2+2=4~Jenzie (COMPLETED)

Day Two

Mackenzie

I awoke the next morning to my alarm and did my daily groan. I eventually got up and did my daily routine of a shower, hair, and makeup. Today I straightened my hair and applied a natural makeup look as always. I put on a simple outfit, blue ripped jeans, striped red and white t-shirt, with Adidas all stars. I smiled after looking into the mirror and ran down the stairs. I ate an orange while checking my instagram feed. On the explore page I saw a video of what happened yesterday. Some kid in the school recorded what happened to Johnny and posed it to instagram. The caption said, “lol stupid nerd got what he deserved.” I just exited the app and got in my car to drive to school.

I walked into school to see the usual group standing by my locker. I hugged everyone and kissed Brandon. We made out for a few minutes before Joey and Brynn pulled us apart. “So how was tutoring Kenz?” Brynn asked.

“Oh it's fine,” I responded. I glanced up to Brandon but he was talking to Jacob and a kid named Bryce Xavier. He doesn't like it when I hang out with other guys. Brynn stepped a little closer to me and whispered, “Does he know?” I shook my head no and she nodded. We talked about mindless things before we heard a group of people approaching us. We all turned and I saw Johnny being dragged by four different guys, trying to fight them off. Johnny got out of their grasp for a second and punched Dean in the face. Immediately, the other three guys, Zack, Devin, and Kevin grabbed him by his arms and head and slammed him into the lockers nearby. They held him there as Dean wiped his mouth and got into a boxer's stance. He popped Johnny in the mouth before punching him across the face on either side. Johnny looked at me desperately but I just stood there in horror as Dean completely beat the shit out of Johnny. He punched his face until it was a bloody mess. I couldn't even see where his eyes and nose were. His glasses were knocked off and he looked dead, but he was still conscious. Johnny looked at me once more with a look of help before Dean kicked Johnny in the stomach twice and kids cheered. I snapped out of my daze after five minutes and started to rush over to Johnny but my wrist was grabbed and I spun around. It was Brandon.  “Don't worry babe, I'll get him for you.” he said with a grin. I sighed with relief. Brandon was going to help Johnny. Boy was I wrong. Instead of helping Johnny, Brandon went over to help Dean. “Cmon guys share,” Brandon said. The guys smiled and threw Johnny down on the floor. He landed on his face and blood wiped onto the floor. Brandon proceeded to kick Johnny on all sides of his body before he finally kicked him in the head and stomped onto his back for the third time. When Brandon was done him and Zack's crew slapped five and each spit on Johnny's back. Kids in the hallway just laughed and recorded what was happening. I was stunned. I just stood there horrified. I was staring at Johnny's unconscious body laying on the floor, blood pouring from his face onto the ground. Two boys, Carson and Hayden, were pushing through the crowd trying to get to Johnny. They were stopped by Zack's crew. “Where are you fags going?” Kevin spat. He punched Carson in the side of the head and dropped him onto the floor. Zack did the same with Hayden and they all took turns kicking the boys before the bell for first period rang. Everyone cleared out and Ruby tapped my shoulder. “Cmon Kenzie, we've gotta go. I nodded and she walked away. As everyone walked away, Carson and Hayden crawled over to Johnny who was still face first on the floor with his arms palm first next to him as if he were hugging the floor. They were both on their knees rolling Johnny over. They sat crisscross and later Johnny's bloody head in Carson's lap. There was literally a pool of blood where Johnny's head has been on the ground and it was getting all over Carson. Hayden was frantically searching in his gym bag for a towel or something to clean Johnny's face with. Johnny's face was still unrecognizable. His face was completely battered, blood caked it and was still dripping from his forehead, cheeks and nose. His lips were busted and so was the side of his head where Brandon kicked him. Dean was wearing rings so he did a lot of damage on Johnny. When Hayden was wiping Johnny's face I slowly walked over to them. Carson was moving Johnny's blood soaked hair out of his face when he looked up at me. His face flashed with a few different emotions. Anger, fear, sadness. “I'm sorry,” was all I managed to croak out. I was still shocked by what just happened. By this time, Hayden had done all he could for Johnny's face and had looked up at me too. They started to pick Johnny up when I took a step closer. “Can I help?” I asked. They each slung one of Johnny's arms around their necks and pulled him up. “No.” Carson answered. “We don't need your help. You're just another one of the populars.” without another word they slowly walked down the hall dragging Johnny as gently as they could down the hall and out the door. For some reason, his words cut me like a knife.

