No More

16• Necklaces

Clouds fill the sky with a dark grey color. There are drops of rain that land on my sweater as I walk into the bus for another glorious day. School has just become another week to accomplish then the cycle continues. All the children on the bus are secluded with silence. The weather has replaced their cheerful faces into gloomy ones. It seems to have taken affect on me too.

I take my usual spot when the creep takes a seat next to me. Did he not get the idea last time? I don't want to interact with him. Instead of taking, I step on his foot and he winces in pain.

"What was that for? I only wanted to see if you were fine from yesterday," he explains while coming closer to me.

"So are you all right?" He whispers right into my ear with a seductive voice. It wasn't comforting; it sounded like a car screeching into my ears.

I take full action and I slap him across the face. The pain aroused in his face should answer his question. Everyone turns their heads to see the drama taking place. All people ever desire is a good story to share as long as they are not involved in it.

Tears stain his red cheeks. He closes his black sweater and covers his face with his hoodie. I've caused pain I never thought I was capable of. My hand is throbbing from the slap's impact. Everyone is starring at me in awe as if I'm a leviathan ready to obliterate them all. I am not the monster they think I am. They do not understand that I was only trying to protect myself. With a shake of their heads, they turn around. Everyone is ashamed of my actions. This feeling absorbs me into another vortex until I see the great black hole of horror.

My seating arrangement is the same for each class. The back of the classroom is my sunshine coming from another direction. I wait for the other students and the teacher to arrive since I am early. I didn't want to communicate with anyone after my incident in bus. If he never makes an appearance, I might be able to forget about the whole situation.

All eyes veer towards the classroom door. Emelia walks into the room with confidence surrounding her. Her minions who copy her exact motions extend this confidence. I can almost feel it vibrate the whole room. One foot after another as if she's a model, but this isn't a runway. She removes her sunglasses slightly to gleam at the rest of the students. She's regular Miss Popular except she's even worse.

Her green eyes resemble a cat's as she squints at the teacher in the corner.

"Emelia, may you please take a seat," the teacher commands. She says this with her overly wide smile. Her name needs to be changed.

Emelia glares at me while she walks around the classroom. When she reaches my seat, she examines my glasses.

"Another doctor who isn't needed in this world." She rolls her eyes as I lay my head on the desk. Why can't she leave a girl isolated from the rest of the world. Insulting others won't make someone feel more superior. It's not ever lasting.

The rest of the day was a drone. Tests, lectures, teachers, and students fill my day with irritation. The sound of the bell lifts me up a few feet. I think I've reached heaven until I get up to leave.

Aidan approaches me with his arms extended. This is the first time I've seen the opposite gender at my school. It's refreshing to see a new face.

I pull his hands down, denying his affectionate hug. As his arms descend, his smile goes down with it.

"What are you doing here?" I ask with concern.

"I came to pick you up. Why else would I be at an all girl's school?" He teases. He puts his hands on my shoulders and continues, "Don't be silly. I came here to check out all the ladies."

I quickly remove his shoulders as I stomp away. He follows me instead of leaving. Someone takes me by surprise and lifts my feet off the ground. I do not kick or scream because it would make a scene and only Emelia does that.

"I told you I was going to pick you up." He winks.

I am close enough to see a shiny metallic object around his neck, a necklace. I leave the warmth of his arms and stop him. My feet are aligned with his; he isn't going anywhere. He is so much taller than me that I have to look up and stand on the top of my toes. I reach to lift the necklace of his neck with one finger.

"What is this doing on your neck? You can't wear this. This is something I would wear!" I scream while breaking the necklace off his neck.

The necklace drops to the floor and we both stare at it. There is a red mark on my finger from where I pulled it off.

"Ow! That hurt. What was that for?" He rubs his hands back and forth on his neck. He shakes his head in distaste.

I quickly apologize because I did not mean to hurt him. My soul has a bit of aggression in it that will never be able to disappear.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to." I assure him. I place my hands near his shoulders, but he removes it.

"I can't touch your shoulder, you can't touch mines. It's only fair." He smirks. His teeth illuminate the area and I could see them glow.

The rain pours down on us and we run to his car. There is a refreshing aroma of air freshener mixed in with the smell of rain. He looks at me before he backs up.

"So, I'm surprised your actually letting me take you home. Am I redeemed as trustworthy now?" He turns his head to make sure there are no cars behind him.

"Um. Well, I was actually going to ask you if you could pick me up from school a few days a week. I know it's a lot to ask for, but there was this situation and I don't think I can ever show my face there again." My hands are intertwined with each other and my I am shaking a bit while I wait for his answer.

"What happened this morning?" He asks. I explain to him everything to my best abilities. My eyes have not left the sight of the floor since I began.

"You did what!" He screams with disbelief. I sink into my chair a few feet deeper. My head is almost at the seat of the chair. After a few minutes of laughing, he regains his breath.

"I slapped him," I say with a scratchy voice. The memories of a terrible day make my face glisten with a blush. I usually do not act this way in front of a crowd, but I was aggravated and I could not hinder my actions.

"All right. I'll pick you up any day you aren't comfortable enough to go on the bus." He checks the time on his watch instead of looking at the digital clock right in the car. Something tells me he likes archaic customs. I was able to tell him the time before he moved his watch up his wrist.

"Do you have to take me home? I really don't feel like dealing with my family at this moment. " I say while arching my neck back restlessly.

"Sure, we are closer to my house anyways. Is it all right with your family?" He makes a u-turn until we reach a road I recognize.

"Yeah, it is. They won't notice I'm home." I reply. Before I left for school, I locked my room door. This way I can be a few hours late and I will be gone unnoticed. Hopefully, if my siblings do not ask for me then no one will.

We stop at his small tiny barn. I discard his home and I head to the back to sit under the tree.