Panic Attack

Chapter 1

"You think you can just embarrass me like that!?" the girl screams as her fist make repeated contact with my face. The girl's name is Amber, and you have probably noticed that she does not like me very much. In fact, she hasn't liked me at all since I moved to this school eight months ago. Every single day, she makes it her mission to make my life a living hell, and succeeds. As if my life isn't hard enough, being an overweight foster child who has no idea who her real parents are. Oh, and did I mention the rare genetic disorder that prohibits me from walking without heavy-duty braces? I try to speak, but her punches cut off my words.

"I didn't," punch "do anything,"punch "to embarrass you!" The two boys she brought along with her tightened their grips on my wrists, causing a small whimper to escape from my lips. I want to run. Hide. Get as far away from her as possible. But the boys obeyed their orders and kept me pinned to the wall.

"You didn't do ANYTHING?" Amber says, taking a step away from me. I almost smile with relief. "Let me refresh your memory, Scarlet. You corrected my equation in front of the entire class. You made me look stupid,"

"The teacher asked me to. I didn't mean to embarrass you! I was just doing what I was told," She pauses after my response, pushing her long blonde curls back into place.

"I don't care what you meant!" she yells angrily into my face. "You think you're smart don't you? A little smart-ass who's better than everyone." I shake my head in response. "Well guess what! You're nothing but a fat piece of shit! You can't even walk without those braces supporting your weight,"

"That's not what they're for!" I sob. Her words feel like little daggers, repeatedly stabbing me in the gut, a feeling that has become all too familiar. A lump forms in my throat, and without warning, tears begin to waterfall down my cheeks.

"Lets see how smart you are without them," she says over my whimpers. She kneels down and lifts my pant leg to reveal the plastic braces supporting my lower legs. As I try to kick her away, one of the boys takes my head and bashes it off the wall behind me. I let out a painful cry, but Amber continues to undo the velcro that keeps the braces on my legs. Removing my shoe, she slips the brace out from under my heel, then proceeds to do the same to the other leg.

The two boys grip on me is released. I stumble a bit, but maintain my balance using the wall.

"Please give them back, Amber! I can't walk without them," I plea.

"Well, in that case..." her words pause as she hands one brace to each boy. They look at the plastic supports for a minute, feeling the smooth surface with their thumbs. The boy to her right acts first, slamming the brace to the ground with a loud crash.

"NO!" is the only word that escapes me as the brace separates into a mess of plastic shards. Amber begins to approach me again, as the second boy smashes the other brace. Without warning, she grabs me by the collar of my shirt, knocking me off my feet. My heels scrap on the asphalt as she drags me to the middle of the vacant parking lot, far away from the wall and anything else that would be able to support me. She throws me to the ground, and snickers as I attempt to stand back up. Frustration consumes me, and my angry sobs just add to her entertainment. I feel like a baby deer, using all my strength to stand, only to fall back down soon after.

"Remember this, Scarlet. You're worthless "are the last words I hear from her, as she and the boys jump into a red sports car and drive away.

Discouraged, I allow myself to collapse back onto the ground. My body shakes with uncontrollable sobs, as I lay helpless in the middle of the parking lot. I reach into my back pocket for my cell phone, but realize that it had been destroyed when the boys pinned me to the wall. The only option left is to crawl back to the school, and pray that there is someone still inside.

Sniffling my tears in, I work up the strength to push myself onto my elbows, and begin army crawling towards the school. About halfway there, a familiar orange pick-up truck pulls through the entrance of the parking lot. Without even parking in an actual space, my best friend Shawn jumps out of the driver's seat and runs toward me. Pure worry and anger is plastered on his face. I collapse back to the hard asphalt, as my saving grace has arrived.