Victor, Victorious

Chapter Nine

A few minutes before the first bell of the day, Ms. Todd sat at her desk, responding to an email. The classroom door was open, in case any students wanted to escape the untamed jungle of the high school hallways. Only a couple ever did.

Victor entered, wearing the same clothes as yesterday, although the teacher didn't notice that at first. What struck her as odd was that Victor was so uncharacteristically early.

And that he was wrapped in a blanket.

The boy's face was miserable. He had dried blood on his lip. He shuffled toward his seat like a zombie, not looking up at the woman five feet away from him. He plopped down at his desk and placed his head on his backpack, using it as a pillow.

"Good morning," said the teacher.

There was no response, smart-ass or otherwise.

"Good morning, Victor," the teacher said, this time a little bit louder.

The boy lifted his head. "Oh. Hi."

"You're early today."

"I guess so. I thought I'd try something new."

Ms. Todd stepped over to him. "I like your blanket," she said. "The Raiders aren't really my team, though. I was raised to be more of a Rams fan."

Victor suddenly shot up straight in his seat. "Don't touch it!"

"Okay."

"I mean, please. You really shouldn't touch it."

"Alright." She studied his sleepy eyes. "Is today Nap Day? Or Pajama Day?"

"I don't think so."

"One of those weird, dress-up theme days I always forget about?"

"Probably not."

"Just wanted to bring your blanket to school today."

"I was cold." He paused, looked away. "Very cold."

"No sweatshirt at home?"

At that moment, Mikaela walked in, flashing a bright white smile. "Hey, Ms. Todd."

"Good morning, Mikaela."

The girl took her seat near Victor, doing her best to avoid looking at him.

The teacher turned to the boy, about to press him some more. But she knew that would probably only make him defensive. He seemed to be calm, which was rare, so she gave him a smile and went back to her email.

Mikaela took out her phone, started looking through it. Ms. Todd had always trusted her and didn't mind if the girl used it before school started.

"Hey," said Victor. "Mikaela."

"Yeah?" She didn't even look up from the tiny screen in front of her face.

"Are you, um, playing a game or something?"

"No."

"Oh, okay."

Mikaela fiddled with her phone some more, then said, "You have Instagram."

"Yeah."

"I didn't know. I mean, I don't follow you on it, so..."

Victor immediately felt more awake. "You wanna? My username is @Raiderz4Lyfe. 'Raiderz' with a 'z'. 'Lyfe' with 'y' instead of 'i'."

"Yeah, I know. But I don't think I should."

"What? Why not?"

She looked him in the eye. "Well, first off. That 'DM' you sent me."