Falling For You Too

Chapter Two

Turns out, not only was the girl on top of me and my wheelchair, but also some broken glass.

This has not only been determined as her fault for breaking the schools trophy cabinet, but also; my fault. For 'not looking where I was going' and 'not checking who and what was in my surroundings' which is completely unfair. Now I have a months worth of afternoon detentions with a dorky girl who clearly is too clumsy for her own good.

My, no, our detentions begin on the 1st of May and continue through to the 31st. Obviously I don't have weekends to deal with so, by doing a little subtraction I figure out that this year, 2018, I have 18, hour long detentions everyday after school. With a dweeb.

Luckily, I still have a few days left of freedom before I have steady month of detentions. But during those days, the one and only thing that enters my mind is the girl with the dark hair and the fair skin. Her long hair framing her face, bringing out the brilliant blue of her eyes.

The bell presses a pause button on my thoughts and I'm left rolling around in the chaos of a crowded hall, trying to find my class. I have science in SL1 with Dr Rhys. I stand in line, alone, again and wait. The teacher makes her way towards the classroom. Finally. Wait. She, Her, Miss, Mrs. Dr Rhys is male. What happened to Dr Rhys??

"Excuse me... Miss?" I ask hesitantly, my eyes processing what I'm seeing.

"Yes young man?" Miss Whats-her-face asks sharply, her angular face looking at me.

"Um... where is Dr Rhys?" I ask, my curiosity getting the better of me.

"Well, generally that would be none of your business," She tells me before turning to face the entire class, "but this is permanent. Dr Rhys was fired yesterday when he couldn't control his class and a girl went flying down the hallway injuring herself and one other," Some snickers floated throughout the lines, "Now please students, make your way inside."

Again, I waited until every single person had gone in except the teacher until I wheeled myself up the side aisle and to the back row.

"Now, class, as I am a different teacher, I have different expectations. I think it would be only fair of me to tell you," She begins, "Now, every student must stand behind their chair until I allow you to sit," She barely finishes before someone calls out.

"Miss, I think you may have to make one exception to that 'expectation'." A girl calls out - thank god there is at least one kind person in this room.

"Yeah," Yells out a boy called George, "Jade's in crutches," The class laughs a little before settling down.

"I am very sure everyone in this class has the ability to stand," She says, her sharp eyes digging into me.

I raise my hand before calling out, "Miss, I think Jacqueline meant me?"

"I am very sure you are capable of abiding by my rules," some of the boys snicker.

"Miss, I know that I am not able to stand. I don't think you quite understand my predicament. I am sitting in a wheelchair. Do you think I do this for fun?" I blurt out before continuing in my fit of rage, "I got in a car accident okay? Ten years ago! Do you think I asked to be paralysed?! It just happened!" My face burning red with anger, "I got into an accident! A head on car collision!"

"Excuse me, Mr...-" She said, flicking through her roll.

"Lowry. Luke Lowry." I butt in, bitterness clear in my voice.

"Excuse me Mr Lowry but I think that just because something as simple as a crash happened you should be spared standing for a few simple seconds," She tells me, a dull expression on her sharp face.

"No. I can not. I will not. Even if I could stand I wouldn't. Right now, you are being stupid. Absolutely oblivious of other peoples conditions," I tell her, responding with all the truth I can muster, "I CAN NOT STAND," I say slowly so she can understand, "I WAS IN AN ACCIDENT AND I GOT A BIG BOO BOO," I say dulling it down as much as I can, "I CAN NOT USE MY LEGS, I CAN NOT FEEL MY LEGS. I DO NOT COMPREHEND HOW YOU DO NOT GET THIS. I DO NOT THINK I COULD DULL IT DOWN ANY FURTHER," I finish, my ears flushed red, my stomach burning with anger and my voice loud and heavy, filling the silent room. This is the first time anyone from school has heard what really happened to me.

The class just sits there stunned and in shock. Even the teacher is silent. Miss Whats-her-face stands slowly and walks towards me, grabs a hold of the back of my wheel chair and pushes me out of the classroom. As soon as the door is shut, the class will be chattering away.

The door closes.

"How dare you disrespect a teacher in that way?" She asks me harshly.

"How dare you disrespect a student in that way?!" I respond just as harshly, "Just because you weren't listening to what I was saying, doesn't make it untrue. Go to the principal, go to the school records, even phone my bloody parents if you are that desperate for an answer. But it is the truth. I cannot walk. I cannot stand. I can't even wiggle my bloody toes. Just listen to the words others are saying and then maybe, just maybe, you will begin to understand that life isn't easy for everyone. You may have it easy for now but not everyone gets treated like that. Not everyone has it easy-going. Just - burst that bloody bubble you live in and stop taking things for granted. Realise that the fact you can walk is a gift. The fact you can talk, you can see, you can feel, you can hear, everything around you . . . is a gift. So get out of that perfect world you try to live in and realise that this is the real world, where bad things happen. A car driver that isn't looking right at the road for a second, a child yelling, screaming, a moment of distraction and the use of your legs is gone. Seeing is gone. Hearing is gone. Things happen. And you learn to deal with it. But you need to be able to accept that everyone has limitations. For me thats anything that involves my legs. Just deal with it." I finish my rant, breathing heavily. The teacher just looks stunned.

She simply takes a step back, opens the door and steps back in, calming the class. I take a moment to chillax. A moment to catch my breath and wheel myself back through the lab door. I feel every pair of bloody eyes on me as I make my way back to my seat and gather my things. I just place my hands on my desk and lay my head down.

The teacher lady has grasped their attention once again and I am being tugged by the gentleness of sleep and cannot shake the feeling that someone is still watching me. Just one pair of eyes. 'Whatever,' I think to myself, 'Just... sleep."

And with that, I'm out.