~Copyright © 2013 calm_your_curls
All rights Reserved ~
~ Arielle ~
"Arielle"
The sudden sound of the wooden door opening made me flinch. My head jerked up as what appeared to be a petite lady bursting into my secret hiding spot. I immediately snapped my journal shut and slowly slid it under my lap.
"You know you can't be here, hun"
She smiled at me, as her brown orbs gave me a 'you know better' look. I rubbed the back of my neck, looking down in utter embarrassment. Once again, I, Arielle Rodgers had been caught inside the janitor's closet writing in her foolish journal.
"S-sorry, Ms. Torres I-I just needed to think. . ."
I stuttered softly, continuing to stare at the cold hard ground. She closed her eyes, and shook her head, making her grey hair swish back and forth from the sudden movement. "You come here to 'think' all the time. Are you sure you are, all right?"
"I'm fine!" I squeaked, grabbing my belongings from the dusty floor. "J-just please. . . don't. . . " I refused to look at her. "Don't tell anyone," I whispered. I placed my black JanSport on left my shoulder and quickly stepped out of the closet.
As usual, no one was roaming the hallway. I slowed my pace down to a slow swagger and moved through the empty hall. My old sneakers squeaked against the shiny tile, making me cringe a bit.
I really needed to find a new hiding spot. The janitor's closet was really nice if you did not mind spiders and dust. However, Ms. Torres had caught me red-handed, three days in the row. I was surprised she had not reported me to the administrators, but I guess she just hoped I would have left by now.
In a matter of minutes, I arrived at my destination. 3rd period. U.S history. Blah.
"You're late," Mr. autumn reprimanded as soon as I set foot in the classroom. I stood frozen in the doorway and watched as dozens of my classmates' eyes landed on my washed-out face. I fidgeted at the door and looked into the crowd of swarming eyes. My best friend, Luke, gave me a small smirk and I quickly looked away.
"Care to explain why you finally showed up to my class, Ms. Rodgers?" he questioned. Mr. Autumn never fails to be pretentious and honestly, it was too much to deal with him sometimes. Well, most of the time.
"And perhaps you can elaborate on why you are late Ms. Rodgers?" he added, crossing his legs under his dark wooden desk and continuing to gawk at me.
My breathing increased as I realized I needed to respond. Like right now. I needed to finally get up and tell Mr. Autumn off and maybe then everyone would pull me up on their shoulders, and parade me in the hall.
As if..
I remained silent for a few more seconds. From the back of the class, Luke waved his hands, urging me to say something. But I did not listen.
"Just sit down!" Mr. Autumn barked. "And next time you show up late to my class, you will be receiving an automatic detention. Am I clear?"
I nodded quickly, rushing away from the door to take the empty seat by the pencil sharpener.
"I'm sorry. I didn't quite hear you, Ms. Rodgers. I said, am I clear?"
My eyes went wide as I stared at the smooth desktop. I-I never, ever speak in class. It is almost like a phobia, except I am not really scared of speaking in front of people. I just never really talk, I guess.
"C'mon!"
"He's waiting for you to say something!"
"Just do it already!"
People shouted from their seats. It was starting to get pretty tense in here, and it was ultimately my fault.
"Ms. Rodgers, I-"
"Goddammit! Just leave her alone!" Luke exclaimed, standing up from his glossy wooden desk. Everyone seemed to jolt their heads back towards Luke's sudden outburst.
"She nodded, right? Isn't that enough!?"
I looked in Luke's direction and saw that his face was totally composed. However, his skin was slowly turning red with anger. He hated when people nitpicked at me.
"Mr. Davis, sit down" The teacher hissed, annoyance controlling his tone. Luke let out a gnarly growl as he sat down. And with that, the bell suddenly rang saving the day once again. Such an awaited shrill of sound, happily dismissing the students from their classrooms. I absolutely adored it. With that, I quickly stood up and flew out the door.
"Ari, wait!" Luke called, and I pressed against the nearest locker in response.
"What the hell, you could've waited for me," he huffed, flipping his slightly curly hair.
"Sorry," I said faintly, my eyes not meeting his.
"Hey, it's alright. A-are you okay?" his warm voice suddenly cooled down. I looked up, regretfully, to see his big, brown eyes filled with worry.
"I'm fine. It's nothing I'm not used to," I said, shuffling my biology book in my arms. He frowned and took the heavy book from my arms, a minuscule smirk rising on my lips.
"And don't you dare think of doing anything like that ever again," I added, his eyebrows shooting up at my sudden demand.
