Don't Go Chasing Shadows

Chapter 6

The next day, I did my best to stay under the radar. I had hopes of not being thrust in the middle of as many dramatic situations, but of course, it was only my second day. Thus, the stares and weird looks continued, but I didn't seem to mind them as much anymore. Stares or no stares, I now had Derek, Emma, Charlotte, and Ashton as friends; and that was good enough for me.

Kenadie High required all students to take gym three times a week. The only exception to this was if you were already taking an additional sport. In this case, the class would become optional all together. I still didn't understand why people like Ashton did both gym and football. I mean, I did, because he lives for athletics, but it's hard to relate since I'm so far from that kind of lifestyle.

Luckily, today we didn't have gym class, and considering that my bruises were still healing, it was a blessing. I knew I would have to worry about them for a week or two, but the quicker they disappeared the better.

I lifted up my shirt and looked at the hand printed on my skin. It might have only been on the exterior of my body, but I felt them inside of my bones, inside of my soul. I saw them like a Polaroid had captured each detail and solidified it into my mind. Even if it was just a memory, it was still real, and it caused an icy snake to tremble down my spine.

Through much research, I'd say I have become an expert in the art of bruises. On the many wiki how websites as well as my common sense, I had found that the best way to get rid of a bruise was to ice it. Because my cold showers were twenty degrees too warm, my alternative was to use my new found friendship with Kyle and ask him to let me use the school's ice bath. It also suggested that I intake vitamin C and apply Vitamin E on the surface of the bruise for a more efficient recovery. My body may have been pretty good at healing itself at a fast pace, but using vitamin E oil would help replenish my skin and speed up the healing process.

I brought my shirt back down, remembering that I was in a hallway. Letting my thoughts drift, I set myself back into the present. Not even a second to spare, a pair of arctic eyes disrupted my isolation in such an intimidating way that I no longer wanted to take an ice bath.

"Hey, Aria," Naomi dragged out with her tongue.

"I was thinking. I don't think we got off on the right foot yesterday." Yeah, because you tried to embarrass me in front of everyone.

"I mean; I was only joking with you." Of course, that's all it was.

"Turns out you're pretty cool, and hey, if you want Derek, that's fine with me. I was with Cameron anyways at Josh's party on Sunday. As your friend, if you want Derek, I can respect that." Oh how generous of you.

"Speaking of, I wish we knew each other earlier, we could have had so much fun together at Josh's. It was definitely one you didn't want to miss." It's funny how she said it would have been fun with me there, but implied that I missed out.

"I mean, Cameron and I had a lot of fun, if you know what I mean." She added with a wink.

I looked at her, scrunching up my face. Why did she think I cared about her and Cameron? I didn't even know who Cameron was.

She slapped my arm and said, "Oh shut up, not like that, silly. Okay, yes like that, but not really. I'd so love to show you around and let you know who your real friends are. I saw you with that short blonde girl, what's her name again?" Emma.

"Oh right. Emma?" She didn't care enough to pause for an answer, before continuing, "Yeah, well if you're going to be friends with us, you can't even look at girls like her." Spoken like a bonafide bitch.