Arachnophobia [BNHA]

Chapter Six

Lottie felt nervous about returning to school after her suspension. After a trip to urgent care and the help of a nice nurse with a healing quirk, her injuries were healed up. She left Ronaldo in the garden and reluctantly headed to school. Her stomach churned unpleasantly as she walked to school. The sky turned grey as she walked. She groaned as she was a few blocks away from the school once it began to downpour.

She held her bag over her head in a meager attempt to keep herself as dry as possible from the rain and raced toward school. Many of her classmates lined the sidewalk with umbrellas but none of them offered her any shelter. Most of them pretended she didn't exist. A few pointed and laughed as they saw her sprint by trying to dodge raindrops as she went.

Sliding to a quick stop across the street from the school she took a hurried glance to make sure the coast was clear before making a dash across the street. The chiming of a bicycle bell nearly gave her a heart attack.

"LOOK OUT!" A voice shouted.

Lottie let out a squeal and stumbled back to avoid the bicycle messenger as he flew past her. She tripped over a foot that appeared to have been intentionally in her path and fell flat on her back in a puddle near the storm drain. An eruption of laughter sounded behind her as the majority of her schoolmates took pleasure in her torment.

Scrambling to her feet, Lottie bit her lip and struggled to keep herself from crying. She scurried across the street as quickly as she could clinging to her now sopping wet school bag. Hot tears of humiliation welled in her eyes. There were more students who'd seen her wipe out laughing near the entrance of the school. They pointed and laughed. A few dramatically reenacted her fall causing more students to join in the malicious mocking.

Wiping tears from her eyes she shoved past the crowd of students at the entrance and hurried to her shoe locker. Her uniform was soggy from her tumble. When she rounded the corner to where her foot locker was she saw the door wide open and her shoes lying below in the janitor's mop bucket. She bowed her head refusing to meet anyone's gaze and bent forward to retrieve her school slippers.

"Looks like you could use a bath." A voice sounded from behind her before she was pushed from behind.

As her balance was already thrown off due to her leaning forward Lottie nose dived into the mop bucket. She got a mouthful of dirty mop water before hitting the ground. The mop bucket spilled all over her and she coughed and gagged and nearly vomited. A loud chorus of laughter echoed through the foot locker area. Lottie struggled to keep from bursting into tears.

"What's going on here?!" An authoritative voice shouted near the archway leading into the school.

The students dispersed quickly. Lottie looked up to see an irate middle-aged man wearing a cheap suit, Mr. Iwakura, the principal. His dark eyes narrowed as he found the sopping wet thorn in his side, the pink haired transfer student.

"Miss Spindel, I should have known." He sighed. "What's the meaning of this?" He looked to the spilled mop bucket.

"S-someone pushed me." Lottie said softly.

"Who was it?" He folded his arms in front of his chest and fixed her with a scowl.

"I-I don't know." She stammered.

He glanced around to the few stragglers, "and did anyone else happen to catch a glimpse of this 'someone' who accosted Miss Spindel?"

The stragglers all played dumb.

"You know, Miss Spindel, you've been nothing but trouble since you arrived at this school. Perhaps you'd like another suspension...or maybe something more permanent...anymore trouble from you and you'll be expelled." Mr. Iwakura said haughtily.