It has been a week since Jet left the Compound. I find myself staring off into space more often during classes, seeking him out in the courtyard. But he is not there, has not been anywhere for seven and a half days. Even though he had said it would only take him a few days. Almost eight full days is longer than the standard few days.
By the time lunch comes and goes, I have chewed the inside of my cheek into a shredded mess. I can only feel the stinging sensation when I press my tongue against it roughly. Edie stretches her leg out and taps her foot against mine as we sit through another one of Mrs. B's lectures. The noise pulls me from my thoughts and stops me from poking at my cheek.
I raise my eyebrows at Edie, silently asking her what she needs. She raises her eyebrows back at me, her eyes dropping to my mouth. Then she points at her own and wipes the back of her hand across it. I narrow my eyes a little and repeat the motion, glance down at my hand to see blood on it. I shut my mouth and try to swallow all the blood in there, push it to the back of my throat.
If Mrs. B were to see my mouth bloodied, she would send me to the infirmary. I wait until her back is to the class and lean forward so my forehead is resting on the desk. I use the bottom hem of my shirt to wipe at my mouth, mopping up any blood I may have missed with my hand. Now that I am aware of the bleeding, my tongue tastes bitter, like copper and something sweet.
I try not to gag.
Another tap to my foot makes me sit up. Just in time, it seems, for Mrs. B to face the class again. Her eyes sweep across the room as she talks, but she does not notice anything wrong with me. I let out the breath I had been holding and slump in my seat. A few minutes later, the bell goes off signaling the end of classes for the day.
I quickly place my textbooks and pencils into the cubby under my desk and stand. There is blood on the hem of my shirt. Mrs. B will surely notice it. I turn at an angle, away from her and tuck my shirt into my pants. If she notices it as I hurry past her on my way out, she does not stop me to say anything.
Edie is waiting for me in the hallway.
"Are you okay?" She asks.
"I think so. I must be worried. I bit through my cheek." To show her what I mean, I hook my finger in my cheek and pull it aside. She drops her head, makes herself smaller to see into my mouth.
"That looks really painful, Elyse." When she stands, her eyebrows are touching over her nose. "Should we get you something to put on it?"
I pull my finger out of my mouth and wipe it on my pants, shake my head. "I think it will be fine. Is it still bleeding?"
"I don't think so." Her face still appears to be unsure though.
"It's fine, Edie. I can't even feel it."
She looks like she is about to argue with me about it still being an open wound, but there is a ruckus at the end of the hallway that draws her attention. I look down there as well as the sounds of shoes squeaking rises over the low murmur of conversation. Krysta rounds the corner moments later, spots us and practically skids to a stop not a foot in front of me.
"Sheesh, you think people would move out of the way when they see someone running." She folds her body, her hands braced on her knees. She holds one up, indicating for us to wait. After she takes a moment to catch her breath, she stands straight and places her hands on her hips. A few strands of her hair have fallen out of her ponytail and hang loosely on the side of her flushed face.
"Did something happen?" I ask.
Krysta cracks a smile, her eyebrows jumping up for a moment. "Jet's back."
YOU ARE READING
NUMB
General FictionI have been Numb my entire life... Elyse has lived in the Compound, a facility that houses children deemed Numb, almost her entire life and it's been mostly uneventful. But lately something is starting to cause her peers to become unstable, violent...
