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Chapter Eight

"The bell doesn't dismiss you!" Miss Smith exclaimed as Ryan Duff tried to exit the classroom. "I dismiss you!"

"I don't care!" Ryan shouted as he slammed the classroom door shut.

I shivered as the floor rumbled from the force, jolting up my legs. I don't think Ryan has been this rude in a long while. Miss Smith sighed and sat down in her swivel chair, putting a finger to her temple. I could sense how frustrated she was at his behavior, considering that she had once known him before his rioting ages. As the students looked away from her, she put her hands on her eyes, as if hiding her tears from us.

"Class dismissed..." she whispered softly to us.

I watched as my classmates filed out, their eyes lingering solemnly at the frustrated and emotional teacher. We all knew Miss Smith as one of the sweetest teachers in our school. She was actually the kindergarten teacher for our generation, before moving on to teaching seniors in high school. I was the last in the room, and quietly, I walked up to her desk. I waited for her to finish her emotional state, crouching on the floor until I was just a head taller than the desk.

"Miss Smith..?" I said in a small voice.

Miss Smith looked up, seeing me look at her. She nodded, wiping away her tears. "Right, right," she said.

Her hands held onto my wrists, covering the iron cuffs. I watched intently as her fingers glowed gold, and the click of the lock went off. The cuffs slipped off of my hands, and I stood up straight, standing on my feet. It always fascinated me whenever Miss Smith used her attribute of Locksmith to unlock my cuffs. To me, her attribute was the most unique and prettiest of them all.

"Thank you," I said, bowing kindly. She gave me a weak and tired smile, and I returned it. "I really do hope that Ryan realizes his mistakes. Have a great day, Miss Smith."

"You too, Meredith," she responded in a soft voice as she waved me off.

Slinging my backpack over my shoulder, I walked out of the classroom and closed the door gently. I breathed in deeply when I peered over at the lockers, seeing Ryan's usual hangout area deserted. He was probably too impatient to wait for me and beat me up as he does sometimes. I smiled to myself and began walking out of the school calmly, feeling my heart pounding. It was weird, but I believed that something must have happened in order for so many things to change so quickly. I made a friend online and in school (I think), and Ryan wasn't as present as much, though, granted, he did almost kill me today.

As I heard the door of the school shut behind me, I looked up and spotted Dexter at the bus stop. He saw me as well and waved with somewhat of a small smile. I smiled back and walked up to him with a quick salute.

"Hey!" I greeted. I gestured to the sign on the pole. "You take the bus home?"

Dexter nodded. "Yeah. My parents are out on a business trip, so they can't pick me up." He turned to me and asked, "How about you?"

"My parents work late, so I walk home," I replied. I pulled my brown hair away from my face. "Though, I use my time attribute a lot too."

"Cool," he said.

We wallowed in a silence for a while, waiting for the bus to arrive. I turned to him with my hands fidgeting. "Hey, Dexter?"

He looked down at me with a questioning gaze. "Yeah?"

I stare down at the concrete floor, my cheeks puffing out slightly when I couldn't form my thought into words. How do I say this without sounding weird? "I-I was wondering if we were friends," I said finally, pulling on my fingers.

Dexter looked at me, a little surprised and startled by my statement. A blush dusted his face, and he nodded. "W-Well yeah," he answered, "Of course!" He put a hand on the back of his neck, trying to calm down his flustered state.

I nodded. "O-Okay!" I smiled up at him. "I just wanted to confirm that." Turning around, my hand glowed green, and a green glow surrounded my body. I waved at Dexter, who was still blushing. "I-I'll see you tomorrow then! Bye!"

He waved back enthusiastically.

~~~

"Meredith..."

I groaned, pulling my pillow against the force trying to take it away. I had decided to take a nap after finishing my essay, too tired to do anything after typing for so long. As of now, I was just being lazy.

"Honey..!" Mom whispered softly, rubbing my back as she sat on the side of my bed. Her weight shifted the mattress underneath me. "Your friend from that game is calling you..!"

Immediately, I perked up, the pillow flying across my bedroom. I turned to my mother, my eyes wide. "Wait, what?" I turned to my computer, seeing the pending Skype call. The little ringer was jingling. "Oh, thanks Mom!"

"No problem, dear," she said, laughing quietly as she watched me scramble clumsily out of my bed, sitting on my chair. "Dinner will be ready when your father comes home."

I nodded to her. "Alright!" I smiled cheekily. "Thanks, Mom!"

Mom giggled at me and left, closing the door. I turned around in my chair, pulling on my headphones. I answered the call, listening to the audio adjusting.

"Hey!" Lukas said. I could hear his smile. Jokingly, he added, "What took you so long to answer?"

I rolled my eyes and smiled slightly. "That's your fault for being so persistent in calling me, Lukas."

"Touché."

"Anyways! I have something I wanna tell you," I interjected, pulling my hair down and braiding it. "Is it weird of me to say that after meeting you, my life has been getting better? In a not-so-cliché way, of course."

"How so?" Lukas questioned, suddenly curious about his effect on my life.

"First things first," I said, flipping my hair to the side after tossing it in a loose braid. "I made a new friend at my school! He's pretty cool, and daring too. He defended me against my bully, Ryan Duff, even though he knew he wasn't as strong as him. Speaking of which, Ryan didn't bother me after class today either, so I came home scratch-free!"

"Interesting," he commented. I heard him laugh a little. "You have a lot of dudes in your life, Meredith. Your father is probably really protective of you because of that, hmm?"

I giggled at his question. "He's protective of me either way!"