Image above is Chase
----------------------------------------------
"Shay, I told you to stay out of here!" Chase said angerly. His hands moving from holding my shoulders to him choking me with his forearm.
"Chase, I can't breathe, you're choking me!" I spat as I tried to remove his arm from my throat. My hands moving frantically, scratching Chase's arm.
"I don't know why you even try Shay. I mean really, your nothing, you don't deserve to live or walk or even breathe on this earth." Chase said confidently. Smiling the most charming smile I had ever seen. If I wasn't being choked and near death, I would have swooned like any other girl in that school. But instead, I was on the other side. I was the girl that was pinned against a cement wall, and was losing oxygen very fast. My eyes started getting heavy as it got harder to breathe and before I lost consciousness I felt Chase loosen his hold on my neck. Letting my limp body slide to the floor. I didn't hit as hard as I thought, but then again I felt strong arms slowly lay me down on the hard floor. I laid there, still barely conscious, my eyes felt so heavy. As I tried to lift my head, I couldn't help and feel a slight pain in my neck. Raising a hand to my neck I tried to sooth it with a little massage but it was definitely bruised. it took a lot of strength but I finally got to my feet, straightening my hair and clothes, I shook off the feelings of hurt and walked through the door of my first classroom.
"So good to see you, Miss Shay, you are twenty minutes late, would you like to explain yourself?" asked Mrs. Martin, aka the worst algebra teacher in the world.
I looked away from Mrs. Martin to see Chase smiling almost proudly at me. It was like he knew I wouldn't tell.
"Sorry Mrs. Martin, I woke up late," I said, feeling ashamed of myself. I ducked my head and rushed to my seat before the teacher could say another word. I couldn't get in trouble again, especially for being late. The last time I was late they called my parents and that night they took turns whipping me with one of my fathers leather belts. I couldn't sit for days.
"I can't believe that slut came back to school today," Max said. One of Chase's best friends.
"I know! It's like she wants to die." Chase said almost excitedly. I winced when Chase said that, that I felt tears start to well up in my eyes. I dared myself to look back at him but deep down in my gut I knew I would be asking for it if I did. It would be a challenge that Chase would greatly accept. Instead, I kept my head down and pulled opened my algebra book to the chapter we were working on. I loved math, it was a great escape from my everyday life of just being me.
Ten minutes later and the bell rings letting the whole school know that first period is over and it's time for the next class. I wait in my seat for everyone to leave before I attempt to get up. Grabbing my things I start to make my way to the door, peering out to make sure Chase and his friends aren't there waiting to finish what he started earlier. The coast is clear and I take that as my cue to get to my locker and switch out my books.
Sprinting to my locker I switch out algebra for history. Slamming the door, I run to history. History is across the school, so I have to move fast if I don't want to be late. I make it to the classroom with a minute to spare. Taking my seat, I scroll through last nights homework, checking to make sure everything looks right. I start to relax when other students start taking they're seats. I felt safe in history, Chase and his friends weren't in this class, so I didn't have to worry about being tormented. I was still bullied by others, but it was secretly, like notes and spit wads. Mr. Cameron didn't tolerate bullying one bit and if he saw anything you were suspended. It wasn't a joke to him. I liked Mr. Cameron, he was very kind to me, wasn't the best teacher, but he was kind. He knew I was bullied and tried everything he could to make his classroom a safe environment for kids like me. The principal didn't seem to care about it, well in my case, my parents were close friends of his so that basically meant they paid him so he wouldn't report anything that happened to me.
Mr. Cameron came in a few minutes late, saying that we had a test tomorrow and today was a day to catch up on homework or to study. So I spent the half-hour studying and trying to tidy up my desk. About ten minutes into studying I felt my eyes start to drift shut, then my head start to slide down. I was out like a light in a minute flat, when I started to dream.
