The Art of Revenge

32 - Back to School

            “Peyton Brandt?” I looked up with a smile to see my homeroom teaching staring at me in awe. “You’re here! I’m so glad that you’re okay.”

            “Thanks, Mrs. Fitzpatrick,” I grinned up at her. “Dillon? Wheel me over to that desk by the window.” Since Lauren and I are friends again, I’m pretty sure I can sit with them all.

            The bell went off and Jace and my brother looked at me with worry. “Are you going to be okay, Peyton?” Dillon asked with his eyebrows scrunched together.

            “I’ll be fine. Now go to class!” I gave them both a fake smile and brushed them away. Dillon left the room first but Jace was more hesitant.

            “I’ll pick you up after, okay? We’re going to the same class anyways and I’m closer to you than Dill.”

            I rolled my eyes, “Okay, Jace.” Then left as a few people entered the room, staring openly at me in confusion.

            I ignored everyone and relaxed in my seat, my eyes slowly closing. This was the first time that I’ve been up at eight o’clock in the morning in a month. It was hard adjusting to this new schedule.

            “Peyton!” I sprung up in surprise as Lauren sprinted towards where I sat and engulfed me in a hug. “I knew you were coming but I didn’t know if you’d change your mind!”

            I smiled as she pulled away. “I wouldn’t change my mind. So what have I missed?”

            If there were one word to describe Lauren, it would be that she’s a talker. For the whole class period she went on to talk about everything I missed. Mostly the social stuff: How people were awestruck over my performance at the Dance Bash, how everyone found out that I was in a fire and then a coma, how Dillon, Jace, Lauren, and I were all peachy, and how Kayla had… changed.

            “Yeah, she’s not mean to everyone now,” Lauren said about her. “Lindsay is basically taking over. After it was spread that the fire rumor about you was true, she completely transformed. There were no more mean comments, no rumors,  no nothing.”

            “Huh…” I muttered through my array of thick thoughts. The bell rang so I couldn’t ask Lauren any more questions about how Kayla has been acting. Why was she so different now? Did I have to do with this?

            True to his word, Jace showed up at my homeroom door only seconds after that bell had rang and walked to me with a bright smile. “Ready to go, gimpy?” I glared at him, which made a belt of laughter erupt from his mouth. “Fine, I won’t call you that. Let’s go!”      

            He took his place behind my wheelchair and pushed me out the door. From all the stares we got, it was almost as if it was the first day of school again. Every move we made, another pair of eyes would watch us, another whisper would involve our names, and many more emotions would play out among them all.

            What did they see when they saw me? Was I a girl with burns all over her body? A girl who has withheld herself from the horrible words that were said? How about one who was nice to them awhile back? What did they feel when they saw me like this? Pity? Regret? Guilt? Happiness? I slumped in my chair and willed myself to become invisible as we continued our trip to math class.

            Since we had a… harder commute with my wheelchair and the crowded hallways, Jace and I got there as soon as the bell rang. Once we walked in, all eyes went to me and I started turning bright red just like my hair.