Paige
I decided to go back to school after the weekend. I rested and got back into the swing of things. I wore all different kinds of hats to cover up my patchy head. I was waiting till it grew back in so I could get it cut into a style. Liza was over every day, just talking to me. I liked it because she carried the conversation for both of us. Finally the day came and I had to go to school. I woke p in the morning and got ready. I climbed into the front seat of my car and drove to school. I had gotten my license almost a year ago. I drove through the streets and to the small high school. I drove into the parking lot and got out. I locked my car and put the keys in my large purse that held all my school stuff. I shouldered the bad and walked to the usual spot I went to to meet up with Liza. People whispered as I walked past, and others waved. I smiled at the ones who waved. At least some people were nice. I fiddled with my hat as I walked, suddenly self conscious. Liza was waiting for me by the large cement column. I waved to her and gave her a hug. We walked into the hallway and to home room. A couple of people I knew said hi to me and how glad they were to see me. A warm feeling when through me when they said that. Liza and I walk through the door of the classroom and sat down next to each other. It felt like a totally different school. One girl with brown hair tied back in a ponytail came up to me. "Hi." She said shyly.
"Hey!" I said with a smile.
She rubbed her hands together nervously. "Um, I heard that you had cancer." She said without looking me in the eye.
I nodded, wondering where she was going with it. "Um, I'm glad that your better." She said.
A large smile broke out on my face. "Oh my gosh, you're so sweet. Thank you!"
She didn't even know me and she was expressing her concern for me. Those types of actions warmed my heart. I got up from the desk and gave her a hug, holding her tightly. I pulled away and she smiled at me. She walked back to her desk and I sat down at mine again. "That was so nice." I told Liza.
"See, lots of people care about you."
I leaned back in my chair. "I guess so." I mumbled.
The teachers and students all welcomed me back. I hung out with my friends during lunch, and tried to pay attention in class. Missing so much school, I was super far behind and nothing made sense, especially math. A couple of freshman gave me a bag with cookies in it. Everyone was just so nice and sweet and I loved it all. I didn't love all the attention though. It made me uncomfortable, and awkward. Even the principal came up to me and welcomed me back personally. Instead of feeling like I was at home, I felt nervous and didn't want to be judged by my thin patchy hair and my unnaturally skinny completion. People did double takes in the hall, wondering what sort of creature I was. It made me feel bad, and like I wasn't part of society. I had always tried to make people feel loved so they wouldn't feel the way I felt right now. Although I felt horrible on the inside, I was glad to be alive. God gave me a second chance so I was going to use it. I spoke to our children's ministry at the church, telling them my story. The whole time I felt like I would be judged, I was nervous. But when I finished speaking the attendees came up to me one by one and said that they were moved by my story. They were glad I shared with them, and they looked at the world differently, just as I did. The thing that confused me was the boy I saw. I wanted to talk to him, ask him who he was. I could still see his face in my mind. Sometimes I felt like something was watching me. I would turn around and nothing would be there. It was the oddest feeling. A couple of months passed and my hair grew back in. I cut it in a short pixie cut. I gained some weight, I still was skinny, but not so much now. I looked normal. Liza and I were out with Ethan and Jamie, we had just finished watching a movie. It was just a sappy love story with a bad plot and horrible acting. We had a good laugh about it afterwards. We were walking down the street, going back to my house where everyone had parked their cars. "Did you see that guys toupee?" Liza asked me, laughing.
I laughed as well. "Oh my gosh yes! The way it spun around as he got punched was hilarious."
We all laughed. I spotted out of the corner of my eye a neon sign. It flashed, ice cream, on it. "Ooh! Lets get ice cream!" I told my friends.
They nodded in agreement. We crossed the street and went into the cold little shop. I ordered some chocolate ice cream. The lady handed it to me and I paid. "Thank you." I said to her and she smiled.
I always like it when people smiled because of my actions. It felt good. I walked back to where my friends were sitting and started eating my ice cream. They chatted together while I got lost in my thoughts. It happened a lot. I just started thinking and zoned everything else out. I felt a small push on my shoulder and I looked up. "Huh?" I said.
"I asked you who you liked." Jamie said.
I shrugged my shoulders. "No one really."
"I don't believe you."
I put my hands up. "I don't! Really."
"Someone sounds like she does." Ethan said.
I tilted my head to the side. "I don't have any crushes guys."
Liza scanned my face. "Hmm. You don't seem to be lying."
"How can you tell?" I asked her.
She laughed. "Really? Your face gets bright red when you lie."
I put a hand to my face, feeling my cheek. Everyone laughed and I joined in. I looked out of the glass window, smiling at the street. Cars rumbled past. Across the street, a bus pulled away from the bus stop, leaving people there, and picking them up. I looked at the people sitting down at the stop. There was a large woman holding a baby and a boy in a black coat with a beret. The boy lifted his head and looked straight at me. My breath caught in my throat. He saw that I was looking at him and his eyes widened. I stood up from the table. He stood up from the bench. He turned on his heel and ran down an alley. I ran out of the ice cream shop and into the street. Cars squealed and slammed on their brakes. A car came super close to hitting me. I put my hands on its hood. "Sorry!" I shouted at the driver.,and continued running.
I got to the other side of the street and looked around. I jogged down the alley I saw him go through. I slowed to a walk and looked around the small alley. There were a couple of dumpsters and some boxes in the alley. Broken glass littler the floor. I looked in the dumpsters and around the boxes. He was nowhere to be seen. "Hello?" I yelled into the air. "I just want to talk."
No response. Liza jogged up behind me. "Dude, what was that all about?"
I turned to her and scratched the back of my neck. "You look like you just saw a ghost." She said.
"I uh, I saw something." I looked around the alley some more. "It doesn't matter."
I turned back to Liza. "Let's go."
She knotted her brow but nodded. We walked out of the alley and met up with Jamie and Ethan. "What happened?" Ethan asked.
"Paige had an insane moment." Liza told them.
I gave a small smile, embarrassed I went totally nuts. "I'm fine." I assured them.
They nodded, although didn't look very sure. On the way back to my house I kept looking back, wanting to see him, but he never showed up.
