Splinters: Part One

Part One | 9

"Ew!"

Potey continued to lick me, and at some point, I began laughing. I pushed the dog away, but it only made him even more hyper. When he finally calmed down, I began to pet him. My hand was shaking as it slowly pressed on his rough fur. After about five minutes, he settled onto my lap.

I froze, waiting for him to do something, but he didn't. Instead, he nudged my hand, forcing me to continue. Hesitantly, I did so, and for the next twenty minutes, I bonded with him. It was a feeling I never thought I'd experience. I might still be afraid of dogs, but at least I wasn't afraid of my own. 

...

When I entered through the doors of Cosntance, I was extremely nervous. I hoped that I wouldn't see Collie because the idea of facing her after yesterday was a bit scary. I didn't want a confrontation of why I hadn't smiled back at her. I just wanted her to understand the message that I wanted nothing to do with her. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to say it out loud. 

The truth is I wish Collie hadn't done anything to Ursanne because I still wanted to talk to her Whatever we were, I liked it, and I didn't want it to end, but her actions in the past... It'd be different if she changed, but according to Ursanne and Bella, she hasn't. I couldn't necessarily imagine Collie really doing something so evil to my sister, but girls will be girls and I've seen enough high school movies with Josephine to believe that.

Walking through the halls, I kept my eyes forward, paying attention to nothing but the classroom I had to be inside before the Late Bell rang. I was half way there when I noticed Grady on the floor, his arms and legs out as people walked around him.

I hesitated, not sure if I should go ask him what he's doing. I hated myself for feeling self-conscious about what other people would think if I went over to help him. So as punishment on myself, I did exactly that.

"Hey, um, Grady?" I asked, kneeling down by his head.

"Oh, Brayden," he huffed, pushing himself up from the ground.

"What are you..." I pointed to the floor.

He stood up straight and looked at his feet, and then laughed. "Oh, I just tripped."

I raised an eyebrow. "You tripped?"

He then looked up, somewhere above my head, and began scratching the back of his neck. "I think so... I could've been tripped, but sometimes I don't really know the difference. I'm clumsy enough to do it to myself, you know?"

He laughed again, but I only frowned. I was upset by the treatment I received, but Grady had it worse, maybe even triple times worse. His weight was the original target of rejection from the student body, therefore they somehow assumed it was okay to do whatever to him. I'm not sure what my reason was. Maybe it was just the fact that I was new and I was Ursanne's brother.

"So, today we have P.E." he said, shrugging on his backpack.

I nodded. "I brought my own clothes this time."

I had reminded Melissa and she gave me some basketball shorts and a t-shirt. 

"Oh, goodie! I washed mine for you just in case."

I smiled sadly. "Thanks for, um, the first time, anyway."

He nodded. "No biggie."

"I'll, uh, see you then I guess."

"Sure!"

I let out a small breathless laugh and then turned to my own class, meeting the room just as the Late Bell rang.