Why Me?

Chapter Eighteen

Okay

I watched the pale pink curtains of my window flap lightly from the wind blowing in from the slight crack, hugging the soft pillow with a silky case to my chest. All was silent, the air light and thick around me.

I was floating in it, drifting along, and, every once and a while, a soft kiss of the wind will carry me along. I felt like I was dreaming, and I hoped I was. I hoped that Delilah was a dream, that the meeting with the president
was a dream, and that my walk back with frat boys cat-calling me and other girls laughing at me was a dream.

I was starting to hope my life was a dream, and soon I'd wake up as a baby with a whole new one ahead of me. A fresh, clean, start.  
My phone started ringing, pulling me from my little dream state. I looked at the small black flip phone with two charms attached. A charm of a camera and a pink dragon plushy the size of a thumbtack. My eyes grazed over the caller ID. It was Wyatt. I grabbed the phone slowly and flipped it open to my ear, pausing for a second and listening to the buzz of static on the other end.

"Hello?" I asked at last, my voice slightly dry from my meditation.

"Noelle? Are you okay?" he asked, his tone worried. I nodded to myself.

"I think so... what happened after I left? He didn't fire you, did he?" I asked, draping my legs over the edge of the bed, hugging the pillow tighter to me.

"No, no. We switched you into another class-"

"Wait, what? I thought you were the only photography teacher," I said, brow wrinkling up.

"Not exactly. There's this woman who teaches seniors, Mrs Catterberry, and even though she's a few classes above your level, both Mr Charlton and I agreed that with your academic record and employment
you could make the cut," he explained. I was silent for a second.

"Is that all? Are you sure everything is fine with you?" I asked. He didn't answer. I gripped tighter to my
pillow.

"Wyatt, talk to me."

"He left me off with a warning. Any more trouble and... I think you can put it together from there," he explained, his voice quiet and slow. I stared into space, a bit confused. I
knew I was worried if he was fine initially, but looking back on it Mr Charlton seemed pretty aware that it was just a rumour we were dealing with. Why would he punish Wyatt for a rumour? I sighed, shaking my head.

"So, um... what does this mean for us?" I asked. I heard the hesitation in his voice.

"I think we should be more careful. Maybe we should... avoid interacting in public," he said quietly. I paused longer, wrinkling my brow some more.

"Do you want to take a break or something?" I asked, choking down how hurt I felt.

"No! No. I just think we shouldn't talk in public. You can still come to my house and everything as long as you're careful about it," he said.

I hesitated, feeling slightly ill about all of this. I choked it down again, shrugging to myself.

"Um... okay. That's fine. I'll... I'll talk to you later," I said.

"Are you sure you're alright? Some kids have been saying some things to me out there, but I'm betting it's nothing compared to you," he said.

I felt tears sting my eyes. "Yeah... I'm fine. I'll talk to you later, Wyatt," I pressed. He was silent for a moment, then made a slight noise of recognition.

"Yeah. I'll talk to you later," he said quietly.

I hung up and tossed my phone aside before burying my face in the pillow, curling up. I know I should have opened up to him. He's my boyfriend and we love each other. People who love each other are supposed to trust each other, and I did trust him. But I also didn't want to hurt him. I knew him, and he was blaming himself for everything that was happening, including my own feelings. I couldn't put that much pressure on him. I couldn't hurt him no matter how hurt I was myself.

-------------------------->.<

It was a living nightmare. Everything seemed to be spiraling out of control. The other kids were ruthless, and the jokes just seemed to be getting worse. They followed at me heels like hell hounds, biting and barking, running circles in my head. I kept my chin up in front of them, though, refusing to let them see that I felt like I was slowly losing it. It had only been a week too.