petrichor

Stand for Yourself

Lena

BRRRRIIINNGGG! the bell stating that it was time for the first period rang loudly, reverberating its sound through the halls. All the chatter that was caused by the students quieted down immediately. as if they were robots, they stopped whatever they were doing, grabbed their stuffs, and walked to their own classes.

Lena who was busy tidying her locker panicked when she heard the bell rang. Oh, god, I gotta hurry! her conscience screamed. She hastily rearranged her things and tossed everything she needed for the lesson that was about to start into her backpack and fast-walked to class.

The class she had to take was art, her favorite lesson. Mainly because Mr Harman was the most considerate teacher when it came to explaining the material and giving out work—and because she loved drawing, that's why. While walking, Lena thought about who she was going to see in class. Let's see...
hmmm, there's only.... Pandora. Great, I don't have to sit alone then.

Lena arrived in class and took a seat in her usual spot, the first row on the far right, art class was the only lesson where she didn't mind sitting in the front. The rest? She preferred to be in the back row. She sat down and searched her bag for her sketchbook.

Drawing was a method she used when she wanted to calm herself, but just as she was about to enjoy the moment, Wait. her brain interjected. Rebecca's here too. She had forgotten that her bully was sharing the same lesson with her. As soon as Lena realized that, it was too late for her to mentally prepare herself. Oh no, what am I gonna do?

She wasn't finished freaking out when Rebecca and her friend, Vaya, slammed open the door and strutted like a diva to her seat, making a dramatic entrance. Uh oh. Lena thought as she tried to bury her face into a book, trying to make herself look like she was studying so Rebecca won't see her. She too had forgotten that, Rebecca's seat was right behind hers. If she wanted to mess with her, it'd be very easy to do so.

Lena heard Rebecca plunk down her backpack and sit in her chair. Instantly, Lena's brain cells stopped working, was her bully going to notice her? Maybe if she pulled on a cool, calm aura, Rebecca would take no notice. As long as I don't make a noise, I'm fine. Lena tried to calm herself. Making random scribbles on her sketchbook, Lena wished Pandora could just show up already and take her mind off the person behind her.

"Alright, class, Good morning." said Mr Harman as he entered. He was carrying a stack of papers on one hand and some books on the other. "Good morning, Mr Harman." the class replied in unison. The teacher was about to head to the whiteboard when the door burst open, it was Pandora. "Sorry I'm late, Mr Harman." she said frantically. When she saw her, Lena sighed in relief. Phew. she didn't have to worry about sitting alone after all.

Pandora took a seat next to her. "I woke up late this morning." she whispered. "Had to ride my bike." Lena nodded, she didn't know Pandora had a bike. Mr Harman gestured the class to quiet down. "Alright, seems like there are no further interruptions, let's begin."

From behind her, Lena heard Rebecca laugh quietly. What is she laughing about? she thought. Rebecca snickered again, this time, followed with the sentence, "She won't know what'll hit her." Her? Who's her? Lena tried to look at Pandora, wondering if she listened to Rebecca too, but her friend took no notice, she was too busy paying attention to the front of the class.

Oh well, there's no use asking her then. Lena noticed that Mr Harman's face looked distraught, like he'd just lost something. Lena could tell because he kept mixing up what he was trying to say, and there were sweat beads on his forehead–and he never sweated. Finally, after some explaining, Mr Harman played out a video the students were supposed to "watch and analyze". "Huh, that's new." Pandora said to Lena, Mr Harman seldom played videos unless there was something going on.