1 | ONE BREATH | MINIMINTER ✔️

TWENTY FIVE

TWENTY FIVE
d a l l a s

"Dallas, I understand that you've only been attending school for these sessions and your swimming practice, is that true?" Morris asks, her wise dark eyes like surging rivers in the raining months. Relentless and imminent. What was once friendly and inviting was now treacherous and knew too much.

"Yes, that's true."

"And how long has this been going on for?" Morris pursues, looking less friendly by the second. Dallas could see her frustration and it only made her pull further away.

"About a month now."

"And why is that?" She breathes out through her nose, calming herself from showing her frustrations with the girl who would not speak her mind in the way in which was helpful.

"Because everything else is pointless. I have no reasons to be in lessons. The teachers send me the work and I do it in my spare time or at night."

"That's not acceptable," Morris tells her firmly. "I want you to go to your next lesson and all your lessons for the rest of this school term and then come back and tell me if it's pointless then, ok? Just go until Christmas and we'll see if you're right."

"Fine," Dallas says, swooping her bag onto her shoulder and jumping up from the chair. "But don't try to make me go after then if I come back and tell you that it's pointless, alright?"

"See you next week, Dallas."

"Bye."

-

Dallas didn't realise that when she agreed to go to her lesson that it was going to be her English class. When she checked her timetable, her stomach churned and her mind buzzed, but she forced herself to go.

She was regretting that as she walked in, seeing no other seat than the one beside Simon. She swallowed the lump in her throat and walked over to the seat, setting her back down and sitting down.

"Hey," Simon says, but his attempts were futile for Dallas kept her eyes away from him as she dug through her bag for a pen and notebook. "Are you ok?" He tries again.

Dallas slams her pen down on the table. "I'm fine." She breathes out through her nose as she places her book on the desk softly. "I'm fine," She repeats.

"You haven't been in for almost three weeks. Were you ok?" Simon can't keep his eyes off the bruise across her cheek. It was like ink in water, swirling and expanding across the space as if freedom was its to claim, but in reality it was a criminal causing chaos.

"Simon," She says firmly, her hair falling across her face. "I said I'm fine," She assures as the teacher walks through the door, a stack of papers in his hands.

When he sees Dallas he says, "Oh good! You're back! Just in time for the assignment."

Dallas half smiles, looking down at her notepad and scrawling the date across the top in a mess of letters that managed to look neat upon its line.

"You'll be working in small groups to produce a small presentation about what we've covered in class over the last few lessons," He announces, his chin high as if he were presenting them with an award. Now he turns to Dallas, addressing her directly. "Dallas, I'm sure Simon, Ethan and Josh can help you catch up." And he smirks, her fingers curl around her pen tightly and her toes curl.

"Great," She murmurs. "Thanks, Sir."

"You have a fortnight to complete this. You'll be presenting it today in two weeks time." He claps his hands together. "Good luck, everyone!" He is only met with groans.

Dallas turns around in her chair, brining her notepad with her and avoids looking at Simon. "Josh," She says. "Can you help me with what I've missed?"

"Uh, sure," He replies uneasily, opening his book and beginning to explain the lessons she'd missed out on in her absence.

She could feel Simon's eyes on her as she tried to focus on what Josh was saying to her. She tried to block it from her mind, but it burned red hot. She felt her skull melting inside her as she scrawled down a few notes from Josh.

"Do you think I could take your book to copy up with this weekend?" Dallas asks.

"Yeah, that's fine."

"Thanks, Josh," She responds without a smile.

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