Scars

6. We All Struggle

"Thank you," she said to him.

"For what?"

"Coming to check on me after I beat up your friend." He chuckled.

"She started it. And from what I can tell, you were bleeding worse than she was."

"Mmhm," Billie mumbled into his spine.

"Isn't this sweet," a deep voice up at the top of the hill yelled. Chris' body went rigid as he was caught without his shirt to protect him from others. She covered as much of his back with her body as she could while she worked his shirt out of her belt loop. She glanced behind her and saw a football player and a teacher descending the hill towards them. She slipped the shirt over his head, he pulled it hastily into place.

"Oh good," Billie hissed as Theo rounded them.

"Locke," the teacher caught Chris' attention, "You alright?"

"I think he broke his ankle," Billie said to the teacher. He crouched in front of Chris and examined his swollen ankle. Billie stood slowly, pulling Chris' shirt into place as she did so.

"You beat him up too?" Theo joked under his breath.

"I'll break you in two jock," Billie hissed to him under her breath. He smiled down at her.

"You go ahead and try." She took a step towards him and he leaned away.

"Pussy."

"It's definitely broken. Theo help me lift him," the teacher said.

"Shouldn't be hard. He's a twig." Billie stuck her foot out reflexively and tripped Theo just enough to scare him. He glared at her as he helped to lift Chris. She began walking ahead of them, back towards the school, towards her fate.

"Did she hurt you?" the teacher asked Chris quietly.

"No. I thought she was going to jump off the old train bridge. I hurt myself trying to stop her from doing something she wasn't going to do in the first place." Billie smiled to herself.

"Miss–"

"Please call me Billie." The principal paused for a moment.

"Billie, we can't tolerate violence in our school." Billie's bandage on her face itched something awful. She tried to keep herself from pulling at it. She couldn't wait to leave school so that she could let her face be free. The nurse had put antibiotic ointments on it, despite Billie's urging not to.

"I apologize for losing control and slamming her face into the locker more than is beyond the reasonable acceptance of self-defense." The principal's eyebrows came together as he fought to register that she had apologized for the excessive violence she incited. She assumed he had been expecting a verbal fight on whose fault it actually was.

"Well. Okay," he sat back in his black leather chair and looked at both of them. Carey was holding an ice pack to her nose, bruising had already started, "You do realize that this could end up with legal action being taken against you." Billie met his eyes.

"She can sue me, but she'll be getting the same letter then. I almost guarantee that I should have stitches in my cheeks. She's got a few shallow cuts and bruising." Carey scoffed and Billie bristled.

"Now ladies," he said cutting through the tension, "We'll have to send you both home with a letter about what happened and suspend both of you for three days."

"Fine by me," Billie held her hands up in acceptance.

"THREE DAYS!" Carey screeched, "I WON'T BE ABLE TO CHEER IN THE FIRST GAME!"

"It's a favor to everyone attending. No one wants to see that fugly mug."

"Billie," he scolded her. She smiled sweetly and looked at the name plaque on his desk for the fiftieth time, she couldn't remember his name for the life of her. Principal Blake. She said it ten more times in her head.

"Bitch," Carey's blood boiled, her face reddened and she slammed the ice pack down on his desk.

"Carey! Get ahold of yourself! Your father wouldn't like to know how you're behaving!" Carey's nose twitched in anger and she slammed back into her chair from which she had risen halfway. Billie smirked, "Go home Carey, take this with you." He handed her a seal letter and she stormed out of the office. The door slammed behind her. Billie began to push back from the desk.

"Billie wait," he said to her. She sat back down heavily. Her cheeked burned as she rubbed it through the gauze.

"Yeah?"

"Listen, I know you come from a tough background," his eyes lingered on her forearms, "And I can help you, but you have to work with me. Have you tried anger management classes?"

"Tried 'em, they didn't work all that well for me," she answered honestly.

"What calms you down then? When you're so angry you could slam a cheerleader's face into a locker repeatedly. What calms you down?" She looked at him, he shouldn't joke about that. She liked that he did though. She thought for a moment, she was more taken aback by the fact that he was trying to help her.

"Water." He sat back in his chair again, eyes closed as he thought. She took this time to glance around his office. It was normal, diplomas displayed, books behind him on shelves, pictures in frames facing towards him next to his computer.

"I know," he finally broke the silence, "Let's get you on our swim team. You'll have access to the pool whenever you need it." She crumpled her eyebrows at him.

"Why are you being so nice to me?"

"We all struggle. I know it can seem like we, as educators, are so far away from you in your struggles. But we remember what it was like. I know what it's like to be in such a low spot that the only way out is to end your life. Been there. And I want to try and help as many kids as I can avoid the spot I was in at your age." She was shocked, not many adults opened up like that.

"Wow."

"We're not all out to get you. So what do you say?" She nodded and he slapped his large hands together once in excitement, "Excellent! I'll get your information to the coach and he'll get in contact with you." She nodded again.

"Can I go?"

"Oh! Yes, go ahead." She stood, pushing the chair against the carpet.

"Don't I need the letter?" she asked.

"No. You can go. Take the three days and relax a little, confrontation takes a lot out of a person."

"What'll I say to Janice?"

"I spoke to her over the phone already, she understands the position you were put in." Billie nodded again, she abruptly turned and walked from the office. Chris was lounging in the waiting area talking to the secretary.

"You," he said pointing to her, "get to take me to the hospital for an x-ray."

She sighed, "Let's go."

"He's a nice guy right?" Chris whispered in her ear as she helped him stand. She smiled and nodded. She handed him the crutches the nurse had given him and walked slowly as he hobbled out of the office.