Kaylee Jaymie Halstead

Part 1: The English Test

Kaylee's POV
The classroom was suffocating with the walls closing in as I tried to focus on the paper in front of me. I could hear the ticking of the clock, The tapping of shoes on the floor, scribbling of answers and the flicking of pages. The test was already hard enough without the pressure of everything going wrong. This was supposed to be easy. It's supposed to be everything we've learnt this semester. I tried to read the questions but the words kept blurring together, twisting like they always did when I couldn't concentrate. My mind was everywhere and I couldn't control it.
I shifted in my seat, feeling the growing pressure in my head, the tension building in my chest. I tried to shake it off but I could feel it creeping up on me. It was getting too much. I've been feeling that familiar sensation all morning but I didn't wanna worry dad. It's that sensation before my body loses control.
Mr French: Kaylee focus. You need to concentrate if you're going to pass this test.
He was watching me from the front of the room. His arms were crossed and I could feel his gaze boring into me. He had no idea how hard it was to stay focused. None of them did. No one apart from Archie but he was in meetings.
Mr French: Kaylee are you going to sit there all day? You're not even trying
Kaylee: I need to see Archie
Mr French: not in the middle of the test. You can see him after
Kaylee: please
Mr French: Kaylee you're disrupting the class. Get on with your test.
I felt the sensation of my body going numb, my hands stiffening on the desk as I tried to stop myself from falling into the familiar haze. It was an absence seizure—a small one but still enough to stop me in my tracks.
Mr French: Kaylee!
After a few seconds I snapped back to reality, blinking rapidly as the world came back into focus. The room had gone quiet and everyone was staring at me. I could feel my face flushing with embarrassment but I didn't know how to explain what had just happened. I looked over at Zach who gave me an 'are you okay?' look to which I nodded
Mr French: What's going on with you? You need to pull yourself together. This is important
Kaylee: I'm trying! You don't get it!
Mr French: I'm not going to keep tolerating this Kaylee. You're wasting time. You need to focus or you're going to fail
Kaylee: I am fucking trying. You're always on my fucking case. Just leave me the fuck alone
Mr French: either do the test or leave
I stood up abruptly, the chair scraping loudly against the floor. My hands were shaking and my chest felt tight. The urge to leave was overwhelming.
Kaylee: I'm done with this bullshit. You're such a fucking prick
Mr French: right I've had enough I'm calling mr James
Kaylee: do it
I got up and walked out

Mr James (Rhys) PoV
I was just walking around the school when the radio was going off.
??: Kaylee Halstead has walked out of lesson
Fuck sake. I swear I spend most of my days looking for this kid.
Rhys: Archie you got a radio?
Archie: yeah. She's making her way towards the front doors
I jogged over and I could see that Archie stopped her.
Kaylee: I just wanna go home. I hate this stupid place. No one understands
Rhys: Calm down. You know we can't let you just walk out of here
Kaylee: then call dad or Hailey or kelly. Call anyone to get me out of this shithole
Rhys: why don't we go to my office and talk?
Kaylee: I don't wanna fucking talk. I wanna go home
Archie: you know we can't do that
Kaylee: What do you want from me? You don't understand! You don't know what it's like and I can't do this right now!
Archie: We're trying to help you Kaylee. You need to take a breath. You're not going anywhere until we figure this out
Kaylee: I don't care! I don't care if you understand. I'm not going to sit here and let him talk to me like that. I'm trying my best but it's never enough for anyone!
Rhys: Listen Kaylee. We know this is hard for you but walking out isn't going to help anything
She just stood there chest heaving as she glared at us. I could see the anger bubbling up inside. If we can't calm her down then she's just gonna exploded. We had to find a way and fast
Mr James: How about this? You can take the test in my office? away from everyone else. We'll give you a little space to get yourself together
I could see her thinking about it. Almost weighing the pros and cons.
Kaylee: Fine. I'll do it
I got her to agree to stay in my office. I'll take that as a win. At least she's staying in school

I could see the frustration in Kaylee's eyes, the way her shoulders were tense with anger. I knew she didn't want to be here and I could tell she was overwhelmed. But sometimes we had to push our students even when they didn't want to be pushed especially Kaylee. I saw Archie give me a look, one that said he understood the difficulty of the situation. We both knew Kaylee wasn't in the right headspace for this test and I wasn't sure how much of it she would actually be able to finish but I wasn't about to let her give up completely. I led Kaylee to my office and she sat down at the desk, her arms crossed tightly in front of her. I glanced over at Archie who had followed us in.
Archie: She's got this. Just give her some time

I nodded though I wasn't entirely sure. Kaylee was clearly struggling with her focus fidgeting with everything in sight.

Archie Pov
She was sat in the chair with her hands clenched into fists on the desk. As she read the page I could tell she was getting even more frustrated. She slammed her fist down on the table
Kaylee: I can fucking do it
I sat beside her
Archie: what's going on?
Kaylee: I don't understand it and I can't read it properly. My heads all fuzzy
Archie: you wanna take a break?
Kaylee: mhm
Archie: you wanna take a walk outside?
No answer
I looked over and she was seizing. You wouldn't have known it was a seizure. It looks like she's just daydreaming. But I've noticed the signs. When she has absences she twitches in her face or her eyebrow
Archie: Kaylee. Take a deep breath. Let it pass. It's okay.
I looked over at Rhys
Archie: she's seizing
Rhys: She's not doing the test today. We'll give her another chance tomorrow.
I turned back to Kaylee, watching her carefully as she slowly started to come out of the seizure. She blinked a few times her face pale and her breathing shallow.
Archie: you okay?
Kaylee nodded, though she didn't seem entirely aware of her surroundings. I knew the test wasn't going to happen today. And maybe that was for the best.
Kaylee: 'm sorry
Archie: there's nothing to be sorry about. You can do it tomorrow. Take it easy. We'll work with you
We all just sat in silence. Within about 10 minutes she had come back to
Rhys: was that your first one today?
Kaylee: I don't think so. I think I had one during the test. Mr French just kept saying that I had to focus.
Rhys: I'll be having a word with him
Kaylee: can we go to the sports hall?
Archie: only for a little while
Rhys: Kaylee behave
Kaylee: don't I always
We went to the sports hall and she was just talking to coach Evans