CO2

Chapter Three TUESDAY

"Sam? Sam!" I hear Lance's voice come from just above me. It pulls me back to reality. I open my eyes and force myself to sit up. But just as I do, pain shoots through my head.

"Ow!" I exclaim. "What happened?" Lance looks down, and I see Ella next to him, holding ice to her face and covering one eye. "What happened to you, Ella?" I say, a softer tone coming into my voice.

"Oh, well, um... how much do you remember?" She asks nervously. Her voice is quieter than normal. Usually she's a lot happier, but today something seems off.

"I remember punching that jerk in the face and then him pushing me to the floor and..." I try to think past that, but I can't. "That's all I remember." I examine the room for the first time, and I realize that I am laying on a small cot in the nurse's office. "How long have I been here?"

"About 10 minutes," Lance says. "Right after you blacked out, Andy, that's the kid you punched, freaked out. He started yelling that 'without people like you, none of this would have happened'."

"People like me?"

"Homosexuals." Lance says quietly, as if embarrassed by the statement.

I slowly sit up, confused by what he said. "But I'm not... I mean..." Lance nods.

"I know you haven't said anything about yourself yet, but Andy thought you were-" Lance pauses for a second, and Ella cuts in.

"My girlfriend," she says. "He thought you were my girlfriend." I'm surprised by this statement. Even if those boys are stupid, ignorant arse holes.

"But why?" I say, turning to Ella. "And why were they beating you up?"

Ella looks down and tugs on her shirt a little. "Well," she says, all traces of confidence draining out of her. "Word got around that I came out to my parents recently. And, well, that's why those guys were pushing me, and that's why they thought you were my girlfriend-"

"And that's why Troy punched her after you punched Andy," Lancelot says.

"He what?!" I yell. Ella seems surprised by my sudden outburst. "Who's Troy? I swear that if I get a hold of him..."

"Please, Sam!" Ella interrupts. "I know it's wrong, but please don't go after him for me." She looks at me with more pain in her expression than I have ever seen on someone before.

I sigh and try to change the subject. "Is that why you were upset this morning? Because everyone knew about..." I stop, seeing tears well up in Ella's uncovered eye.

"Um, yeah," she murmurs. "I should be- um- getting home." She turns and walks out the door of the office. I turn to Lance, who seems quite shaken by the whole experience.

"Lance, is everything okay?" I ask him. He hesitates, and stares at his hands.

"When those guys were beating you and Ella up," he begins, his voice shaking, "I didn't do anything about it. I didn't find someone, I didn't jump in, I just stood there. Watching them hurt you. I feel like, if I had done something, this wouldn't have happened. You wouldn't be here, laying on this cot, and Ella wouldn't have a black eye and-"

"Hey, Lance," I say, stopping his panicked rant. "None of this is your fault, okay? You didn't have anything to do with this." I try to make him feel better, but he still seems put off by the whole situation. "Look, Lance, I completely understand. You were being a lot smarter than I was. I just kinda freaked out and, you know, punched him."

Lance looks up at me and smiles. "Thanks," he says. We sit there in silence for a while, both thinking about what just happened. Finally, he breaks the silence. "I hope you feel better, Sam. I have to get home." I nod, and he leaves the room.