Problem Kid

Chapter 8

"Somebody get a wheelchair from the office! Tell them I need it! Jimmy, lay her down here on my jacket," I hear my teacher calmly addressing the people around us. I will my eyes to open however they feel glued shut.
I feel my body being placed into a cool surface. Normally I would shudder however I remain still in my paralysed body. I want to scream however I can't. I want it to stop.
"Did kissing me feel THAT good, Ev? Woah," I want to laugh at Jimmy.
"Yeah... young love... cute...?" Internally I'm chuckling at my teacher's mock disgust.
"Shhh, it was cute, ok?" I hear a snort.
"Yeah, sure,"
"We have the chair! Is everything ok?" I recognise the voice of the office lady from above me.
"Yeah. She's just passed out. POTS. We're going to need to use that to stop her from passing out any more," brief conversation is shared between the two members of staff as I wait to regain consciousness. I can feel Jimmy gently brushing his fingers across my wrist and realise my sleeve must be pulled up partially.
"Everleigh..." I hear his voice crack and fade out before a splash of warm water hits my forehead. He's crying. I use all of my strength and will to make my fingers move, clenching until I feel then tighten around his hand. He instantly freezes.
"Everleigh?" I suddenly thrust my eyelids apart and blink a few times before opening my mouth.
"I'm ok," he laughs.
"Of course you are," I reach a shaking left hand up to his face and brush the tears on his cheek before placing my hand behind his head and pulling it down beside mine.
"Lay with me?" He nods and settles beside me on the floor. I see people staring but for once, I don't care.
"Jimmy... I purged the toast earlier... I'm sorry," he bushes me, making a small 'shhh' sound whilst wrapping his fingers around mine.
"It's ok. When did you last eat and keep something down?" I think for a moment.
"I had a bite of apple this morning. Other than that, 2 days ago I had a slice of toast," he turns his head towards mine.
"That wasn't even a bite of apple. that was a piece the size of your pinkie nail," I sigh.
"It wasn't mainly your POTS that made you pass out there, wasn't it? That's why Summer couldn't alert you in time," I sigh, turning my head away.
"Yes..." I hear his breath by my ear as I begin stroking Summer, who is spread across my stomach, with my free hand.
"You need to eat," I sigh.
"I can't,"
"Please,"
"It's too hard... I can't do it! It's not as easy as you think. I can't just eat! It's not as simple as chewing and swallowing. It's the constant worry of calories. The weight I'll gain. How much weight I could loose if I just skip another meal. And now it's like some sick, twisted game that my mind plays with me! How long can I go without eating before I pass out? 24 hours? 36? 48? 100? More? It's not as easy Jimmy. I'm broken. I can't do it. I don't know how you can even love a train wreck like me. I'm a mess. I can't be fixed. Throw me out with the rest of the trash where I belong. Let me die,"
"No. No. Don't say that. Don't say that, Everleigh! You CAN do it. Please. Let me help you. Let me be here for you. Let me fix you. I love you. I need you. You're perfect to me. But I want you better. Please, baby. Please..."
"I can't-"
"Please"
"Fine," he gently strokes my hand for a moment until Mr Gray speaks up, sadness in his tone of voice.
"And I heard all of that," I notice that the students who were near us before were now gone, in class. As was the office lady.
"I..." I give up trying to defend myself.
"Hop into the chair. Come on," I sigh and sit up, moving Summer out of my way and walking one step towards the chair before slowly settling into it.
The teacher attempts so push me however I turn the chair sharply.
"I can do it myself!" He sighs and I speed up down the corridor towards his room. I'm supposed to have a double lesson with him now until lunch. Great.
"Thanks," I mutter as Jimmy opens the door for me. I love to my normal seat, pulling the plastic seat away and leaving it in the corner. Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE was staring at me. I try to open my book and log onto the computer however the stares anger me. I pick my bag up from where Jimmy had placed it on the floor and put it on the handlebar of my chair, taking Summer's leash and clipping it to my waist before turning and leaving. I stop outside, taking a deep breath in and closing my eyes. Nobody came out. Nobody called after me. The class had begun. I punched the door of the room angrily before wheeling myself to the disabled bathroom where I allowed myself to break down. It was all just too much for me. The tears stopped pretty quickly though, burning out because of my rage. I screamed angrily, my right hand clenched and colliding with the hard tiles before I yelp in pain. A large snap had sounded from my hand and it instantly began to swell. I used my other hand to fumble for my phone in my bag before remembering it was in the math class. I attempt to stand, unable to wheel myself with one arm, however I instantly become sickeningly dizzy and collapse back into the chair. I begin to sob into my fists however I'm made to look up by Summer who is clawing at the door and barking.
