Things Happen | ✓

Chapter Twenty: Rumors Suck

I'm petrified. Completely petrified. I can't seem to move or even speak.

The dead silence in the hallway doesn't help either.

All that I can think about is: Oh crap. I knocked Hannah over. Why isn't she moving? Oh crap.

With that repeating in my head and the crowd that had gathered around, I couldn't even begin to think about what I should do. It was the shout of, "Someone get the Nurse!", that made me snap out of my haze.

I jumped onto my feet and ran over to Hannah's side, dropping to my knees. Hannah's golden hair was sprawled around her face, her body laying on the ground like a rag doll.

Ignoring the gasps and whispers that were arising around me, I felt for her pulse.

I almost signed in relief when I felt a steady heartbeat. So she's alive...

"Hannah, can you hear me? This is Kendall. Can you open your eyes?", I asked her in a voice that was struggling to stay steady.

After a few seconds, a slight groan escaped her lips.

"Oh my gosh, Hannah, I'm so sorry I-"

I stopped speaking when her eyes snapped open, with a familiar deadly glare to go with it.

"You.", Hannah spoke viciously. I backed away a little. "You!", she yelled accusingly.

"Everyone move out of the way! Make a clear path for the Nurse!", a few shouts erupted from the crowd. I backed away from Hannah, who was now trying to sit up. "You!", she yelled again.

The Nurse appeared, followed by Zoey Dashwood, who most likely was the one who fetched the nurse. They took my previous place by Hannah's side. Hannah shouted at me some more, but I didn't reply.

Zoey then began to direct the students away from Hannah, who was just beginning to sit up. Once the students began to leave, glaring at me from time to time, Zoey noticed me.

She gave me a curt smile before walking over to me. "Are you okay, Kendall? You went down with the same force as her.", she said half jokingly, but with a serious look on her face. "Yeah, I'm fine.", I said in a scratchy voice.

Oh my gosh. What have I done? I just made my life a crap ton harder. 

"Do you want to get a quick check up with the nurse, you know, just in case?", She asked in a calming voice, as if she were speaking to a child.

"I'm fine.", I lied. "I'll be okay. I'm going to go to class now. Bye Zoe.", I said hurriedly.

I turned on my heel before she could ask me anything else. I rushed in the opposite direction. My mind was still rushing at a million miles a minute and I couldn't even begin to start sorting things out.

Maybe things might be better if I just don't think about it. Forget for awhile. Yes, that sounds much better.

The thought of going to class sickened my stomach. The thought of all of the students, all the rumors that would arise. No way am I going to do that. Not now. That definitely is not a step in forgetting.

So, I guess I'll... ditch? Oh my gosh. I actually thought about ditching. What is happening?

You didn't just think about ditching, Kendall...

You are going to ditch.

Without another thought, I rushed back to my locker, to put back my textbooks before I left. I was about to slam the locker door shut, when something caught my eye. It was the business card that Will gave me before he dropped me off at Q's, the morning after our midnight sabotage at Carson's house.