The Masks We Wear

Chapter 14| Let's Just Stop

{ E L E N A ' S      P O V }
Anger could be many things. It could be the type of anger you feel when you have no hope left, anger at the world. Sometimes it's anger from betrayal, the fact that someone you trusted broke your faith in that person. Sometimes it's irrational anger, the useless type that everyone experiences sooner or later.

Anger is a strange feeling. It's that feeling when something indescribable starts to bubble up in your stomach, and continues to rise so, until it's at the tip of your tongue, threatening to spill everything, but when it comes out, you have nothing you could say. You express it in your mind, you're screaming inwardly your feelings on everything, but it's like your tongue disagrees with your mind. You're forever locked in a series where the only thing you could do is just... Ignore. You're forced to do so, until you break.

And then sometimes it's when that irrational anger, where you don't have anything to say, but you say it anyways. Your anger and frustration at someone or something just slips right out of your tongue, and you end up saying something that was unnecessary, or something that you didn't mean. And because pride is something humans treasure greatly, they don't apologize. Or maybe it's because everyone else does it, and since everyone wants to be 'the cool kids' they do it as well.

And then sometimes it's those people who have everything they could say, but don't because of fear. You can't really blame them. The Earth will forever be a game of the powerful and the weak, with the powerful taking over the weak. They're victims that have suffered so much, but shut their own voice down due to lack of confidence that their voice would be taken into consideration.

And then there's the people who do everything right. They're the people everyone secretly admires and aspires to be, sometimes with success, sometimes not. They speak their mind, and don't fear doing so. Their opinion is golden, and they believe in the value of honesty and justice.

These are the four categories of people in the world.

The bystanders, the ones that ignore.

The bullies, the ones who say and do things without thinking.

The victims, the ones that suffer the most and are shut down.

And the heroes, the ones that believe in the value of honesty and justice.

Perhaps my entire life, I had either been the bully, or the bystander. But not at that day. I was sick of being irrational and doing it just because everyone else did it as well.

I was sick of just ignoring the vivid reality that is surrounding me.
For one day, I was going to be the hero. I was going to be me, Elena Reid.
***

Once I called the nurse at our school to take Scarlett down to the room where people who were lightheaded or injured lied down at, I took it upon myself to take care of things.

After all, lunch just wasn't over yet.

I headed over once again to the table group of jocks.

"She is a girl!" I exclaimed. The jock laughed. "Yeah, and I'm a boy." He taunted.

But I wasn't done just yet. "She is a girl, out there by herself, with all of you making her life worse day by day. She's suffering all the time, yet you continue to do the same. You're right, by the way, about the thing you said before. Perhaps I was the person who started this. But at least I'm trying to fix the situation I put her through. She's already a glass doll, one that has too many cracks and is unable to fix. Perhaps nobody could help her be the same ever again. But you could stop. Because sooner or later, she will crack, and it will be her blood on you hands. "

The room was quiet. So I continued.

"Also, she didn't kill her brother. Not at all. The truth got twisted around these years, until all of you settled on one that you all liked. All she did was get drunk underage, as if none of you have. All of you know that when you're drunk you make stupid and rash mistakes. Her mistake just had a bigger impact on the world."

"What are you suggesting?" A girl shouted out from across the room.

I squared my shoulders, and held my head high.

"Let's just stop. I'm not going all out of bounds and asking all of you to be best friends with her or something. All I suggest is that all of you stop tormenting her, and treat her like an actual human being, —being friendly."

The cafeteria erupted into a series of murmurs, grunts, and shouting. Hand motion, expressions, and much more.

I waited. I waited calmly for the group of them to make their final decision. It was almost comical. They all made one humongous group circle away from me, and whispered things to one another.

Finally, the jock who's name was Bryce came up to me. I set my jaw, and looked at him dead in the eye. I didn't exactly plan for what would happen if he said no. He couldn't. If he did, then game over. All this for nothing.

"We agree."

And in that moment, those two words and seven letters in my entire life.

Of course, I couldn't show too much gratitude. I looked at him, and gave him what I hoped looked like a begrudging look, one that didn't give off a look of hatred, and went off to the infirmary, where Scarlett was.

As I entered the door, the sickly sweet scent of maple entered my nose. There was around four, five people sitting on the uncomfortable couches, waiting for their parents to pick them up. Six or seven students were lying down on the beds. I slowly walked over to the bed Scarlett was lying down at.

"How is she?" I asked the nurse. "She just fainted due to shock." Explained the nurse. "She'll wake up really soon." She explained to me.

She left to tend to other patients. I sat down next to the seat beside Scarlett.

Three, or maybe four minutes passed by when Scarlett woke up.

"I'm exposed, aren't I?" She joked weakly. I smiled at her sad attempt to lighten the mood.

Suddenly, the nurse came by again. "Ms. Quentin, should I call your parents or guardian?" She asked.

"No!" Scarlett yelped. Looking shocked, the nurse slowly backed away from us.

"Oh god, you must feel so uncomfortable!" I exclaimed. The bed looked hard as rock.

"Nah. I've been here so many times, it's like my second bed now."

The mood shifted once again.

"This would happen more though. But on the bright side, schools almost over." She said.

"Actually, I took care of this. This wouldn't happen again, I assure you." I said.

And just like that, maybe, just maybe, things were alright.