Turn my life around

Chapter 3

         When Alex awoke, she was in a cold sweat, and lying on the couch in the councilor's office. The nurse, principal and the guy she fought where all in seats or couches arranged haphazardly around the room. The jock was sitting up in a chair, with a blood stained bandage tapped to his broken nose.

The first thing she thought of was her dream. She remembered it vividly. Each voice, each memory, reenacted in the form of a dreamland hell.

"Sis no, dont go back there. Mom said not to go to the lake!" Alex's sister Dian shouted after her, as she scampered happy and bushy tailed to the lake. Dian let out a sigh, and started After her sister. By now, Alex was knee deep in the murky lake water. She splashed her hands in the water, feeling the cool water ripple around her fingers.
It was insanity calming, and relaxing to feel the flutter of the wetness dance around her fingers. She took a deep breath as she waited to waist-level. Her sister called out for her, but Alex kept ignoring her pleas to stop.
"Alex! Stop! Don't go any further, mom said no,and you could drown!" Said the voice restricting her access to the freedom of the lake.  She continued anyways, taking no regards to her sister.
She went out further into the murky cloud of water, and was about to submerge herself, until something pulled her under doing it for her.

She thrashed her Arms wildly, hands slapping the water, grabbing at nothingness. Her lungs lost all of their air in a scream that was quickly submerged into a strangled gurgle.
Her heart had gone into overdrive, as she begged anything for air.
Alex could faintly hear Dian's panicked Cry's of her name.

It was too Much. The blackness consumed her vision and feelings within seconds. The last thing she saw was her sister's pink shoes paddling fiercely towards her.
        ~
She gazed lazily around the room, her eyes shifting back and fourth from one figure to the next. Her vision was still quite blurred, but it was better then seeing the all too familiar stars. 

She tried to sit up, but was met with a sharp jagged pain in her left rib. She squeezed her eyes shut tight in a weak attempt to numb the pain that was making itself clear again.  She lowered herself once more on the Couch.

The soft tick of the clock was the only sound in the room. The nurse was looking down, with an expression Alex couldn't put her finger on. The principal looked angry, and deflated.(despite his put out gut)

The clock repeated its ticking for a while, until the nurse's voice filled the silence. She cleared her thought and spoke; "Austin? Is your nose any better? Or should I get the ice again?"
Alex opened an eye, addressing the voice, until she realized it wasn't Aimed at her. She put the pieces together, to conclude that this "Austin" kid was the one she fought with. 

She heard a low groan from across the room, and Austin waved a hand to dismiss the nurse. "I'm fine, I'll be tough." Said a groggy voice.  Alex started to sit upright once more, this time ignoring to constant jab in her ribs.

Alex opened her mouth to speak, but then realized that she really had nothing to say. She had a million questions, but still for some reason, she didn't say them. The nurse looked her way, and her eyebrows rose.
"Glad to see you awake!" The. Nurse said in a much too happy tone considering what had happened. Alex just sighed, wich was a big mistake. Pain shot up her lungs and chest, and spread like wild fire.
The nurse just gave a sympathetic look, and walked to the freezer  to get an ice pack as if that would help.

She opened her eyes once again, and squinted demeaningly at Austin, who glared right back at her. The principal cleared his throught, interrupting the intensifying staring contest.

"I don't know what on earth could spur you to start a fight like that Alex. I expected a lot more from you." Alex sputtered in disbelief, fumbling with the words "that's not true". Finally, her ability to form a proper-Ish sentence graced her presence.

"I-I didn't start it, that, that DOUCHCANOE, over there did!" The words where out of her mouth before she could stop them. She rose a hand to cover it in shame and embarrassment.

Across the room, Austin faked looking hurt and started to throw himself a pity party.
"See? See why I don't like her? She always does this to me, and it makes me so sad sometimes..." He said, faking a sniffle. Alex's jaw practically dropped to the floor, internally cringing at the unsencireity.

The principal might be a dumbass, but the councilor  wasn't. She sat upright and glared at Austin.

"Well let's just hear Alex's side of the story" she said.
Alex just kind of groaned, and laid  back down. Her body was already beat, and talking wasn't on her list of things to help her recover.

She finally mustered up the strength to use her voice for things other than muffled complaints, and random grunts here and there.

"I was, walking over and across the hall untill-" Alex was cut off by more pain, and a sharp gasp. She squeezed here eyes shut, and willed herself to continue. "U-untill he rammed right I-into me... And so I fought back." She finished with a sick sounding cough. Austin just faked shock, and hurtfulness.

Alex was beat. Literally. She didn't think she could move, or even breath at this point. Each breath was more painful than the one before, and even trying to move was hell, so having a damn councilor try and have her recite a damn speech was just making her even angrier.

The sounds of the clock where once again the only things that could be heard. Soft hushed breathes danced alongside the white silence. Alex was sitting there, and thinking. Thinking about the stars. A thought that knew it's way around her, left and right. It was a thought that was always in the back of her mind, ready for the front line of boredom. 

Before her thoughts traveled to another planet (literally),  the  voice of the councilor awoke her from her own little  wonderland of thoughts abruptly.

"And by fighting back you mean...?" Alex just stared at her. She really wanted her to just keep talking about this? Alex internally groaned, not wanting to continue talking, or even being awake. 
"Well I lifted a knee in the air, and he ran into it..." Ok so that was a lie, but Alex didn't really care as long as she could get out of here faster. Austin just kind of rolled his eyes and shook his head in a disapproving manner. Alex wanted to sock him right then and there, and she would if her ribs would let her. Unfortunately, the pain in her side wasn't subsiding so she had to reevaluate.

The all too familiar awkward silence took over the room once more.  The nurse was back now, and shying away from the situation as usual. The councilor looked at the floor, brows furrowed. The principal just let out a sigh, as spoke:
"Ok so clearly none of you want to tell the truth, but I have an idea. We have a new student coming in two days, and she has already consulted with me about being the school's student councilor." Alex just looked at him with wide eyes. No way in hell is she going to sit down with some stranger and talk about her feelings. Austin must have been thinking the same thing, because he didn't look too on board with the idea either.

The principal looked from the councillor to me, then the floor. He raised himself up, and placed his hands on his hips.
"Ok. Well then that's that. You are bother going to student counciling " And with that, began a long road to "recovery".