I didn't see Johnny or Carson and Hayden for the rest of the day. It was only in eighth period that Johnny walked in the door. I was surprised to see him and apparently everyone else was too. I heard Brandon, Zack, and his crew all snicker. Mr. D stopped the lesson and walked over to Johnny. They went out into the hall for a few minutes to talk. The kids decided to have a conversation for themselves as well.

“How the hell is he alive?”

“The nerd got what he deserved.”

“Nice job boys. “

“Maybe now he'll leave this school for good and be homeschooled.”

“Better yet, maybe he'll kill himself. Stupid freaking doesn't deserve to live.”

At this point Mr. D and Johnny walked back into the room. He resumed teaching and Johnny walked down the aisle and made eye contact with me for a second before looking at the floor. “Fucking fag.” I saw some kid whisper before he stabbed Johnny in the arm with his pencil. Johnny winced and took a seat alone in the last row of the classroom. He looked fucked up. His eyes were both black, the right one darker than the left. His head was wrapped in bandages and his left cheek was covered with another bandage. His eyes were not only black but puffy as well. His other cheek was badly bruised and had a cut on it but I guess not as bad as the other. His lips were all cut up and swollen and his chin was slightly bruised. I turned back around and tried to pay attention but I just couldn't. I kept thinking about what I did. Or what I hadn't. “I could've stopped it.” I muttered. “I could've stopped it for the second time and I didn't. I still let it happen.” these thoughts swirled around my head so much that I didn't even hear the bell ring. “Miss Ziegler?” I heard. Mr. D was calling my name and shaking my shoulder. “Oh, I, um, sorry Mr. D. I was just lost in thought.” he nodded and walked back over to his desk. I quickly packed up my things and rushed out the door not even saying goodbye to Mr. D. I burst into the library and frantically looked around for Johnny. He was sitting down at the same table and reading a book just like yesterday. I walked over to him and cautiously sat next to him. He didn't seem to notice so I lightly set my hand on his shoulder. He jerked back and looked at me in terror. I put my hands up in front of me as a gesture of peace and he somewhat calmed down. He still had that fearful look in his eyes though. He grabbed his book and shoved it into his bag before turning back to the table with his algebra book. He stared at it for a minute before opening it and flipping to the lesson we learned today. How'd he know? I was still looking at him and he noticed but didn't say anything. He just stared at the page of the book. We sat like that for a full two minutes before I broke the silence. “Why are you here?” I asked. He looked up at me, “I couldn't just not come. I had to come help you.” His voice made my heart break. It was small, quiet, and hoarse as if he'd been screaming. I nodded and turned my attention to the book. He was explaining one of the concepts to me and every time his hand accidentally brushed mine, he would flinch. It bothered me. When he finished reviewing the lesson with me he got started with helping me on my homework. I was distracted though. I kept looking at him and every second I did I wanted to cry even more. The bandage on his face was starting to develop a red spot which meant he was still bleeding.  I could see how swollen his lips and cheek was. His lips were puffy just like his eyes and they were cut up bad. Eventually he noticed that I was no longer paying attention and looked at me. Our faces were really close since we had to both look at a small paper. Our eyes locked onto each other's and I felt like melting. His eyes were so beautiful, no matter how beaten they were. A tear rolled down my cheek and I smiled a sad smile. I kissed his bandaged cheek and he seemed taken aback.

“I'm so sorry Johnny.” I whispered. He stared at me for a few seconds before he stood up suddenly and yelling in pain at how fast he got up. He took off running but I didn't miss a beat. I ran after him, gaining weird looks from other kids but I didn't care. I wasn't letting him get get away.