"I'm just going to take that as a 'jee, thanks for defending me' Luke. "
I shook my head and let out a laugh, "I mean, thank you. But don't ever do that again or I'll hurt you." Luke chuckled loudly, and my smile grew bigger at the sound of his warm chuckles.
"Fine, but let's get going or we'll be late for lunch and you know what happens when we're late to lunch." I rolled my eyes, beginning to walk away.
"No, I'm serious! You don't understand! I become this huge, ugly monster, almost like the Hulk! It's horrible," he babbled, and I giggled quietly.
"Well, you've got the ugly part down, so all you need is to become big and scary," I teased, while he held open the huge cafeteria doors.
"Ha. Hilarious," he murmured sarcastically, closing the double door behind us.
I chuckled softly at his response. Rosalyn and Luke were the only light in my life and without them, everything would be a mess.
Since the accident, I have not opened up to anyone else and I mean, like no one else. Besides, I don't like speaking too much in general. I can hardly talk to the teachers and my own mother, without screwing anything up. I could never talk to all my other classmates openly.
Whenever I do speak to strangers, I start to shake and breath heavily, which is kind of uncanny if you ask me. Personally, I find it better to just stay silent and keep to myself. I can't risk anyone finding out what happened because I know they would despise me.
"Alright. Come and stand in the line with me this time?"
Luke flashed a small pearly white smile, inching me towards the never-ending lunch line. There seemed to be more people at the line than usual. This came to a surprise to me because who in the world would want to eat the disgusting glop of food they serve here.
"We can't afford any incidents today..ok?" Luke softly mentioned as he pressed one of his arms on my right shoulder, leading us to the end of the lengthy line.
"Nothing is going to happen. You're overreacting. What's the worst they could do? Call me a mute bitch?" I reassured him, and he let out a long heavy sigh opposing to leave me by my lonesome. Sometimes Luke was too overprotective of me. Don't get me wrong. I appreciate it but I will be ok by myself.
"Just please come with me? I'll feel better if you just-"
"I'll be fine!" I snapped back in a wave of annoyance, backing away from him all too quickly from him.
"I'm just going to go ahead and find Rosalyn. I don't feel like eating anywa-"
"Arielle, stop being difficult just stay" He pressed on and I removed his large hand from my shoulder and proceeded to walk away from him.
"I'll see you at the lunch ta-"
Turning around in a swift movement, I felt everything happen all too quickly. In a matter of seconds, I felt myself collide with someone else's foreign body.
"Hey! Watch where you going, brat!"
It took me a few dreaded seconds to process what just happened. I could hear his maniacal chuckle just as he disappeared leaving me on the ground. It was no one other than the devil himself.
Tyler Oliver James.
My oppressor. My demon that never let me rest. My constant reminder of why I didn't want to be here anymore.
My bully.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Luke's face. His mouth was gaping with a wave of shock. If I could, I would have my mouth open as well.
The sticky milk slid down my hair and slowly clogged my pores. A slice of pizza flopped off my head and rolled down my shirt, leaving a trail of tomato sauce. Vegetables were scattered around me. I tried to step out of my mess and ended up slipping on the milk carton. Giggles erupted from Tyler's table when I tried to get up.
"C'mon," Luke said angrily, extending his wide hand towards mine. I grabbed it without hesitation, my shoes screeching loudly in the process of getting up.
"Wait until I see that bastard, again. I swear I'll-"
"Forget about it. Just help me pick up my stuff,"
I huffed in frustration. I could feel everyone's eyes slowly creeping down my back and I felt more than uncomfortable. I could even feel the teachers and staff staring, and how ignorant of them to not rush to a student's aid.
"Arielle!" I heard Rosalyn shout suddenly. I looked up to see her tiny figure jogging through the crowd of people gathered a few feet away from us to see the spectacle.
"Oh, look who finally decides to show up! Hi Rosalyn, such a great timing you have!" Luke expressed sarcastically rolling his light eyes, picking up the food tray up from the floor. Rosalyn gave him a glare and then proceeded to turn to me.
"Let's go get you cleaned and then you can tell me what the hell happened here." Her eyes widened at the pizza stain in the middle of my chest. Sighing, I walked with her to the restroom doors.
Why the hell does this always happen to me?
~ Eli ~
I didn't go to school today.
Thank God.
Not that school is that horrible or anything, but I feel like total shit. My head was like a pulsating oven and I did not really need the excess heat that students provide for me in the hallway in my body right now.
Staring at the pale white ceiling above me, for the tenth time today my bedroom door slowly opened. Glancing up, I saw my mother. I smiled at her and straightened up in my uncomfortable bed. Removing my hands out from behind my head, I folded them over my chest.
