since this girl reads like 20 books a day and writes all the time and picks up on new things really quickly. These past few weeks have been nothing but amazing.

As I'm walking down the hallway one day someone knocks my books out of my hand. I look up to see a tall, skinny girl standing there snickering. I bend down to pick up my book but she kicks it away and pushes me down. I have absolutely no idea what I did but she's really angry for some reason. She bends down to my level and whispers in my ear, "Watch your back brainiac." And then stands back up and walks away with a smirk on her face. My face drains itself of color as the thought I never would thought would come back feeds into my demons.

It's starting again.

I quickly stand up, picking up my stuff and hurrying to the nearest bathroom. There are no thoughts in my mind in this moment other than: I need Alex. So I take out my phone and quickly type a message to Alex telling her to come and that it was an emergency. In less than two minutes Alex shows up. the bell has already rung and the hallways are clear of any student. I open my stall to let her in. She quickly gets in and closes the door. "What's wrong?!" She says, worriedly looking down at my pale face. 

"I-It's happening a-again. A girl pushed me in the hallway and knocked d-down my books. S-she told m-me to watch my back. I didn't do anything." I say desperately. Alex grabs my shaking hands in hers and looks me in the eyes, "She's not here now and I can assure you that you are safe, I'll make sure to protect you." She brings me into her warm embrace. The smell of her black hoodie calms me down. 

"Can you remember what she looked like?" Alex asks me. I shake my head.

"I only saw her for a moment, I was too scared to look at her. But I remember that she has black hair and is tall and skinny." I reply. Alex's face stays neutral for a moment. And then a couple seconds later her face lights up.

"Crystal. She's back." 

"Who's Crystal?" I ask. Alex looks up at me with a soft expression.

"That girl that did that to you is Crystal. She's gotten suspended several times for bullying and cheating. They said that after the last suspension she had one more chance before they expelled her. So maybe if I tell the principal he will expel her. Simple. Problem solved. No bullies will come after you this time." The way Alex talks confidently makes me confident in what she is saying. Maybe this situation isn't as bad as I thought.

But if I only knew then that all hell was going to break loose...