The Mask (ON HIATUS)

Chapter 2: Assignment Start (Edited)

Helen's P.O.V

When I woke up the next morning, I looked in the mirror and as expected, there was a dark purple bruise on my stomach and a light purple bruise on my neck from where father strangled me yesterday.

I sighed before getting out my make up to cover up the bruise on my neck, I didn't bother with the one on my stomach since no one would see it anyway. Once that was done, I put on my short sleeve turquoise t-shirt, a pair of black skinny jeans and my boots before grabbing my hoodie and leaving the house.

I was lucky this morning as my parents weren't in, so I managed to leave the house in peace without being yelled at or beaten. The walk to school was uneventful, it only takes about 20 minutes to get to school from my house by walking, which is useful, I guess.

Once I got to school, I checked my timetable and saw that I had English first. I don't mind English class; I love learning about stories and their meanings but I'm not good with poetry at all. Luckily though, we're currently learning about Of Mice and Men. I love that story, even though it is really sad in the end, it's still got a deep meaning and gives an important message. To be honest, I'm just a sucker for books, I love reading. It's like an escape from the real world to a fictional one where life is simpler.

By the time English had ended, I was in a relatively good mood, that is, until I saw I had Health and Social Care next. I felt my mood drop instantly when I read those words on my timetable. Do I have to go?

I dragged my feet towards the classroom, not wanting to see Luke in the slightest. I hate him more than anyone else in this whole damn school. I can't even look at him without feeling some form of anger but of course, I can't say anything because I'll either start stuttering or he'll get everyone to gang up on me. I hate that I have to work with him for this assignment, but I can't get a new partner now since everyone has decided on a topic and the teacher won't let me do it alone. This sucks.

It seems that luck is on my side today. When I got to the classroom, Luke wasn't there so I just sat in my seat, got out my sheet of ideas and continued to work on it in peace. At least, I did that until halfway through the class when I heard the door open. I looked up to see none other than Luke freaking Carder.

I quickly looked back down and sighed. I was really looking forward to getting through the school day without seeing him. Instead of reacting to his presence, I continued to work on the assignment but there's only so far, I could get without a computer. This meant I had nothing to do for the last 15 minutes of the lesson so I tried to just sit quietly and wait until class was over so I could leave. I could see in the corner of my eye that Luke was looking at my notes and from what I could tell, he seemed a little shocked at how much I'd written.

"Maybe you're not useless after all," I decided not to respond to that comment because if I did, he would only continue to make worse comments. I just decided to continue looking towards the front of the classroom, ignoring his very presence.

"Hey, don't you ignore me" He shoved my shoulder, trying to get my attention. I sighed out of annoyance, all I wanted to do was get through this class without him bothering me but of course, I don't get that luxury.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did you want me to thank you?" I snapped without thinking. I'm usually so good at not reacting to anyone's comments, but for some reason, Luke speaking to me like that really pissed me off. More so than usual. I wasn't the only one shocked by my outburst, Luke seemed to be in shock as his mouth was slightly agape. I felt pride swell up in me with that reaction and I had to suppress a smile, unfortunately, it didn't last long, and Luke collected himself pretty quickly.