- B U L L Y -
After a breakfast of leftover cereal without milk and a quick spit bath, El and Abel left the house as early as they could. They worked quietly, keeping an eye on the couch where the devil once again lay passed out.
El grinned proudly as she guided her new friend through a game of Don't Wake the Monster, stepping over creaking floorboards of doom and breathing away from the leaning tower of dirty plates waiting to fall and crash into a million shards of alarm. She saw warning signs and red lights, triggers and weapons. Deeply focused on the task at hand, enthralled by the reassuring thought of storybook heroes and fictional consequences, she was not scared.
Abel thought she herself much preferred yesterday's beach scene.
. . .
The bus ride to school was silent, well, as quiet as a public bus ride could be. The girls sat in El's new preferred seats, at the back of the vehicle. Abel watched her friend's counting ritual with curiosity until their arrival at the stop nearest to school.
El's entrance into the building went much smoother with a friend by her side, though she still covered her ears as they hurried past the hallway chaos to their classroom. From a desk at the back, she tried to take in the new surroundings and block out the quickly amplifying sound of chatter and moving chairs as more students crowded in. The noise and movement became almost unbearable when suddenly, one last bang. A harshly shut door locked the teens in and let them know it was time to sit still and listen.
The warden listed off names and checked boxes as hands raised one after the next to confirm their presence. When no hand went up, she frowned before continuing.
"Abel?" The small girl showed she was there, "well, nice of you to join us today!"
A few more names.
"Eloise? Oh, another truant, and on the first day no less! Congratulations ladies."
Chuckles were heard throughout the room as Abel cringed in embarrassment. El guessed they were indeed not being praised for breaking the rules.
For the rest of class Abel tried her best to focus and take notes, periodically looking over to see her friend doodling in her notebook. When the bell rang, she turned to El while packing her bag.
"Aren't you gonna take notes?"
Her friend didn't look up as she put her own things away.
"Already took notes," she answered calmly.
"What do you mean?"
"Welcome to 10th grade El. Another year, welcome to 10th grade El."
Abel thought for a moment.
"Oh, you're repeating the grade?"
El nodded and covered her ears as they now walked through the hallway.
"Did you really need to do it over again?"
She shook her head no in response. Abel sighed.
. . .
At lunch, Abel bought El and herself each a sandwich with some of the little pocket money she had and they headed outside. They sat eating in content silence on the grass behind the school, backs against the red brick wall, when an older boy approached, a few more kids behind him.
"Hey, guys," he chuckled, "look, the dyke found a little girlfriend to do lesbian stuff with behind the school! Can we watch?" He grinned grossly, directing the last sentence at the two girls.
El flapped her hands anxiously, a look of discomfort on her face.
"Oh my god her new girlfriend is such a weirdo too! Look at that retard!" Laughs came from a few students. "Hey freak, what are you doing, tryna fly away?"
"Hey, leave her alone," Abel stood, "don't you have anything better to do?"
The boy ignored her.
"Hi everyone," he mimicked El's movements in a mocking way, "I'm one of the special kids, be nice to me or I'll cry," he used a whiny tone to speak and the others laughed again.
Abel stepped forward and clenched her fists, frowning.
"I said, leave her alone."
"Or what?" The boy smirked, "you gonna tell on me? I'm so scared."
Abel lifted one hand and punched him in the face, hitting his right eye, which would now certainly turn dark purple soon.
The imposing boy suddenly appeared much angrier. He looked as though he was about to jump her when two of the guys standing close behind grabbed him and made him walk away.
"Dude," one whisper-shouted, "you beat 'em up you're out of here for sure. You can't leave marks!" The other nodded. The rest of the small crowd followed not far behind them.
"I'm sorry you had to see that," Abel apologized as she kneeled next to El who now hugged her knees tightly, rocking back and forth.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Abel lowered and turned her head to look her friend in the face as she put one hand softly on her back.
"Freak, weirdo," El closed her eyes and shook her head, as if hoping the movement would help the memories of her past fall right out of her head.
"Okay, I don't know what you've been told," Abel spoke again, "but you're not a freak. You're an angel, remember? Anyways, if we all listened to the bullies, there would be no beautiful, unique people like you left in the world."
El lifted her head from her knees and sat cross legged, turning so they could face each other easier. "You can't leave marks," she replied quietly.
"You've heard that before, haven't you?"
Out of nowhere, a butterfly flew over to the girls and landed on El's arm.
"Pretty," she stared at the colourful insect.
Her friend smiled sweetly, forgetting, for now, about the answer she feared would come to her question.
"See, I told you. This is proof 'cause pretty things are always attracted to angels."
"Why?" El looked at her friend with her head tilted questioningly as the butterfly flew away.
"Because they're so sweet of course!"
El furrowed her brow in confusion and looked down at her arm, proceeding to stick her tongue out and touch it to her skin so she could taste. She quickly lifted her head back up and frowned in disgust, shaking her head no. Able tried to hide her chuckle.
"Not literally!"
El smiled, still confused, as Abel tried to explain what she meant. Both girls giggled and leaned back against the brick wall, with in their heads the pipe dream of never again hearing the bell that would request their presence back inside.
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1091 words
Sorry (to my only fan) for the long wait! Hope you enjoy this, I'm not sure if it's my best quality writing though. :/
Love ya xx
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All Useless Things In Someone's Mind
RomanceStill unaware of her autism which her parents hid from her, Eloise's life is uprooted at 15 when she is shipped across the country to an abusive foster father. When the new town, house, and school, she is dropped into turn out to be unsafe environm...