"Get help?" She turns to me and barks once.
"Ok girl!" I shuffle my chair forward with my feet before unlocking the heavy wooden door and swinging it open. I unclip her leash and she darts down the corridor. With a deep breath, I sit back in the chair and wait. As I do so, I stare at the tiles on the wall. The one I had punched was slightly dented. I look down at my first again, seeing it swollen and purple at the wrist and knuckles. With a sigh, I begin to wash the blood off of my aching knuckles in the sink, wincing hard.
"Everleigh?!" I turn to see the door being pushed open by a tall male figure.
"I punched the wall and I've busted my fist and I can't do this anymore," I burst into tears, causing my teacher to bend down and hand me a tissue calmly.
"Shhh, it's ok. You need to go to the hospital and get an X-Ray, ok? That looks broken for sure. I'll pass my class to a cover teacher and get Jimmy. We can go in one second. Ok?" I nod,using my right fist to rub tears from my face. With a small sigh, I sit back and allow myself to be pushed by Mr Gray to the office.
"Hey, Everleigh has possibly broken her hand and needs to go to A&E to get it checked out. If you can get cover for my class I'll take her?" The office worker peers down at me with a disapproving look.
"I can get another teacher to go with it if you want?" I growl at what she had called me however I was in too much pain to comment. Tears were rolling down my face and I was biting my cheeks to stop myself from letting out a cry of pain.
"I want... sir... to come!" He mutters something about my trust issues to her and she nods, telling us to return in 5 minutes. We turn and head back to the classroom where I stay outside as Mr Gray walks back inside and calms the loud class down.
"Everleigh?" I look up to see Mr McC from math above me and sigh.
"Are you covering the class?" He nods.
"Are you ok?" I avoid looking at him.
"I'm fine. Just going to the hospital to get my wrist checked out. Probably not coming back to school so can I have my phone?" He nods, taking it from his bag.
"Don't use it again in class. Ok?" I roll my eyes.
"Yeah, sure," he sighs before pushing open the door and walking inside. After a minute, Mr G and Jimmy leave the room with Summer walking alongside Jimmy. I prepare to clip her on however we're about to leave the school anyway so there's no point. I place the leash in my bag again before remembering something.
"I left something in class. I'll get it quickly. Give me a second," the two nod and I stand, ignoring how dizzy I feel and hurrying into the room.
"I have to get something for Sir," I tell the teacher who is observing everyone's work. He nods and I open the drawer of his desk which holds the first aid kit. I unzip it quietly, taking out my black purse and shoving it into my back pocket before closing everything and leaving. I fall back into the chair just as my vision begins to fade. I rest my head in between my knees and breathe in and out slowly for a few minutes until I feel a bit better and able to sit up.
"You ready?" I nod, attempting to brush my hair out of my face with my left hand and letting out a cry of pain as my wrist bends.
"Let's get you to the hospital," Mr Gray speaks up and I nod, calling Summer alongside me as Jimmy begins to push me.
"What did you leave in there?" Jimmy bends down to talk to me.
"Water bottle," he looks at me sceptically however I just look away.
"We'll talk in a bit then," I ignore his reply and close my eyes, leaning my head back. I'm still dizzy from dehydration and hunger. I know I should eat something but I can't. It sickens me to even try food, let alone eat a large portion. I sigh, taking a piece of gum from my bag and having a sip of water before chewing it. The hunger is clawing away at my stomach, the pain making me want to cry.
"Hey," Jimmy bends down and kisses me gently on the cheek and I smile weakly.
"We'll get you something to eat at the hospital, ok?" I shake my head.
"Everleigh, you need to eat," my teacher chimes in and I roll my eyes.
"So?"
"You have to have something. How long have you been doing this for?" Mr G looks concerned.
"One and a half months," he nods.
"How much did you weight before and how much are you at now?" I close my eyes again.
"I was 135 pounds. Now I'm 97," he looks over at me worriedly.
"That's way too low! Everleigh, that isn't good for your health. You're underweight! Why can't you see that?" Tears are forming in his eyes. I'm shocked.
"I'm not underweight. I'm still huge. It's not small enough. I'm fine, ok! Why do you even care?" He turns to me angrily.
"Because I don't want you to go down the same route I went down!" We stop beside a Black Range Rover which he unlocks. I stand and get into the back seat, putting Summer at my feet. Jimmy gets in beside me after folding my chair and placing it into the boot of the car with Mr Gray. The teacher then takes a seat inside the car himself, starting the ignition.
"Like... you?" He lauses for a moment and runs a palm across his forehead.
"Yes like me. I had an eating disorder when I was younger too. I understand more than you think!" I stare at him in awe as he begins to explain...

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EDITED