The office was almost completely silent, save for the loud clicking of the secretary's long red claw-like nails on the computer keyboard. I sat on a bench outside the principal's office waiting patiently for my older brother to arrive. Pulling the sleeves of my jacket down over my hands, I rubbed at my eyes, attempting to blindly remove the smeared eyeliner from beneath them.
"Can I get a drink of water, please?" I spoke up, breaking the quiet.
"No." She said in a monotone voice that seemed to grace every one of the inhabitants of this town. I sighed, swinging my feet anxiously. Sitting across from me were two boys, one with bright green hair and a soft looking face and the other with a meticulously styled blond coif, a black lip ring on the left side of his mouth, and the brightest blue eyes I had ever seen. He looked like something out of a Greek myth, someone who belonged at the top of Mount Olympus. I was sure I had seen them both somewhere before, but I couldn't place them for the life of me. I wondered what they were in for. They looked like the type to talk back to the teacher or get in fights, with their dark clothes and piercings.
The three us of looked up when the glass door to the office swung open, revealing a disheveled man.
"Hey, Sammy." I said meekly, waving at him and plastering what I hoped looked like an innocent smile on my face. He frowned at me, running a hand through his hair before walking up to the desk.
"Hi, my name is Sam Parker. I was called to meet with Principal Haverson?"
The receptionist looked up when he spoke, cracking her thick layer of makeup as she smiled at him.
"Of course, Mr. Parker. I'll let him know you're here."
He thanked her, turning to face me. I decided to stare at my shoes rather than meet his gaze, which I could feel burning a hole in the top of my head. A few minutes later, a door to our left opened and Principal Haverson's round face poked out, waving us inside.
"You can all come in now."
Standing up, I was surprised to see the other two boys following my brother and I into the meeting which would most likely result in my death. I took one of the dingy imitation leather chairs, watching as the blonde haired boy sat inthe other, his friend standing beside him.
"Mr. Parker, I'm sorry to bother you at work, but this was something I felt could not wait." He folded his chubby hands on the desk in front of him, glaring at me. "Your sister has caused a disruption. She nearly destroyed the art room in what I can only describe as a fit of insanity. Judging by my records, she has been quite a successful student in the past three years here."
"Emma, what's he talking about?" Sammy inquired from behind me. I snorted internally. What was I going to tell them, that I was attacked by someone that only I could see? I settled for a shrug, fiddling with my thumbs in my lap.
Principal Haverson gestured to the boys next to me.
"Mr. Hemmings, would you like to explain what you saw?"
There's no way he could have seen what happened. The art room was empty when it all took place, I know it was. He was probably just one of the students outside wanting attention.
His hands started moving rapidly, directed mainly at the boy beside him.
"I was sitting in the corner of room drawing when she came in. She sat down in one of the chairs near the door and pulled out her phone, looking at something on it. Then I don't know what happened." The green-haired boy explained, focusing intently on the blond's hand movements. "She just dropped her phone and-"
"Wait, who are these kids?" My brother said, pointing at them.
"Luke Hemmings and Michael Clifford. Mr. Hemmings witnessed the whole thing and Mr. Clifford came and got me when he heard screaming. Go ahead, Luke."
"She curled into a ball, like she had seen something that scared her. Then she fell on the floor. She didn't even seem to be affected by the broken glass of her phone screen that she had landed in."
I looked down at my hands and sure enough, little bits of glass protruded from my palm, droplets of blood squeezing their way around them.
He ratted you out.
I bit my lip as he continued talking.
He's the one that got you into this mess. If he would've just minded his own business, all you would've had to do was clean up the art room and no one would ever have to know what happened.
"Be quiet." I whispered to myself
"Ms. Parker, would you like to offer any form of explanation?"
I shook my head, not making eye contact with any of them.
"Alright, then you can go wait outside. Gentlemen, you may go back to class."
Luke and Michael walked out behind me and I tried to keep my shoes from falling apart any more than they already had for fear of having to explain why I didn't have a pair of real shoes to them.
Do it. You know you want to.
I willed the voice to shut up,to just let me be. I could handle this on my own.
Besides, he deserves it. He got you in trouble. You're GPA, all that hard work for good grades and perfect attendance – it all went down the drain as soon as his mouth opened. You'll never get into college now that you have this on your record and it's all because of him.
Freezing, I felt one of them bump into my back.
"Hey, are you alright?" Michael asked, moving to stand in front of me and resting a hand on my shoulder.
Do it now. He's right there. How could it make your situation any worse than it already is?
The last thing I remember doing is trying to convince myself that it wasn't his fault, that he was just doing what he thought was best. Then suddenly I was on top of the green-haired boy, my fist connecting with his face over and over.The secretary was shrieking and Luke was trying to pull me off of him, but it wasn't until Sam ran out and grabbed my other arm that Michael was able to move out from underneath me.
"It's all your fault!" I spat at him, thrashing against my brother's grip on my arms as Luke helped his friend off the floor. Watching the blood drip down his chin from his nose, it hit me full on what I had done and I broke, slumping against Sam's chest with a sob.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
