A Week in Paris (with You)

Getting Ready

As I pulled into the school parking lot I began giving myself a pep talk. You can do this, it's the last time you have to see these people. And those were the only thoughts on my mind as I entered the school and made my way toward the classroom.

"Hey Cloud, nice of you to finally show." William, the football star, said in a snide tone. I cringed at my dreaded high school nick-name.

"Yeah Cloud. Nice of you to finally show." repeated his air-head cheerleader girlfriend, Amy. I rolled my eyes at her ignorance, she did whatever he did, and it was sickening. As I found a seat in the back of the class the teacher said,

"Alright, now that everyone's here let's head to the atrium."

I stuck toward the back of the crowd while we were making our way to the Atrium, to have the official graduation ceremony. Then, our of nowhere some jerk shoved me into a locker before saying,

"Hey, Cloud. Better watch where you're going."

As I pulled myself up off the ground I darted into the girls restroom, knowing that my teacher wouldn't notice my absence. Once I saw my reflection in the mirror I gasped in horror. I had a gash running down my forehead, my lip was busted and I had the beginnings of a black eye. It had never been this bad before. Of course I had people make fun of me, and my name, after all I was kind of an outcast. I wasn't gothic or emo, I was just myself. Plain, ordinary, me. But apparently that's not what they liked.

I decided I would tell my mom I ran into an open locker, and made my way toward the nurse's office. As I approached the door I pulled the keys from my back pocket. I'm a nurse's assistant, so I have a spare set. Once I gained entrance I went over to the cabinet and began the process of cleaning myself up. After bandaging my forehead, which probably should've gotten stitches, and cleaning up my lip I began walking back to the atrium. As I walked in I noticed that everyone else was seated and listening to our principal drone on and on about how wonderful his high school years were and how we should cherish these last moments together. Once I located my seat in the back row I slid in unnoticed, and relaxed as I waited for my turn to finally, officially end this torture.