No Way Out

Chapter 5 - A Helping Hand

Chapter 5

When lunch rolled around, Leslie had already packed her bags and was ready to go to Mrs. Jenkins like her usual lunch routine. She never stayed at the school cafeteria. The food wasn’t as good, it was too noisy and a whole hour of sitting alone with dozens of students in their little huddle of friends does tend to make one, even one like Leslie, to feel a bit self-conscious and uncomfortable.

As she changed into her own shoes and was ready to head out, a hand pulled her, by the arm, up. Leslie winced in pain at the sudden forcefulness and half expected it to be some of the popular crowd of girls to make fun of her again.

She looked up and glared at whoever it was but to her surprise it was Jace. He looked rather uncomfortable.

Leslie had ignored him through all the lessons before lunch; he threw paper at her, notes, paper balls and even poked her with his pencil. He eventually gave up and when it was free period or in between classes, he’d just get up and walk to some of his newfound friends by the other side of the classroom.

“Hey,” Jace said hesitantly, scratching the back of his neck.

“Um… hi?” Leslie offered, raising a questioning eyebrow as if to say ‘cut the chase, what do you want, Jace?’

“I just want you to know that I’m really sorry for this morning. You were right, I was tired and I wasn’t sure what was going through in my mind so it was just a lot to take in when you told me-”

Leslie slapped her hand over his mouth.

“Again, I repeat. Don’t bring this up at school. Yes, yes I get it. You’re sorry. Anything else? I have somewhere to go so if you don’t mind, I’d like to be on my way,” she said slinging her bag over her shoulders, slamming her locker shut and standing up to dust herself off.

She stared Jace in the eye with a blank expression, clear as day to see that he was nervous and trying to spit out something.

“I just wanted to know if we could start over and be friends, y’know,” he said looking away to hide this slight blush forming on his cheeks. He didn’t know why he was blushing and being embarrassed but luckily Leslie looked away, rolling her eyes.

“Start over?” Leslie asked him, growing a little irritable and sarcastic smirk tugged at her lips. “We weren’t anything before so what is there to start over?”

Leslie left Jace by the lockers and headed for the restaurant. Her words stung, she knew he was trying for them to become the least bit friends but she knew what she was doing. To not be hurt, you don’t get yourself in the situations in order to get hurt therefore: no relationship – no hurt. Simple as 1 2 3, A B C.

Hurting is something she does not need again, especially not the depression phase that one goes through. It’s difficult to go through hurt but it’s worse to go through it forlornly on your own vulnerable self. Every sad sappy story always has the understanding best friend or the jerk to become nice then to pick you up and set you back up on your feet. Guess what? That’s in the world of stories and fables, where happy endings are all but just a paradise of make-believe.

A quote once said, “Life asked Death, why do people love me but hate you? Death replied, because you are a beautiful lie and I’m a painful truth.”

What in the world was he thinking if his intentions were true? He actually wanted to put his reputation in turmoil and turn it to ashes this soon? It hasn’t even been a month yet!

Friends? Hah! Hasn’t he learned and understood what she is? Hasn’t anyone told the new shiny toy what she was like? Didn’t they warn him off from her? Hundreds of thought raced through her mind, questioning what had happened.