What Are Scars For

chapter two

So this song is The Grey by Icon For Hire and I think it fits perfectly into how Veronica feels... Yeah, IFH is the best

Veronica's pov:

Class had started well before I had arrived. But even with the teacher deep into his lecture, every pair of eyes landed on me.

Eventually, he caught on and also turned toward me. "Glad you could join us." He told me, "I, uh, accidentally slept in." I said, thinking of a story to cover up what happened.
I was apparently victorious, because he let me off with a warning. "Two strikes you're out. Remember that because I sure will." I nodded before sitting down, a long day ahead.
By lunch, I had readily decided I would skip the rest of the day and take it from my dad. Julie on the other hand, was not about to let me get my wish.
"If you leave, your not going to graduate, then you'll never get into college, and then you will work at Taco Bell and then you will die a hobo. Do you want to die a hobo?!?" I was shocked, but shook my head no anyway. "Good, then next stop is... Drum roll please." I laughed at this.
"We've been friends for years and you still don't bother to compare schedules." I commented. I dug around in my string back before finally taking out a crumpled piece of paper. On one side was a map to the school, or my best friend in freshmen year. On the other was my schedule.
First Period: Algebra 2
Second Period: Physical Education
Third Period: Study Hall (free period)
Fourth Period: Economics
Lunch :-)
Fifth Period: Anatomy
Sixth Period: English 3
Seventh Period: Advanced Psychology
Eighth Period: Spanish 2

"Anatomy!" Julie practically yelled. I giggled again and rolled my eyes. "Is it your favorite or something?" I ask her sarcastically. "Maybe." She replied. We walked to anatomy and sat down near the back of the room. "You do realize you aren't in this class right?" I asked her. She nodded and didn't move. "I have a free period." I rolled my eyes. "Lucky you." She giggled. "Would the chatty girls in the back please answer the question?" We immediately shut up. "We didn't hear you, sir." I looked at Julie, sir? I mouthed and she shrugged. "Well maybe if you didn't sit so far away, you wouldn't get sudden hearing issues, now Ms." He looked at his clipboard. "Cialley?" He questioned my last name. I nodded, it was a hard one but I liked it.
"And who is this?" I instantly flushed, "My name is Julie, sir." She said, easily making a few heads turn.
 

  "Well, Julie, since you love my class so much, you can join me in detention." He smiled and she glared before giving in and nodding. "Do you know her, Ms. Cialley?" He asked me, I was confused, nodded a yes in response anyway. "Then you'll join her.-"
    "But sir," I cut him off, he quickly held up his hand. I flinched, but so slightly that no one would see it. "Come here now." He all but yelled. I shot up out of my seat, almost unwillingly, and walked to him beside his desk at the front of the class room. I heard a quick smirk, and turned to look directly at Zach O'Brien, again. "Is something funny to you?" I asked, the teacher glared at me and the Dream Boat blushed. No one noticed, of course. After all, he was basically high school royalty. I took his no answer as a no and smiled the rest of my walk to the desk. The teacher was still looking over my shoulder. "Julie, to class. NOW!" I took a small step back and she tried to argue but lost quickly and went outside.
   Once again, at least to him, everything was right in the world. I braced myself for my punishment and he leaned in to whisper in my ear. I barely heard him say "Just go with it." before he shoved me in a chair at the front of class. I concentrated on protecting my ribs and most likely made a face, because West burst out laughing. This time, we both glared at her. "Oh, sorry sir. I didn't mean to ruin your lesson it was actually quite interesting." She kissed up. He ate it and gave her a smile. "Ms. Cialley has volunteered for class today. Willingly, of course." My eyes widened at the news. I had not! "Today we will start with the skeletal and muscular system." His smile widened once again across his face. I stare at him, trying to figure out his game before he suddenly grabs my wrist. Once it's in view of the entire class, he begins. I look down; brace myself for whatever was in his twisted mind.
   "Class their are five fingers and twenty-seven bones in the human hand, not including the sesamoid bone, the number of which varies between people and their hand types. Fourteen of those twenty-seven are the phalanges, which have three types. Proximal, Intermediate and Distal, of the fingers. The metacarpal bones connect the fingers and the carpal bones of the wrist." He must have been a hands on learner as a child, because he had a very physical way of explaining it. As he spoke, he bent my wrist in ways that shouldn't be possible. I glanced around the class, seeing who was and wasn't paying attention. He then went on teaching how the muscular system would react to different external influences. He puts an ice cube from his untouched and homemade bottle of water to my palm and I whisper under my breath, "that's for the nervous system." He looks at me and glares, pressing the ice cube a bit harder before turning back to the rest of the class. "You guys might be wondering if that is part of the nervous system as well. And it is, your nerves send impulses to you brain firing your muscles into action." By then, I was squirming in the chair. I had my free hand clutching a small unused part of the seat. I decided to look out the window in the back of the classroom. The squirming made my side hurt, and if I could get my mind off of class then I would survive it better. Apparently he saw me gazing out the window at some point,because he just decided to randomly ask his "willing volunteer" a question. Not knowing the answer, I don't say a word and a few people giggle. The teacher leans right into my ear and whispers, "Aw, the know it all is mute all of a sudden? What a coincidence." I close my eyes for a long second before looking at the class and straight into the eyes of the one and only Zach. He now had a white knuckled grip on his journal, no longer taking notes. The teacher says something about our sense of touch and how the impulses are slower than we give them credit for. Suddenly, I'm on my feet and being pulled toward a window facing the sun. Without another word, he yanks off the ice cube and plants my palm on the hot window. I lightly cried out and immediately, I hear a chair rock and scratch the floor. Someone stood up. I guess. The teacher lets out an exasperated breath before confronting the student. "Mr. O'Brien, what is so important." I look behind me, Zach's face is somewhere in between mad and helpless. He opens mouth in a small o before mumbling. "I... have a..... headache." He rubs his forehead for effect and before the teacher could say a word, the bell rang for class to end. I scurry to my desk, after all the rest of the class had already gotten out with almost all of their stuff. Still rubbing my palms and joints, I ran out of the class and got stopped at the door. "Don't forget to be at detention, 2:45 today, don't you dare be late." I nodded and ran out the door and straight into Zach in all his confusing glory. I accidentally dropped my books, but they were swiftly off the ground and in his arms. My mouth was open and I was blatantly staring. He stared back, not handing back the  books I would need in two and a half minutes. Finally, I reach out for them but he pulls my hand out instead. As he is examining the degree of damage there is bound to be, he puts on his classic glare. My heart skips a beat, thinking I've done something wrong I quickly pull away. "You're coming with me." He says, before grabbing my arm and starting to walk away. It's obviously not a choice. There goes English. 

