An Unexpected Girl

chapter twenty-three

The traumatizing weekend was yet another thing for Iris to tuck away in the back of her mind like it didn't happen.

Iris spent the rest of the weekend in her room, sleeping to help come down from her outrageous high, but also to avoid being awake and having to face reality.

A couple of times, Iris heard Korra knock on her bedroom door, asking if she was okay, but Iris didn't respond. She wasn't in the mood for anyone or anything. She didn't want to have to face anyone or anything, and would just ignore Korra till she went away.

By the time Monday came about, Iris finally left her room for what was possibly the first time in days. Iris attended classes diligently, using her schoolwork to distract herself from everything in her usual manner.

More than once, what Niki had said to her that faithful night popped into her head:

Don't do something stupid like falling in love with me.

Each time, before Iris could let her mind ponder on it, she pushed her thoughts away, locking it at the back of her mind. Thinking about Niki right then would do nothing good for her. She knew it. So there was no point in letting herself do so.

Honestly, Iris just wanted to lock herself away in her bedroom. She had previously thought her anxiety was at an all-time high, but each new day proved otherwise. When Iris wasn't in class or working, she was locked away in her bedroom.

Adi had texted Iris asking how she was doing, but Iris had ignored the text; pretended that she didn't see it. Guilt overcame her by doing this. Yet, the embarrassment and shame that Iris felt when thinking of the previous weekend overcame this. The last thing that she wanted or needed was to be reminded of it.

Iris still saw Adi in their biology lecture, sitting at the corner towards the front of the room, but when Iris worked at the gym, she avoided the weight room for fear of running into Adi. She didn't want to be confronted by the red-haired girl, and didn't want to face the feelings she had been avoiding.

In a sense, it seemed that Adi understood this. After all, Iris' avoidance of her was rather obvious, but Adi didn't chase after her. She didn't send her follow-up texts or pester her for a response. Iris wasn't quite sure how to feel about this.

For the most part, Iris' avoidance tactics were working really successfully. She could throw herself into what she needed to do and avoid the world which seemed to crumble at her feet. In fact, Iris had been avoiding the majority of her problems for so long that when her mom called her one evening while sat in her room, it all came crashing back to her.

Iris stared at her phone, watching it ring. She couldn't remember the last time exactly she had talked to her mom, but that wasn't surprising, seeing as Iris was avoiding her.

Although Iris felt guilty for continually ignoring her mom's calls, she knew she wasn't in the right place to deal with her.

Iris reached for her phone to decline the incoming call, but her finger slipped, pressing down on the answer button instead.

"Iris?"

Shit, Iris thought to herself as her mom's voice came through loud and clear. But it was too late. There was nothing she could do but forge ahead.

"Hey mom," Iris said, attempting to make her voice sound as cheery as she could muster. But it sounded strained and forced, even to her.

"Iris," her mom said, her voice serious, "you have not been picking up my calls."

Iris swallowed hard. She didn't have to see her mom's face to know that her brows were screwed together in annoyance.

"Sorry mom, I've just been really busy with school and all," Iris replied, playing with the hem of her shirt nervously.