Because of You

Chapter 1

Warning: Not edited! Find a mistake, please point in out...it would help a lot. 

Happy reading. :)

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Chapter 1

“I heard her idiot of a brother got into a fight with a cop.”

“Yeah, I heard that retard was drunk.”

“Some chick left him for a hotter dude, that’s why he started drinking in the first place.”

“Being a loser runs in the family, huh?”

All the annoying rumors about me enter my ears as soon as I enter the cafeteria. I let loose hair fall to the side of my face and look down at my feet to cover the tears. It’s not like their opinions meant anything to me, but it hurt, bad. It hurt not because it was mean and dismissive right to my face, but because it was true, at least partially.

I speed towards the exit; I need to get out of here before they know I’m crying. I throw my food in the trash and walk towards the library, quiet time, that’s what I need.

 I enter the library, there were couple of students in there and none of which notice my presence, thank God. I go looking for a good book to read in the isolated sections, when Mrs. Wheeler, the sweetest and most polite human being I have come across, also known as the head of the library, greets me.

“Oh, hello Jennifer dear, how are you?”

“Hi, Mrs. Wheeler, I’m okay.”

“You seem a bit down, sweetie.”

“No, I’m fine, really.”

“Okay, if you say so, but you are having some tea with me, come on.”

Before I could decline, she leads the way to her coffee table and on the way I grab a novel. The coffee table is placed at the right hand corner of the second floor of the library. Yes, the library had two floors, three actually, if you count the huge level above the second floor where all the damaged and worn-out books are kept, the only way to get there is to climb a really old and squeaky ladder.

Mrs. Wheeler sets a cup of warm tea in front on me with a tray on chocolate chip cookies; this gesture makes me smile even though she has done it plenty of times in the past. Mrs. Wheeler lost her husband a few years back, he was truly the one and only love of her life, I still remember the way Mr. Wheeler looked at her, with that sparkle in his eyes, the same sparkle she has when she talks about him. His sudden death due to a massive myocardial infarction was very sad, it broke his wife and he took a big piece of her with him. She was really depressed, but eventually she moved on, being the kind hearted person she is, she offers to help the homeless and disabled and works on the school library. I have always admired the strength she has for a woman in her fifties.

I sip the warm and homely tea and thank her.

“Oh, nonsense, there is no need to thank me, you are always welcome dear.”

I help her with the books sometimes to kill time; I feel it is better than going home or staying in class with a class full of people who despise me. And in return she lets me borrow as many books as I want, the school lets the children borrow only one at a time, and not to mention the delicious snacks she offers. We’ve become pretty close in the mean time. I have very few happy places; the library is definitely one of them.

“Mrs. Wheeler, I should get back to class, lunch is almost over.”

“Okay dear, come back soon.”