I See You (Version A)

The Moon

"Do I have any volunteers to help me with this demonstration?" Mr. Pierce asked the class. One girl, I think her name is Jenny, raised her hand high in the air. Mr. Pierce was a fairly young man, tall, chiseled, muscular, tight shirt and pants... I would not be surprised if he spent most of his time staring at himself in the mirror, feeding himself compliments, he just looks like the sort. A lot of the girls thought he was "cute" though. I got a bad vibe from him. He looked around the room at the students, Jenny waved her hand hard to get his attention. It was obvious he wasn't calling on her on purpose. "Miss Moreau?" He called. I looked up at him.

He doesn't want me to come up, does he? Please no, I've only been here for three days, and I don't have a good track record with chemistry equipment. Mr. Pierce grabbed a lab apron off the wall, similar to the one he had on, and held it up in my direction. Please, tell me this is a dream and I'm going to wake up any moment now. I got up and slowly walked to the front of the room, I could feel Jenny glaring at me on top of my heart racing in my chest.

"Maybe we should dissect Marlowe and find out why she's so weird," I remember her voice and those giant, pink, emperor sleeves that she was told to change out of for safety precautions. "Cut it out," I remember snapping back. I could feel tears forming in my eyes, but I wasn't upset. My anxiety just made my eyes tear up, but I guess to everyone else it just makes me look super sensitive.

As I stood behind the table in the front of Mr. Pierce's classroom, I kept thinking about that day. I couldn't help it. Deep breaths, Marlowe. Mr. Shirt-Too-Tight-For-His-Body handed me the striker for the bunsen burner, I stared at the beaker which was being suspended in the air in front of me by the ring clamp. I think I'm going to pass out. Mr. Pierce reached over and opened the valve of the bunsen burner.

"There you go, Miss Moreau," he said. "You remember how to use the striker, right?" I nodded in response. I squeeze the striker and feel my heart drop. No flame yet. I take a deep breath and squeeze again. Nothing. Please, let me go sit down and call on Jenny or something. "One more time, Marlowe. You almost got it," Mr. Pierce said softly.

"Cut it out!" I screamed as Miss Emperor Sleeves poked her bottom lip out, as if in the presence of a baby.

"Awe, is someone going to cry?" She teased. I slammed my hand on the desk when...

Whoosh! The monstrous flame was born. Everyone jumped back and Mr. Pierce grabbed my shoulders, pulling me back from the fire. He closed the valve on the bunsen burner. Oh my god, I almost did it again. Everyone sat in silence, a few people laughed in amusement. Mr. Pierce chuckled lightheartedly.

"I think I grabbed the faulty bunsen burner," he said. No, Mr. Pierce, I'm just a bad luck charm.

"May I go to the bathroom?" I asked softly.

"Of course," Mr. Pierce said. He walked over to the table of bunsen burners, inspecting them. I took my apron off and left the class as calmly as possible, before running to the bathroom as soon as I shut the door behind me. I leaned against the sink. Calm down, Marlowe. It's easier said than done. I took deep breaths, trying to compose myself. I need to come with a warning sign draped around my neck: DON'T LET NEAR FIRE. Why does this keep happening? Am I just a bad luck charm when it comes to fire? My thoughts were sending me down a spiral. Just then I hear the door open. I looked up and saw Fiona looking at me with worried eyes.

"Marlowe?" Her voice was soft. After a moment, she quickly held her arms out. Without hesitation, I rushed over to hug her. I don't know if she's in here by pure coincidence, but I really needed to see a friendly face. She squeezed me. "Are you okay?" She asked quietly.

"Yeah, just my anxiety," I responded. Fiona rubbed my back. I haven't even been at this school a week and I already almost burned it down.

"Come to my locker with me," Fiona said. We left the bathroom and walked down the empty hallway to our lockers. Fiona dialed her combination and opened her locker, reaching in and pulling out a little pencil case. I wonder what she's getting. She pulled out a bracelet, it was a black braided cord with a purple stone tied into it, so beautiful. "Give me your hand." I held my hand up, I was shaking a little. How embarrassing. Fiona slipped the bracelet onto my wrist, my hand slowly stopped shaking. "It's amethyst. Good for anxiety and stress," she explained. I looked at the bracelet more. I've never been a strong believer in crystals or anything along those lines, but this may have won me over.

"Thank you," I said. I was still a bit anxious, but it was manageable.

"You keep that," Fiona said. "I have a bunch at home." The bell rang, students slowly started to fill the hall.

"I'll meet you in the cafeteria, I have to get my bag," I said. We parted ways as I headed back to Mr. Pierce's class. As I opened the door, I saw Jenny standing with Mr. Pierce. He was explaining something to her about a topic he mentioned in the book earlier this week, and she was giggling way too loudly. Give it up, you're a student, if he flirts back, there's something wrong with him. I walked past them to my desk and grabbed my bookbag off the ground.

"I hope that clarifies it," I heard Mr. Pierce say to Jenny. "I do have to get going though, or else I'll be late to the faculty meeting." I left the room, I heard her say something along the lines of "Can I stop by after school for extra help?" as I closed the door. I need it to be the weekend already, I don't have the energy for this. Down the hall I could see Lorelei standing with a light skin girl, whispering and giggling, I guess that must be Morgan. They were dressed in matching ripped jeans, white designer sneakers, and similarly styled cropped shirts, Morgan in olive green, and Lorelei in a light nude. Besides Morgan having naturally tan skin, and brown hair, they did look like they could be sisters. I wonder what they did to get the nickname "Nightmare Sisters," though.

"Marlowe!" I hear behind me. I turn around, it's Skye. He smiled and ran up to me excitedly. Seeing him made my soul smile, it's weird to describe the feeling. It's new.

"Hey, Skye," I said. He cocked his head to the side, studying me.

"You okay?" He asked. I sighed.

"I'm just ready for the weekend," I replied. He smiled a bit.

"I feel that." He looked down at my wrist and squinted a bit. "Did Fiona give you that?" He looked back up at me. I lifted my wrist, looking at the bracelet again.

"Yeah, I was just a bit anxious." Skye opened his mouth to say something but remained silent. He closed his mouth as the corners pulled back quickly into an awkward grin.

"It's nice," he said. "Let's head to the cafeteria. She's probably waiting for us." We started walking. I feel like Skye doesn't say as much as he wants to, but I don't have the energy today.