Self-Inflicted

Chapter 2

"Zoey wake up! It's your first day of school!"

Zoey's eyes opened to the sound of her mother yelling on the other side of the door, her dream already slipping away along with the moonlight.

She sighed with dread at the thought of the upcoming day.

Zoey reached for the clothes her mother had chosen the night before and noticed her Minnie Mouse hoodie on the chair beside her bed. She quickly decided to bring it along with her on the first day of elementary school.

Once she was dressed, Ashley popped her head into the crack of the door.

"Can you walk me to my class?" Ashley asked.

Since Zoey was a few years older than Ashley, she took it as a responsibility to take care of her friend.

"Of course," Zoey practically purred.

Grabbing her new bag, Zoey followed Ashley out the room and down the stairs.

"Look at my sweet baby, all dressed up for kindergarten!" Mindy said proudly.

Zoey blushed in embarrassment and looked away from her mother, hiding behind her hair.

A horn honked from the driveway.

"That's the bus!" Ashley squealed and ran out the door. Zoey hugged her mother goodbye and followed.

Zoey climbed the steps of the yellow, monstrous bus, following Ashley into an empty seat.

Once the bus moved forward, Zoey zoned out all the uproarious laughter.

She didn't know what to expect on her first day as Zoey had never been around so many children aside from her troupe.

Were the teachers mean?

Zoey didn't know, but she knew she would find out.

Once they got to the huge building of the school, Zoey took Ashley's hand and led her off the bus. The two walked hand-in-hand to the main entrance, herded by all the students from differing grades.

"Do you know which hallway your class is in?" Zoey asked her friend.

Ashley nodded and led the way.

Ashley's classroom was full of Pre-K students sitting at round tables with crayons and other coloring utensils. Zoey observed Ashley as her blue eyes searched the faces of her new classmates, looking for anyone to befriend on the first day.

"Good luck," Zoey whispered into her ear and walked in the opposite direction in search of her own classroom.

She struggled among the crowd of students, all of whom were taller than she. Her foot caught into someone's book bag laying in the hallway and she fell into the freshly waxed tiles of the school.

Students crowded around her, forming a circle with her flat in the center. A foot poked Zoey in the side, looking for any reaction. Zoey opened her eyes after what seemed liked minutes. She heard the students around her giggle while she studied her surroundings. Attempting a fake smile and rising from the floor with her cheeks beet red, Zoey slipped away before anything more embarrassing could happen in her first minutes on campus.

She kept her head down, her hair a veil between her and the masses.

Once she finally found her classroom, Zoey forced the lingering memory away and searched for her seat among her new classmates.

The classroom was bigger than what she expected, one side was full of tables and chairs, the other with books and a carpet. The walls were decorated with colorful pictures and numbers as the teacher decided to compose a happy environment for her new students. The foreign air of the school filled Zoey's lungs as she took a deep calming breath to ease her shaking.

Two women came through the door as the Kindergartners got settled in the large classroom, heels echoing on the school tiles. One woman had blue eyes and dark blond hair that came down to her shoulders. She wore a royal blue blouse over khaki pants, giving her a professional vibe. The other was an older woman with black and grey streaked hair pulled in a tight pony tail. Her brown eyes scorched through Zoey and her new classmates. She wore a black dress that came all the way down over her knees, covering her pale legs.

"Good morning class!" the young woman said enthusiastically.

"Good morning!" the class responded in unison.

"I'm Mrs. Chambers, your teacher this year," she announced.

She motioned to the older woman shadowing her.

"This is Ms. Jones; she will be helping me teach you throughout the year,." Mrs. Chambers explained.

Mrs. Chambers beamed at her class while Ms. Jones gave a forced smile.

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Throughout the day Zoey spelled simple words such as mouse and cat, she drew pictures of the bus and her family, and she played on the playground with her classmates. Mrs. Chambers kept the class laughing, easing the tension between the students.

Finally once it was time to pack up and go, Zoey grabbed her Minnie Mouse hoodie and slipped it over her head. She took her bag off the hook in the cubby hole she shared with a classmate and followed the line of students out the door to the buses.

On her way to the bus Zoey kept an eye out for Ashley, desperate to see her friend.

She once more climbed into the bus, already being consumed by all the excited voices drowning her ears.

Ashley sat waiting in the seat they had shared earlier, looking up to find Zoey squeezing through children in the aisle of the bus.

On the way home the friends exchanged stories of their day, complaining of and complementing their teachers and new classmates. Ashley talked of befriending one of the girls in her class and how they shared hobbies and interests. Zoey felt stung with jealousy, not wanting to be replaced by another young girl.

The bus screeched with a jolt at the end of their driveway, Zoey's mom waiting in her green Honda Civic.

Zoey and Ashley ran to the car, Ashley opening the door to climb in the back seat and Zoey climbing through the passenger window.

"How was your first day?" her mother asked.

"Good,", both answered at the same time.

"That's great! Well dinner is waiting on the table. We're having pizza." Mindy told them.

"Cheese?" Zoey asked even though she already knew the answer. Her mother nodded, her blond hair falling out of the bun into which she'd sloppily tied it.

The car slid to a stop at the porch. Zoey and Ashley slammed the car doors, rushing to the house to get the best slice of mozzarella goodness.

Zoey ran up the stairs to her room and dropped her school supplies in the chair by her bed. She quickly changed into different clothes and ran to the bathroom to wash her hands.

Once clean she stomped down the stairs into the kitchen, first in line to get a slice from Megan. Megan put the warm, cheesy triangle on a plate and handed it to Zoey, who took a huge bite before sitting at the kitchen table with Ashley. Ashley's mom brought them a glass of juice to go with their dinner.

After Zoey finished eating she gradually went step by step up the stairs, seeking the comfort of her warm bed.

Before climbing into bed, Zoey snatched some paper and color pencils from her desk and carried them with her. She laid them down on the blanket and jumped onto her cushioned mattress, causing the colored pencils to roll. Zoey caught the utensils before they dropped to the floor and organized them by color in a line beside the blank piece of paper. Once she was settled she grabbed the black pencil and started drawing. She went through different colors, drawing what she pictured in her mind. After Zoey used the last color she observed the chaos of colors that threatened to overcome each other. She sighed with disappointment and pushed the papers and pencils off her bed and onto the floor with a thud.

Zoey gripped the covers and pulled them up to her chin, already drifting to sleep.