Before The Bell Rings - Spencer White

episode XIII

"What the fuck? They can't just expelled you? Can they?" Amerie yelled out when I broke her the news.

"Keep your voice down. Nobody knows yet." I whispered putting my hand on her mouth.

We were hanging by our lockers. Amerie was the first one I told. I needed to told someone otherwise I would go mad. I was half-listening to what she was saying while the other half of my brain was thinking of ways to get out of this situation. The final bell of the day rang.

"I gotta go but Oi! I love you okay. Everything's going to be fine. We will fight this."

I gave her a small smile. We hugged and she exited the school. Leaving me all alone.

School now over. The halls were emptied of its usual crowd of students. I find myself alone, truly alone with my own thoughts. My mother and Mrs.Woodsy were in a meeting together, discussing about the maps and the tip and my possible expulsion. I was tired of waiting so I started wandering around the school and somehow made my way into the gymnasium. It was dark, only the sun was lightning up pieces of the room. I walked to the center, threw my bag on the floor and laid on my back. It was total silence. I found comfort in it, in this obscure ambiance. I laid there, arms and legs straighten out, body shaped like a star. In a few moments, I will be informed of my future, if I will have the chance to step foot again in this school. At the start of term, I would have done anything to get out of this hellhole. Right now, I'm desperate. I wanted to stay at Hartley. I had finally found my people, friends that loved me and that I loved back as much. This school made me grow into the person I was so scarred to be before. I've grown to spoke my mind and stopped being scared of actually living. Being expelled would mean not graduating with my best friends. I would have to stay behind and when they'd left, I would be alone all over again, just as the beginning of this year.

"Are you high again?"

I didn't move. By the sound of the voice, I knew who it was and I wasn't in the mood to deal with him.

"No. I'm as sober as a nun."

"That's a weird thing to say." He laughed. "So what are you doing here at this hour?" He continued, putting his bag down next to mine and laying besides me.

"My mother is in a meeting with Mrs.Woodsy. What about you uh?"

"I had detention. So, what did you do now?" He joked. I turned my head and when he red my face's expression, his smile faded.

"Justine, what happened?" He asked much more serious. I thought I even sensed a bit of worriedness in his voice.

I sighed in response. I was skeptical about telling him. If he would accused me like Mrs.Woods or defend me like my mother and Amerie. Sooner or later, he would find out so I decided to trust him. Don't know why I did. I just needed to empty my heart from every feelings otherwise it would burst.

"Today's probably my last day."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean today's probably my last day. In this school."

He stayed silent, I could sensed he was trying to figure out something to say. I could feel the questions hanging from his lips.

"It's not because of what happened at the Semifinals."

"Okay, then I can't think of anything you did that could have topped this. You're a great student, you study a lot. Hell, you're even polite with the teachers."

Now it was my turn to not have any words coming out of my mouth. My thoughts were overwhelming me, I couldn't even bring myself to form a full answer. I didn't know where to start, I didn't know how it would come out if I just said what I wanted to. So, I closed my eyes trying to organize my brain. I could feel his eyes glued on me. We stayed like that a few minutes, in silence and in the dark.