Just A Little Different

Chapter 12

School started up soon after my birthday. Ian went back to being soft spoken and bottling up his emotions. He had more classes with me and Adam this year. Ty had moved over the summer, which took a lot of stress off, but I could tell Ian was still pretty intimidated by Adam. The first day was pretty hard for him.

We shared five out of seven classes together, and I wasn't sure how many classes he had with Adam. We picked up our schedules from the from office and compared them, grateful that our schedules aligned almost perfectly. The only classes we had to depart for were our fourth and seventh period classes.

As we walked to class, I noticed Ian seemed pretty confident. All of that confidence ebbed away when we reached the English room. Mrs. Cahill sat us in alphabetical order with the exception of Ian, who she told to sit in the front because of things she had heard from other teachers. Typical, I thought.

She did the usual first day thing, handing out papers that we needed signed, locker slips, the whole nine yards. Then she asked for our summer reading. Of course Ian and I did ours, but most of the class did not.

By the end of class the teacher had given a forty five minute lecture on what we should expect, the rules, due dates, her pet peeves, and why we study literature. I felt like I had been sucked into a twister with all of the information she'd given us. It was so hard to keep up and made my mind dizzy.

We had math next. The teacher told us to sit where we pleased, and Ian and I chose a corner in the back. Adam came in late after speaking with his friends outside the door for like five minutes, and he was scolded about being late on the first day. Ian snickered. I shot him a warning glance, but Adam had heard it. He turned a hard stare on Ian, eyes burning with anger. Ian looked down.

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During fourth period, I had to go to the bathroom. The teacher gave me a hall pass. It felt weird not being with Ben. We had been together all summer, except my occasional trips to the river to sit alone. We only had two classes where we were separated, but it seemed to last ages.

When I left the restroom, I was surprised to find Adam walking just down the hall. I tried to duck around the nearest corner, but I'd been spotted. "Hey, broken eyes!" he taunted. "Where do you think you're going?" I froze. I wanted to run, but I got scared. I shouldn't have laughed. I'm such an idiot.

Before I knew what was happening, I felt my back hit the wall behind me. "N-now Adam...y-you wouldn't do this on the...f-first day..."

"Watch me." he whispered, his face inches away from mine. He raised his fist and it made contact with the right side of my face. "Did you really think you were going to get away with laughing at me in front of the class?" He threw another punch.

"I...I d-didn't mean it!" I threw my hands up to protect myself. Footsteps came from down the hall, and I felt him release his grip.

"Get back in the bathroom and wash your face." he snarled. "I don't need to get suspended yet. I'll deal with you later." With that, he ran down the hall. I lifted a shaky hand to my face. My nose was bleeding. Great. Just what I need.

I did as I was told before going back to class. "What took you so long?" my spanish teacher asked when I returned.

I walked back to my seat with my head down. "N-nothing, sir."

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Ben and I met for lunch in the same spot as last year, the far corner of the parking lot in the shelter of the surrounding cars. I watched from a distance as Adam met up with a girl and they walked away from the school, probably going out to eat for lunch. Ben watched too. "Why are you so interested in what Adam's doing?"