"Hey sweetheart," she whispered, softly closing the door behind her.
"Hey, Mom."
" Are you feeling any better?" She sat down next to me, placing her cold hand upon my forehead.
"Ma! Ma! I'm fine," I huffed, a bit annoyed. I took her hand off my forehead placing it almost too quickly on her lap, making her laugh slightly.
"Well anyway, I picked up some chicken noodle soup on the way home."
"About time someone noticed I was dyin-" She gave me a glare before I could even finish. "Uh, I mean, thanks for caring mom."
She laughed again and I couldn't help but smile at the sound of her sweet laughter. She was so precious and that probably sounds a little weird coming from an eighteen-year-old boy. . . but I was serious. My mother was absolutely incredible. She was the closest person to me from my family. The rest of my family had a hard time acknowledging my existence.
"Okay honey, I gotta head back to work. If anything happens you know where the emergency numbers are, right? And tell your father to call me as well."
She planted a quick kiss on my clammy head and stood up. I squinted my eyes as she walked away and gave her a slight wave.
"Okay. I will," I huffed under my breath. I could not deal with my father. That was the one person in the house I never talked to. The only one I talk to on a daily basis, besides my mother, is my stepbrother, Tyler. However, Tyler is a total douche face. Also, I talk a lot to my best friend, Ray, who shows up randomly. That's about it.
I decided to get up from my bed and onto the hallway, my feet padded against the fine wooden staircase as I ascended down. My footsteps grew louder as I continued down the stairs.
The house was quiet, the way it always was. There was never a day when everyone was home all at once. Mom is usually at a meeting. Henry, my father, is doing some sort of lawyer business. Tyler is at some girl's house, Tiffany or whatever. My brother is God knows where doing God knows what. I guess I am just kind of here. A lot. Actually.
I don't really do anything. I am a do-nothing, eat-the-whole-fridge kind of guy. I don't find anything wrong with that.
*Screeech*
My body flinched as the front door screeched open. I remained standing in the middle of the kitchen, pretending not to see who had just walked in. I quickly tried to fix my messy hair and I gazed down into the shiny toaster to catch my reflection.
"Are you sure we should be here?" Her sweet mellow voice echoed through the house. Of course, Tyler brought Tiffany over, especially when I was sick. "I mean, maybe your mom's here or-"
"Baby, relax. You've been here tons of times and when has my mother been here?" I could hear Tyler's voice muffled, along with a few other disturbing sounds.
"Never," she giggled. I peaked around the corner and witnessed Tyler kissing her neck. I am about to hurl.
"Exactly, so let's go ahead and have som-"
"Mhmm." I forced a smile, stepping out of the dark kitchen and into the hall. "Oh, look who we have here, Tyler! Isn't it a bit early for you to be here? I mean, isn't it a bit early to be out of school?" I smirked, circling around both of them.
Tyler's face radiated anger and I tried my best to hold back a laugh. "We sneaked out, do you have a problem with that? And why are you here anyway?" he hissed. Tiffany's eyes staring deep into my own.
"Oh no. I have no problem little bro, I was just wondering. I guess it's kind of weird to see you home for once. And I'm sick, by the way," I teased, watching his face grow redder.
"Don't ever call me that again," he hissed again, the girl beside him letting out a giggle.
"C'mon baby. Let's just go upstairs," she whispered shyly.
I turned around to give them some respect, which they did not deserve.
"Nah, I changed my mind. I'm not staying here with my freak of a brother. Let's go out for a spin or something," he said completely forgetting I was still here. My eyebrows shot up at his offensive comment.
"We're taking your car, where are the keys?" His crystal blue eyes glared at me, yet a small smirk formed on his lips.
"Ouch, not even asking for permission?"
"No, just tell me where the damn keys are," he repeated in annoyance, wrapping one arm around Tiffany's waist.
"Top drawer, on the left," I chirped, watching him march in the kitchen and take the keys.
I glanced at Tiffany, who stood there like an awkward parakeet. She flashed me a timid smile and I couldn't help but to think how lucky he was.
She was gorgeous.
Her strawberry blond hair was down to her tiny waist. She had the biggest chocolate brown eyes and was always looking around, taking in her surroundings. I have no idea what she saw in Tyler, but I guess that was her problem. The pretty ones always go for the assholes.
She was a keeper.
"Okay, you two have fun! Don't stay out too late!" I yelled as they walked towards the door.
"Shut the hell up, Eli!"
I laughed as Tyler rolled his blue eyes and slammed the door shut like the little diva he is.
Alone again.
Being alone doesn't really bother me. I mean, I hate it sometimes, but its ok.
I'm used to it.
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-V