New Girl on the Block

Chapter Five: Helena

I sit on the bathroom floor, my knees pressed against me, and my back to the wall. Lyra squats next to me with an ice pack from her lunch. She makes me pull my head from my knees and presses the ice pack to my cheek. "It really doesn't hurt. I just feel so stupid!" I say between tears, shaking my head. "I know, but I don't want it to inflame," Lyra says.

It feels like we've known each other forever even though we met this morning. "Thank you," I tell her, wincing when she represses the ice pack to my cheek. She smiles and nods. "Of course," she says simply.

A woman walks into the bathroom; she's certainly not a teacher. "Girls," she says, "Come with me, please." I look at Lyra, and she gives me a polite smile then helps me off the floor. We walk out of the bathroom and to the principals' office.

Benjamin sits in one of the plastic blue chairs, bouncing his leg nervously. When the woman leading us opens the door, Benjamin looks up and stops bouncing his leg. I look away from him, practically cutting off the circulation to Lyra's hand. She doesn't seem to mind, though.

The woman tells us to have a seat, and the only available seats are the two beside Benjamin. Lyra knowingly sits between us, I allow our hands to break away. Benjamin looks away from us, his leg bouncing rapidly again. After about five minutes of unsupervised silence, Benjamin breaks it.

"I am so so sorry, Helena! I didn't know what he was doing, and I don't know why he did it," he says, speaking so fast his words practically run together. I look around Lyra at him and say, "It isn't your fault. Thank you for thinking so quickly and helping me." I sit back in my chair for all of about two seconds before Benjamin is talking anxiously again.

His leg bouncing seems to have contagiously found its way to my leg. "Are you okay? Do you need anything? How hard did he hit you?" Benjamin says rapidly. I look around Lyra again, but before I can speak, she stands up, practically slides me over to her seat, and sits in mine. She pulls out her phone and begins tapping away at something. "I'm fine, I promise," I say, which seems to calm Benjamin.

My phone dings, so I pull it out of my skirt pocket, which, once I remember I have pockets, brightens my mood way more than it should. I see Lyra's contact on my notifications and look to her with confusion. She shrugs her shoulders as if she's innocent. I open the message to find her calling Benjamin and I lovebirds.

I quickly turn off my phone and slide it back into my pocket as I softly backhand Lyra's arm. She smiles mischievously and goes back to her phone. The same woman from earlier walks out of the office, calling Banjamin and I to come to her. His friend walks by us with glare as he leaves. Lyra squeezes my hand as I get up.

Benjamin and I walk into the office and have a seat in the wooden chairs in front of the principals desk. A man walks in and sits in his leather chair, crossing one leg over the other. "Tell me what happened because Mr. Daniels was clearly feeding me words and no answers," the man rubs his head, "I swear I heard that boy mention something about a pineapple crossing the street or something," he mutters to himself.

Benjamin and I somehow look at each other at the same time. I take a deep breath, deciding to go first. "I was meeting a friend when, before I knew it, he was pinning me against the lockers and screaming at me for giving him a fake number," I say, and the principals eyes open wide. "Are you saying this whole shenanigan is because you played a prank on the boy?" He asks, and all I can do is nod; Benjamin nods with me.

The principal hesitates for a moment and then bursts with laughter. I relax, exhaling the breath I didn't realize I was holding. I glance back and forth between Banjamin and the principal. "You're both released. Have a good day!" The principal says, slowing his breathing between gasps.

My eyes flutter to Benjamin, and I stand when he shrugs. "Go ahead, I'll see you later," he says when I wait for him to leave with me. I nod and walk out of the office.