𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧 | r. berry

Mash Up

Autumn knew that walking into school the Monday after Jacob Ben Israel's blog story revealing that she was related to Mr. Schuester wasn't going to be pretty. She could feel the stares and whispers from her peers, and she could only imagine what people were saying behind her back.

"That Spanish teacher is such a creep. I bet she's just like him."

"I feel bad for the Cheerios that have to share a locker room with her."

"If I was related to Mr. Schue, I'd kill myself."

Autumn clenched her jaw and kept her head held high. She wasn't going to let this petty gossip get to her. She turned a corner and had only walked a few steps when she was met by a cold, purple slushie. She gasped and wiped the cold drink off her face before opening her eyes to see the school's biggest jerk.

"What the hell, Karofsky?!" Autumn yelled.

"I've wanted to do that since fifth grade when you made fun of me for misspelling the word 'believe,'" said Karofsky.

"It's not that hard to spell you illiterate dick," the smaller girl spat.

"Don't make me do it again," the bully threatened. "Now that you've been outed as an in denial lesbo and turned out to be related to that creep of a teacher, it's open season."

"Screw you, Karofsky," Autumn said, glaring up at the larger boy. "You're gonna pay for that."

"No, I'm not," Karofsky scoffed. "You don't have the juice anymore. Welcome to the new world order."

Autumn scoffed as Karofsky walked away. She shivered as she realized just how numb her body had become to the cold slushie. She felt a hand gently touch her arm. She jumped in surprise as she turned to see Rachel looking down at her with concerned eyes.

"Let's get you cleaned up," Rachel said, gently leading the cheerleader to the girl's bathroom. She set her bag down on the floor and pulled out a paper cup and a towel. She turned back to Autumn, chuckling softly when she saw the confused look on her face. "I've learned to come prepared for these kinds of things. May I?"

Autumn nodded, and Rachel filled the cup with water. She set it down on the edge of the sink and wet the towel, which she used to gently wipe the slushie off the shorter girl's face and uniform. She motioned for her to lean over the sink, which she obediently did. Rachel carefully took the high pony out of Autumn's hair and she used the water in the cup to rinse the slushie out of her hair.

"I'm sorry that this ever happened to you," Autumn said, relaxing as Rachel's fingers gently ran through her hair. "It's humiliating. I don't understand how someone could do something so mean. Like, who just comes to school one day and thinks, 'hey, you know what? I'm gonna be a total dick for no reason.' It makes no sense."

"There are a lot of really bad people out there, Autumn," Rachel said as she carefully twisted the green eyed girl's hair and squeezed the water out. "It's up to us to find the good ones to surround ourselves with. You can stand up now."

Autumn stood up as Rachel went over to her bag and pulled out a hairbrush. She came back over to the cheerleader and brushed through her damp brunette locks. She redid her high ponytail and tightened it. Rachel turned her to face the mirror, and she brushed a few baby hairs out of her face.

"There," the taller girl said. "Now it's like it never happened."

"Thank you," Autumn said, turning to face Rachel. "You didn't have to do that."

"I'd do it for anyone," Rachel shrugged, smiling softly. "I'll see you later, Autumn."

Rachel went to collect her things, and she sent Autumn a smile before leaving the bathroom. Autumn smiled back, and took a moment to collect herself before going back out into the crowded hallway.