Friend or Fiend

Chapter 13

Chapter 13

A vroom sounds dangerously close to my ear. Another honk causes me to sleepily open my eyes. When I check the time on my phone, I yelp in surprise.

Damn it! I scold myself. It's 11 already and I'm late for school.

I group the blanket onto my arms, my feet pounding on the cement ground. When I see a homeless person, I drop the soft blanket next to him and wave goodbye, leaving behind the extra weight.

I make a turn to the left then sprint 3 blocks down to my school, arriving while wheezing for oxygen. The door opens and a man in a black and white suit holds it for me, while I run up the stairs, calling, "Thanks" behind me.

I stop by the security guard's desk, waiting for a late pass.

"What's your name, dear?" she asked.

"Avalon."

She nods and writes my name down, checking her watch and filling out the time as well.

Grabbing the slip when she hands it to me, I take the steps by 3's until the reach the 4th floor. Then, I calmly start walking, as if nothing had happened - as if I wasn't late.

When I reach the math room, I peek in and see that Ms. Silverstein is pointing at the board filled with numbers. I groan. We were learning algebra and I never seem to get it.

I'm debating with myself whether I should go in or just sit in the hallway until the period ends and lunch starts, but the door opens before I can make up my mind.

"Hello," she says with her usual grumpy expression. "Are you going to come in or what?"

I inwardly gulp, afraid of her, and squeak, "Yes, madam. I'm coming in."

She stared at me with her narrowed eyes. "Don't 'madam' me."

"Sorry," I reply, taking my seat and getting my things out.

Ms. Silverstein goes back to the front of the class and I begin to zone out. I think about all the drama that's been going on for the past few days and what I'm going to do to fix it all. I think about Damon and Brittany and Braxton and Amanda and Sophia. And I just...

Think.

Ms. Silverstein's monotone voice cuts my thoughts off, jolting me back to reality. "Avalon?"

"Yes, sir," I reply automatically. "Uh I mean, madam," I say flustered. "Ummm," I start again, "yes, Ms. Silverstein?"

I hear giggles around me, but I don't dare look at them. Instead, I look at Ms. Silverstein, who has a smirk on her face. "Can you answer my question?"

"Ummm," I say nervously, stalling for time. I pretend to be looking at the board and all those confusing numbers that I can never make sense of. "Well," I start again.

From the corner of my eyes, I see Abigail with her hand up, stretched so high that it nearly touched the ceiling. "Why don't you call on Abigail," I say as an alternative. "She really wants to answer it." Sarcasm outlines my words.

Ms. Silverstein takes no notice of my words. "Time's tickin'," she says with a bored expression on her face, looking at her watch. "We don't have all day."

I know that the bell should be ringing soon, and thankfully, it rings just in time. The BRING BRING BRING causes everyone to quickly stuff all their things back in their bags.

"Well, sadly, class is over," Ms. Silverstein says, sitting down on her chair with a peek of a smile no student - except Abigail - had ever seen during class.