Glory Days

Chapter 19: She tells Me her Story

-This chapter may be a little sensitive to some readers. If you or someone you know is suffering from Anorexia, please contact help.-

-Henry-

My parents were not happy when they picked me up from school early because of the fight. They were silent in the car, but they told me to sit down at the table when we got home.

"Henry, what the hell has gotten into you? Since when do you get into fights, let alone a fight with your friend?" My dad asks me.

"I thought Mason was my friend." I say.

"What's that supposed to mean?" My mom asks.

"Mason was my friend, but this year he's become more of a jerk, I guess. He's always picking on my friend Rylee- "

"So, this fight was over a girl?" My dad asks.

"What? No. Well, I guess? But he calls her drumming stick and drummer boy and these awful names, and I was sick of it. And when I asked him to stop, he said no and said more awful things about her." I explain.

"You were defending her?" My Mom asks.

"Yes, I was defending her. He tripped her for absolutely no reason, and I wasn't going to take it anymore."

"Was she there?" My mom asks.

"Yeah." I say and look down. "I shouldn't have punched him back, but I was just so tired of him acting like that, you know?"

"Yes, jerks need to be taught a lesson sometimes, but not like that, especially at school." My dad says.

"Your Principal said that he called your band teacher to let him know that you will be suspended from drumline for three days, but I don't think he is going to let that happen. Mr. G was not happy, and I think he was defending you." My mom says.

"He will call us soon with your consequence." My dad says. "Now go clean yourself up."

"Ok." I say. I go upstairs to the bathroom and look at the bruises on my face. Mason packs in a powerful punch, I must say. I take off my shirt, then take a washcloth with soap and water and wipe off all the bruises and cuts. I hear my parents talking downstairs on the phone. Why would Mr. G defend me? I go to my room and change clothes, then hear my mom call my name. I walk downstairs to the kitchen.

"That was the Principle, he said that you will have lunch detention for the rest of the week, therefore you may continue indoor drumline." My mom says, a small smile on her face.

"Why?" I ask.

"He said that Mr. G made quite the convincing argument in your favor. He said that Mr. G mentioned something about Rylee and Mason's history but didn't tell us about it." My mom says.

"But you will still have consequences from us." My dad says. "One of them is if you don't pull up your grades, you can't do baseball."

"Ok." I say.

--

The next day at school, I arrive early and go to Mr. G's office. His door is open, and I walk in. He's sitting at his desk, listening to Jazz. Classic Mr. G. No one is in his office; I must be super early, usually some students hang out in his office in the morning.

"Good Morning Henry." Mr. G. Says, turning around in his chair to face me. "How can I help you?"

"Um, I was wondering why you, um, defended me yesterday, when you didn't see the fight... I think." I say, awkwardly.

"Yes, of course. Please sit, I think I should explain a little." He says. I sit down in the chair across from his desk. "I will try and share as much as I can. I've known Rylee since seventh grade, I guess. She was the sweetest person in her class, but terribly shy. If there's one thing I can say, it's that Mason has never been nice to her, and has said many things to her that... negatively affected her. I told Mr. Finn this and a couple other things and I guess that information was in your favor, as I see you are allowed to continue doing indoor drumline."

"Yes, I can continue drumline this week." I say.

"Good, because Ms. E needs you." He says and laughs. "Now please don't get into any more fights, I can't get you out every time."

"I don't plan on it." I say and laugh.

--

Rylee didn't come to practice that afternoon, Ms. E said she had a family emergency and will miss Thursday and Friday too, but will be back for Saturday. She said that she's not worried about her though, she knew the drill very well. I, on the other hand, am worried about her for another reason. On Friday I ask Kiki if she knew where Rylee was, but she said she only knew that Rylee had a family emergency.

On Saturday morning, I get up early to get to school at 5:30 so we have time to pack the bus and head to Westmont High school, which is 2 hours away. This is going to be a long bus ride.

"When you get on the bus, don't forget to sit in your sections!" Cori says as we pack the bus.

I sit near the front, looking for Rylee. I see her walk on and wave. She smiles and sits next to me. She looks tired. More tired than usual.

"That's quite the bruise you have there." She says and chuckles.

"Yeah, I think it's pretty impressive, what do you think?" I say and smirk. She smiles and rolls her eyes.

"I wouldn't say impressive." She says. She looks down at her hands, like she's thinking about something. "I haven't been terribly honest with you."

"What do you mean?" I ask her, shifting in my seat to face her. I lean closer to her so she doesn't have to speak too loud. She leans closer to me.

"I need to tell you about Mason." She says.

"Only if you want to." I say.

"I think you have the right to know." She says, still looking down. I take her hand, and she looks up at me.

"Really, I don't want to know unless you actually want to tell me." I say. She nods.

"When we were little, Mason would always make fun of me because of how small I was. I don't know why he chose me, but he did. And he would make fun of my other friends too. But as we got older, his jokes and commentary became harsher, and all I could think about was what he said about me and my figure. Then I became more self-conscious... and I ate less and became obsessed with my appearance because of what he said."

"Rylee..."

"I didn't tell anyone, until Kiki noticed and asked me, and I told her everything, and she told my counselor, who told my parents. They took me to the doctor, and I was diagnosed with anorexia. I was then taken to the hospital and medically stabilized. Then I went to different therapies and other treatments, and  I missed half of freshman year due to treatments and the beginning of recovery." She says. I see a tear slip out of her eye. I wrap my arms around her.

"Hey, it's ok. He won't mess with you anymore." I say.

"I hope so." She mumbles, buried in my shirt.

"I didn't know you were going through that." I say.

"No one really did. I hid it, which I guess was good and bad."

"Is that where you were the past couple of days?" I ask her. She nods.

"My mom called my phycologist, and she told me to stay home and away from the phone to take a mental break so that a relapse won't occur." Rylee says. "Thank you for being kind and caring about this."

"Of course, you're my friend, I wouldn't want anyone to hurt you, especially not some jerk like Mason." I say. She sits back in her seat, smiling a little. I leave my arm around her as she falls asleep, and I doze off eventually as well.

Until Ms. E wakes us up for costumes and makeup.

"Time to take down our competition!" I say. 

"We got this!" She says. 

And of course, we won our division.