The Secret Inside

Chapter 03

I shut my eyes, counting to ten before releasing the breath I'd been holding. I slowly blinked my eyes open to face the cracked cement wall of the old bathroom stalls. In the dim lighting I could just make out the scattered graffiti that  covered the gray walls. I let my head drop back against my knees and sucked in a breathe. I squeezed my eyes shut and silently screamed. Why, why me? Nikki was someone that I so badly wished I could leave in the past. I had bolted from the gym as soon as I could to get away from her; someone who had once been my best friend. We met in second grade and were as close as sisters all the way through seventh grade. We were the type of friends who found everything to be hilarious when we were around each other.

One day Nikki just altogether stopped talking to me. Something happened and I still don't know what it is. Ever since that day Nikki avoided me like the plague. I had gone to school like every other morning and I can recall getting through first and second block. I remember being upset about something. I was running down the hallway and turned around to look behind me. After that my memory is just blank spaces and flashes of light. I woke up at home with no recollection as to how I got there. I looked around my room and found my mom sitting in a little chair besides the bed.

"Honey, you shouldn't be up yet," mom said in a soft voice.

"It's 'kay mom, I'm feeling fine." I answered in a raspy voice.

I sat up in bed and turned to face my mom.

"So, what happened?" I asked quietly.

Mom told me that I had tripped and fallen down the stairs at school, and that everything was just a simple accident. She said that I had a minor concussion and that I would just stay home for a few days. Over the time I spent at home I struggled to remember what had happened, but it soon became apparent that I just wasn't able to. The time lost from that day never returned to me and whenever I questioned my mother about it she got irritated and changed the subject. I hadn't thought about that day in a long time now. I pushed myself up off the bathroom floor and went to the mirror. I wiped the mascara stains off my cheeks and took another deep breath. I scowled at myself in the mirror.

'I am stronger than this.' I reminded myself and exited the bathroom with my head held high.