Exploiting Realities

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE - BEGIN AGAIN

"Hey Ar," Finn and Brady said in unison when the three of us entered the classroom.

"Hey guys," I replied with a smile. It was nice to see some friendly faces, even Brady, who I hadn't talked to much before I left. I felt like he was one of my best friends now, though, because of how much Lorelai talked about him. I assumed he felt the same way towards me, based on how he was acting.

We took our seats and the rest of the class began filing in. Every one of them took a double-take when they saw me, some of them saying hello or welcoming me back, some of them giving me a pitying stare, some of them looking at me with unreadable faces. As glad as I was to be back, this was uncomfortable as anything.

"Good morning class," Mr. Kellingsworth said when class started. "I hope you all had a historical weekend," we all groaned at his corny remark that he made at the start of every new week, "and I'd like to welcome back Miss. Aria Richter who, as of last Wednesday, is cancer-free!"

Lorelai, Miranda, Finn and Brady started cheering obnoxiously and some of the other students chimed in. My face turned beet red.

"Wait," a ditzy blond girl named Teresa said to me, "if you're cancer-free why don't you have any hair?"

My face deepened to a darker shade of red. "Well, um, I've only been cancer-free for a few days," I told her. "It's growing back."

"How does that work?" she asked cluelessly. How was she managed to be in Honors classes defeated me.

"It just does," I said, not feeling like explaining the process of hair growth to her.

"Now, now, I know that we're all curious about what's happened to Miss. Richter over the last few months but you can all talk about that on your own time. In the mean time, who can fill her in on what we learned about last week?"

"We're learning about the Korean War," Brady filled me in as the class got back on track.

* * *

When the class passed and the bell rang, I was notably nervous to leave Lorelai and Miranda's sides. Even if it was just until I got to French class and had Alec looking over me, the three minutes that I would have without their familiar faces by my side was terrifying for me.  I guess that was what these months out of school had done to me...made me even more antisocial.

"Bonjour mademoiselle," Mr. Raphael greeted me when I entered the class. "Bienvenue arrière!"

"Merci," I replied to his welcoming me back. I scanned the room for Alec and was relieved to find him in the same seat that he had before I left, engaged in a conversation with his friend Dan, who was also in the same seat as before. Hopefully this meant that I stayed in the same seat as well.

"Do I still sit here?" I asked Alec when I got to my old seat, directly behind him.

"Yeah," he confirmed, smiling. "How was your day so far?"

I laughed, taking my seat. "You mean the whole one period that I've had? It was fine. I mean, Teresa Phoglio wanted me to describe the process of hair growth to her, but besides that it's been okay."

"No one's been giving you any trouble?"

I shook my head. "Actually, everyone's been pretty accepting."

He smiled. "That's good. If anyone hadn't been I was going to have to--"

"Hey bandana girl. That's my seat," a voice behind me said bitterly. My face turned red and I looked behind me to see a tall blonde girl that I didn't recognize. She must be new, I thought to myself.