Met Online

Chapter 12

I'm late, so late. I slam the car door behind me and hurry across the parking lot. My shoes are untied, my shirt ruffled and I have bagel stuck between my teeth. The cool April air catches ahold of my hair and it tangles into the strap of my bag and sticks to my sweaty forehead. The bell rings for the last time and the hallway empties. I need to get to my locker; if I show up to class one more time this week without my book I'll be earning myself another detention slip. Maybe if I run I'll make it on time or at least cut it close enough to avoid getting any absence; I don't think my grades can handle any more this month. I speed up until I'm running down the hallway, clutching the strap of my bag in one hand and a stack of biology notes in the other.

There is a reason there is rules against running in the hallways at school; you will collide with someone. I'm too focused on avoiding stepping on my untied shoelaces to notice the sharp corner awaiting me up ahead and once I notice it's too late to slow down; I've already collided with someone at the hallway intersection.

"What the fuck?"

Shit.

"I'm so sorry," I mumble. I'm afraid to look up; afraid of what I will find in those heartless eyes, so I keep my eyes locked on the floor beneath me as I await the unavoidable insults.

"Are you fucking blind?" Samantha is yelling at me, the way that she usually does. I have never been more grateful for being late, 'cause now the hallway is completely empty and there's no one but us left to witness my humiliation. "I thought those ugly ass glasses were supposed to make you see better."

"I'm really sorry," I repeat. The small voice that escapes my lips sounds foreign in my own ears. I still haven't met her eyes yet; I'm standing with my head bowed, my shoulders sagging and my eyes locked on the floor, taking whatever punches she has to throw at me.

"I don't care what you are," she snaps. "Get out of my face or I will rip you apart piece by piece."

"I..." I try to apologize again, but she cuts me off before I can mumble the words.

"Are you deaf too? Get the fuck away from me or I will..." Samantha pauses her rant at the sound of footsteps coming closer. Our gym teacher, Ms. Dalton appears around the corner a few seconds later. She stops in her tracks as she catches sight of us, clearly not expecting to see anyone in the hallways at this time.

"What are you girls doing out here? You should be in class."

"I was on my way to class when I saw Cassidy trip and fall, so I came to her rescue," she lies. Her tone of voice has gone from threatening to sickeningly sweet in the matter of a few short seconds. I can hardly recognize it.

"That's so sweet of you Sam," Ms. Dalton says. "But you need to get to class. I can take it from here."

"Of course, I'll see you later Cassidy." I glance up at the sound of my name, meeting her eyes for the first time today. She's smiling at me, but the kind smile is nothing more than a façade. Underneath it lays a deep threat hidden. Her eyes are piercing mine and the message in them is clear: if you talk, you're dead.

"See you later Sam," I stammer. She shoots Ms. Dalton a sweet smile before she turns on her heels and heads towards whatever classroom she's supposed to be in.

"I guess I'll get going to," I mumble, shifting my eyes from Samantha's backside to the floor once again.

I'm about to take my first step in the direction of my classroom, giving up on retrieving my book from my locker, when Ms. Dalton lays a hand on my shoulder, haltering me in my tracks. "Is everything okay?"

Shit.

I hate that question, mainly because I'm a terrible liar and adults have a tendency to look right through me.

I keep my eyes locked on the tip of my shoes, knowing that I'll be caught in my lie if I face her, as I assure her that I'm fine.

"Is there something you want to talk about?" she questions. I can hear the underlying suspicion in her voice and it rocks the foundation that my lie is based upon. I'm fine, I tell myself. I am fine.

"No.

"Are you sure?" No I'm not sure, I want to scream and tell her everything. I want to let her in on my secrets, but I can't. And even if I did tell her she would never understand.

"Yes I'm sure."

"Good." I don't wait for her to dismiss me before I make my way towards my history class. I should have, because halfway down the hallway I can hear her calling after me: "If there's anything you want to talk about I'm here." I relish in the thought of having someone watch over me, but I can't ignore the small voice in my head that echoes in my mind with the words: She wouldn't understand, no one will ever understand.

I don't answer nor do I look back; I just keep going straight down the hallway and past the classroom I'm supposed to be in. I don't care about the fact that class is in session or that Ms. Dalton sees me running straight past my classroom. All I know is that I need time to lick my wounds, dry watering eyes, and patch up my armor and there's only one place I can do this in peace; the library.

//AN: I'm so sorry it took so long to update - I hope you all like this chapter and I promise that I will be updating soon... (as in tomorrow, maybe?) again. Have any of you ever had the same thoughts as Cassidy? That no one would understand, even if you tried to explain it to them? Let me know what you think in a comment below or on twitter at Unidentified_xx//