Chapter 3

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If there was a word for how I felt, it would be somewhere along the lines of sick and so fed up with being sick. I wanted to flush myself down the toilet, but sadly, I didn't fit.

"Ashwin!" My mother called. "You'll be late for school if you don't hurry up." Her voice was urgent but sweet and gentle, like she was afraid to brake me with her voice. I didn't blame her. I felt pretty fragile.

"Coming!" I called weakly and brushed my teeth. I took my medication and kissed my mother good-bye. My doctor said I should avoid driving anywhere but I wasn't one to follow that order. I needed to drive. I never allowed anyone to drive me anymore and I only drive when I need to.

The ride to school was uneventful, luckily, and I got there safely. I parked and hurried into my first period class. Yay. Calculus.

I slid into my seat beside a guy named Nathan and opened up my text book. My teacher sees me, but doesn't yell at me for being late. She just smiles sadly and sympathetically before going back to teaching.

My calculator fell to the floor and heads turned to watch as I picked it up and, embarrassingly, dropped it again. I could hear their sympathetic but judgmental whispers and I straightened out. I cursed my spinning head that blurred my vision and gave me the urge to throw up.

"Are you okay?" One kid on the other side of me asked.

"I was gonna ask that!" The other, his twin, snapped at the other.

"Well, I already asked," the first said and stuck out his tongue.

"Uh. I'm fine, just clumsy," I said and looked at the two, feeling bad for not knowing their names.

"Oh. We know how that is," the second said and the first nodded. 

I nodded and they seemed to get my confusion to who they were because they introduced themselves.

"I'm Nick and he's Mick. Pleased to make your acquaintance," Nick said.

"And you're Ashwin, right?" Mick asked.

"Of course he's Ashwin!" Nick said and slapped his brother upside the head.

"Hey. That was rude!" Mick scolded and slapped him back.

"Boys! Pay attention!" The teacher scolded and the boys frowned.

I looked to them. Such curious boys. "Thanks for the concern. And yeah. I'm Ashwin," I said softly before taking out the assignment due.

Mick grins at Nick, who pouted in return and crossed his arms. "You're a loser."

"No. You are," Mick retaliated.

The teacher turned around again and the boys shut up for the rest of the class period.

After class I make my way down to commons for my morning assembly. I go through the motions of standing for the Pledge, making sure my advisor knew I was there, and sitting in the floor with headphones plugged in and ready. A group of girls walk past in many different floral patterns and look at me with scared and slightly intrigued expressions.

"You're Ashwin," one girl points out.

"Thanks. I must have forgot," I said, frowning at how sarcastic that sounded. Maybe they'll leave me alone then.

The girl just laughed. "Oh. You're funny. We've heard a lot about you," she said and her little group nodded in agreement. "The whole school has."

I flushed a bright red and tried to hide behind the blondness of my hair. "Yeah..?"

The girl grinned. "Of course. All about the accident. And the coma."

I hid my face in my hands.

The group just giggled until their flanks was broken by a singular man. He had dark blue hair, that's what I noticed first. Then I noticed his expression. Judgmental and condescending.

"What's with all the laughter, girls?" He asked in a deeper and lazy sounding voice.

"This is the famous Ashwin," the girl from earlier chirped.

The boy looked down at me and fixed the glasses on his face. "Why. He's just a boy like myself," he said. "Nothing extraordinary."

I looked up at him and smiled a bit, most likely looking sarcastic because he scoffed.

"He's the one who's completely crazy," the girl said.

The boy scoffed again. "Completely crazy," he muttered.

"You and him might get a long, Daniel," the girl said and crossed her arms.

"You make me laugh, Lily," he said and walked away.

I blinked. "What just happened?"

"Daniel is a jerk. Don't worry about him," the girl named Lily said and held out her hand for me. I took it and pulled myself up.

"Who is he? I don't remember seeing him before..."

"He's been here for a while. But he likes to keep a low profile. He doesn't want to get in trouble for his smoking habit," Lily said and smiled at me before walking back over to her friends with a small wave of farewell.

I turn away, confused and head spinning again. I couldn't let myself get stressed out. It's not good for my health. Pressure pressed up against the inside of my skull and I clenched my eyes shut. I couldn't go home this early. I wasn't that crazy, was I?

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