   He marches me all the way to Nurse Wendy's office. She was simple and bored looking. "What's hurting?" I took a deep breath, and my ribs were still killing me. Everything. I wanted to say. But instead, I just lifted my limp wrist. She knelt in front of the chair I was currently occupying. Wendy took my thumb in one hand and my pinkie in the other. Her eyes grew wide when she saw the skin on my palm. Once again, someone was hurriedly yanking me up from my comfortable position. Nurse Wendy took me to the sink immediately, and hurriedly shoved  my bad hand under freezing water. I whimpered and then turned red of embarrassment. Zach took a sharp intake of breath, finally understanding it wasn't bad pain, he asked calmly, "What are you doing?" She didn't look up but she replied. "Her hand is severely burnt, like she laid it atop a hot stove for a while. I'm stopping the burn from destroying anymore of her skin." I swallowed hard. That was something I didn't need today of all days. Before I could fully comprehend the current situation, the nurse and Zach switched places. "How did you burn it?" She asked, as she looked around the room for an apparently lost object. "Just, a science experiment gone wrong." I giggled for a clumsy effect. Zach looked at me, confusion clouding his eyes. I gave him a look that I hoped said 'Just go with it.' 

    "Turn off the water." She said to whomever was listening. Zach did as instructed and Nurse Windy  handed us both tarty slips. "But the muscles and ligaments in my wrist; the cold water didn't do anything for that." I tried to explain, "Do you have an ace bandage or rapping gaws or something for it?" She stared at me before bursting out in laughter. "Your just in shock, sweetie. Nothing's actually wrong, just be more careful next time, alright?" I scrunched my eyebrows together. "It's not my fault." I explained. "Now sweetie, don't blame your mistakes on other people. It's not kind." I was honestly speechless. 

    A string of curses fell under Zach's breath before be grabbed my good hand and walked out of the room. He was still holding my books. The yank pulled on my ribs, causing a sharp pain followed by a dull ache. "Ouch! Stop!" I all but yelled. He did what I asked and stopped, but he didn't let go of my hand. "It wasn't your fault, you know that. Right?" He asked me as soon as I would be able to hear it. I open my mouth, once again at a loss of words. Finally, I nod. "Good, now why'd you lie in there?" His interrogation continued. "You could have said something about Mr. Colihan a-abusing you." He told me, a small stutter in his voice. "No, I couldn't." I said, scared of the outcome of my actions if I had. "Wait, who's Mr. Colihan?" I asked a slightly digressive question. He took a breath to speak, but before he could, he was laughing. "You have no idea." He whispered, probably thinking I didn't hear. "He's the teacher we just had. The one that just attempted a version of anatomy." And with that, his boyish smile was gone. It was hard to get out of him, but when you did; you smiled with him. And then, before either of our real questions were answered, the bell rang. We stood as we were until the hallway started to crowd with students. Then he walked me to advanced Psych before stating his one demand. "Just tell your father about what happened, alright?" Before he let go of my hand and walked to his own seventh period. I hadn't realized how long we had dawdled, long enough to last a whole period. But Zach was the one I was questioning the most. How did he even know my schedule? Didn't he know my father would kill me if I did? And, did he notice he had been holding my hand all the way from the nurses office, never letting go? 

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   Sorry for taking so long to write this. Even though like no one reads this part... I'm really trying to think the story line through. If you guys have anything you really want to see in the story, just comment or pm me and I'll try to include it! Please comment and vote! Thanks for reading to the end.