Painted Smiles [completed]

October 21

Yes, I did get less sleep. When I woke up, I couldn't imagine feeling a worse physical sensation. I have been punched, slapped, and pushed into pointy things. I have sprained multiple areas, almost broken my tailbone, and been very sick. I have been very hungry, out of breath, and have gone through extreme temperatures, but this beat most of it. I was so tired I almost fell asleep standing in the shower.

However, shortly after I arrived to the high school, everything seemed a bit better.

It was national no bullying day, or whatever, so I wore an orange sweatshirt and noticed that most teachers wore orange as well. I have ginger highlights. Does that count?

I walked into Finch's room to do some homework before school and was astonished to see half of the science department crowded into her room. They all ignored me, but I happened to eavesdrop. One of the men standing in the crowd was to be Finch's substitute teacher for however long she was gone. I felt my mouth dry up and my eyes tear. I would detest being without her for so long. She was so kind and funny, but I suppose cancer doesn't care.

During skinny hour, I did nothing. As usual, I was too busy having fun and socializing to do any work. It wasn't the best way to be productive, but I was ahead in all of my homework. My essay and math project were due Monday, and both were practically finished. I was so ahead that I was almost halfway done with today's math homework!

I still saw Dolly whenever I looked over my shoulder, but she didn't bother me anymore. I used to get a callous feeling in my stomach whenever I laid my eyes on her, but now I just felt bitter. I still held quite the grudge, but it was completely dormant.

In band, Gretchen had informed me that I had to attend her band concert tomorrow because she was busy with dance. I didn't really want to, since I didn't know anybody from that band, but I didn't know anybody from my band anyways.

After, I headed to the dreaded civics class. I love civics, don't get me wrong. Triple D was by far my favorite teacher, and I was her favorite student. Plus, I loved talking about politics. I was very opinionated and had a strong voice. Still, Chelsea was in that class, which I was not a huge fan of.

I walked into class and Chelsea wasn't there yet. That was actually a relief. I snuggled up at my desk and tweaked my presentation to make sure it was perfect. Then, I looked up and saw the pink haired girl standing beside me. I had to look all the way up to see her face.

She smiled down at me. "Hey! Working on your presentation?" She asked curiously.

I briskly showed her the brilliant work I had performed. She was actually impressed that the presentation looked so good. I was impressed myself, as well. "Yeah, I'm just pretty nervous for it, is all."

She reassured me that all would be well, giving me a pat on the back. I grinned at her touch. It immediately soothed me.

The bell rang and everyone broke apart from their cliques and sat down. Triple D gave a short introduction before presentations began. My group was first.

My group consisted of myself, a lazy girl with nothing better to do with her life than text, and a popular girl that was too distracted with her social status to do homework. I ended up doing most of the work, but that didn't bother me very much. I was quite used to it by now.

I got up to present with my group. I stood in front of the whole class, standing tall and proud. I had no confidence, but my painted smile covered everything up quite nicely.

I presented, and whenever I got nervous I would look over at Chelsea and smile at her. She always kept her eyes glued to me, and she made sure to smile back whenever my anxiety was present. She calmed my nerves. With just the look of her eyes, everything felt so much sweeter.