The Scars That Broke Her

Chapter 4

"We are so glad you are joining us this year." Principal Anderson said with a bright smile on her face. Principal Anderson was an older lady with salt-and-peppered gray hair that was pulled into a small bun on the back of her head. She wore thin reading glasses on the bridge of her nose as she read over our files. Tate and I sat in front of her long wooden desk.

"Thank you." Tate said, matching her smile. I looked around the room, taking in the various awards and certificates hanging around the wall.

"Let's see where to start." Principal Anderson continued, her eyes not lifting from the files. "It looks like Tate you are on track to be a senior and Noa, you're supposed to be starting your junior year. Is that correct?"

"Yes ma'am." Tate responded as I nervously picked at the skin around my nails.

"It looks like you both did fairly well at your previous school. You participated in various clubs and sports. I see you both played soccer. Do you plan on playing here? Will you be attending tryouts this afternoon?" Her eyes glanced up from the file as she waited expectantly for a response.

Tate nodded. "Yes ma'am."

Principal Anderson beamed, then turned her gaze to me.

"I don't play anymore." I told her. Sorry to be the disappointment.

"Well, if you change your mind. The girls coach is great. They really like him." She said, her smile still written across her face. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but that's not going to happen. She looked back at the file. "Let's see, I see here that near the end of the school year last year your attendance began to drop. It looks like they would be lucky if you made it two days a week. Tate," She paused reading over something in the file. "it looks like you were able to maintain your grades. However, Noa, you went from excelling in all your classes to nearly failing all but one."

Tate shot me a look. He didn't know my grades were that bad. He always asked, but he already had so much on his plate with our father that I didn't want him to worry about me too.

"A D is hardly failing." I pointed out, though I knew Tate would have something to say about later. D or not, my grades were still pretty bad.

Principal Anderson gave a small chuckle, closing the file and placing it down on her desk. "A D minus is only one grade above failing. And given your earlier grades, a drop that far is concerning." Her eyes flickered between the two of us, her smile turning into a small frown. Her previously happy demeanor now turning into a much more serious one. "I understand that you both went through a lot at your previous school. With the loss of both your parents, you were put under an exorbitant amount of pressure. But this kind of behavior will not be acceptable here. We pride ourselves on raising punctual students who are accountable for their work. These are skills you need in order to be successful in the world outside of school."

It was all I could do to keep from scoffing. The outside world. I had already had a full size serving of what the world outside of school was like. I don't need some old lady telling me what it was like out there. I knew. I knew better than anyone. I trained my gaze down, trying to hide the expression written on my face, just to be safe. I'm not sure what it was saying.

"You will be required to attend all your classes; and we will be keeping track. As for you, Noa, I'm not sure being placed in the junior class is the best place for you. You missed a substantial amount of work, and I am afraid you could be too far behind."

My head snapped up as she said the words I was dreading. "Please don't do that." I pleaded. I could not handle getting held back. 

"Ms. Barret-"