Walking Away

Ali

Johnathan

Got a dentist appointment
wont be at lunch

My phone buzzed as Mark text, and after checking it I kind of just stopped walking in the middle of the hallway. I only suffered through the cafeteria because Mark was there. If he wasn't even at school, I needed a new plan. The courtyard, or library. 

I decided on the courtyard and headed that way before remembering that Raven was probably still in the nurses office. I could go check on her.

After considering it for a moment I headed that way instead. It was across school from the cafeteria, and I would have to go past the courtyard, but that just meant I had a minute to think.

Raven had been exhausted today. Every other time I've seen her she's been awake, active, always fidgeting or humming or talking. But today she was so quiet. It should have been a nice change of pace, but instead it just seemed...wrong. Quiet Raven wasn't really Raven.

Not that it mattered, not really. She was just tired, and she would be fine. I'd made sure of that, laying her down and checking with the nurse. But I couldn't let her become too important, or I'd have to loop her in. Id have to explain why I'm so careful, so polite. Why I can convince any teacher of anything. Why I had to handle Ali's teacher instead of letting a parent do it.

I walked faster, the new direction in my thoughts making me uncomfortable. I don't like thinking about mom. It makes me angry, and anger is irrational. It causes nothing but pain, and I won't settle in it. Even though it would probably be healthy. Even though my family is like a horror show. Even though my mother couldn't take five minutes to care about her only daughter getting bullied at school, so I had to. 

Of course, I don't see how she could care about bullying when she's so adept at it herself.

***

Raven

I could hear voices. One was unfamiliar, but the other I knew. They stopped before I could place it, though.

Slowly, I opened my eyes. I was greeted with a dull headache and a pale green room. I shook my head a little bit, trying to clear it. I felt like I'd been sleeping for hours, but I was still tired. I stopped when I saw Johnathan sitting in a chair by the door, writing in a notebook that probably held homework, knowing him.

"He-" I cleared my throat and tried again. "Hey."

Johnathan looked up, smiling as he closed the folder and slid it into his bag. "Hey." He walked over, his eyes scanning me before meeting my own again. He slid into a chair next to the bed I was now sitting up on.

"Where am I?" I asked, looking around. "Shouldn't I be at school? Wait, shouldn't you be at school?" I checked my phone, looking for the time. "Oh. Okay, schools over? So where are we? And why are you here?" Realizing that probably sounded rude, I rushed to fix it. "I mean, I'm glad you are, or I think I am, but I don't understand?" I stopped, but he just looked at me. "I'm done." I said. "Your turn."

Johnathan nodded, and held up his fingers, like he was checking off a list. "You are in the nurses office, so technically you are still at school. Uh, you were sort of tired this morning so I brought you here to sleep. Classes are over, the bell rang about ten minutes ago. And I'm here because I didn't want you to be confused when you woke up."

I met his eyes, confused at how guarded his voice was. I could see it in his eyes, too, like he was protecting himself. I studied them for half a second, curious about the coloring. They were a shade of brown that should have seemed dark, but somehow didn't. Like instead of being a dark shade they were just deep. "So you came back after your classes?"