Weeping Willow

Chapter Three - More Than This

For some reason the walk to school seemed more hopeful. I wasn't sure why, nothing was really all that different. So what if I'd made a quasi friend on the internet... maybe I was getting ahead of myself.

Still, it was a shocker even to me, that as I walked up the steps into school I managed a smile. Today the girls gossiping about the upcoming party didn't even filter through my ears. None of that other stuff mattered, and for once I was kind of happy not to dwell on why that was, so I walked, in my semi happy haze down the corridor, until I stopped at my locker.

As I turned the combination I couldn't shake the feeling that I was being watched. And the weird happiness kind of melted away. I stopped and looked around but just like every other morning, not including yesterday... I was invisible. Frowning I looked back at my locker and finished the combination. As soon as the lock was off however, the door sprung open and after a loud bang I was covered in bright blue paint. There in the middle of the corridor surrounded by people who were meant to be my peers I looked like a freaking smurf.... Completely and utterly visible.

"Stay away from my boyfriend dog." Tiffany called out from the stairs above me. I forced myself not to look, knowing that Kalen's girlfriend was on the stairwell. She's done this, out of some misguided idea I was any kind of a threat. I swallowed hard and closed my eyes. Ignoring the loud laughter that began to surround me.

"Willow... Are you alright?" Kalen's voice cut through the noise. I tensed up as he placed his hand on my paint covered shoulder.

"Leave me alone." I yelled, shrugging his hand away.

I ran down the corridor until I made it to the girls bathroom. I stared at myself in the mirror and tried not to cry as I surveyed the damage. As I wiped my face furiously with paper towels I sighed with relief. The bright blue paint hadn't stained my skin, but my clothes were a write off. I slid down the wall of the bathroom and sat on the floor. Unable to hold it back any longer thick tears left my eyes and rolled down my cheeks before I could stop them. I sat there on the floor crying like the pathetic person I was until I heard the door open, clambering to my feet as quickly as I could I shuffled into a stall and closed the door behind me. I was going to have to hide out here until the bell rang, until I could figure out what to do.

As soon as it sounded, the noise outside the bathroom stall and in the corridor began to quieten. I waited until it was silent before I left. The janitor was already at my locker when I arrived back to check the final result. My books were luckily okay, the paint bomb had only covered me it seemed.

"Miss Hartford." A stern voice sounded from behind me. I turned on my heel, and found myself face to face with the principal, Mrs Oak. One look at me and her eyes softened.

"Please, come to my office." She murmured.

I nodded and followed her down the corridor toward the administration block. She paused at the reception desk and whispered something about spare clothing before walking to her office door. She opened it and ushered me in with an empathetic smile.

"Do you know who did this?"

I shook my head, even though I had a pretty good idea. Tiffany had been waiting and watching, ready to pounce. I could still hear her shrill voice in the back of my head. But outing her meant bringing more focus on to myself and all I wanted was to be invisible again.

"If you find out, please let me know. They should face consequences." She paused and looked up at her door before nodding at whomever stood there. The door opened and Mrs Regent the receptionist placed folded clothing on the table beside me. Mrs Oak nodded again and Mrs Regent left. "Take first period off, get into some clean clothing and try not to worry."