Emojis

woman and anxiety

Lo 

I had never been in trouble before and the nervous, twisting snake in my stomach was a new feeling to me. I've seen friends and enemies get sent to the Principle's office, but never have I gotten the privilege to walk into it myself. 

The sudden sound of footsteps padding down the hallway made sweat wet my forehead. My lip was being bitten off by my nervous teeth and my foot tapped against the thin carpet. I wasn't sure whether to be surprised, relieved, or disappointed by Hope's raven hair and long frame. I didn't know whether to smile, glare, or remain indifferent. I settled for the latter. Hope, however, gave me a nasty smirk. Coach's head peeked around the corner and saw Hope turning into the nurse's office. 

Coach rolls his eyes at Hope's retreating hair. I guess he doesn't like her either. Coach disappears again, no doubt trying to keep what's left of his class calm. The bell rang, signaling the end of third period. Lunch would be soon. 

I tried to focus myself here, and try to pull myself away from the worries that lifted me off the earth. The sound of the bell vibrated in my head as I tried to focus.  I was sitting in a row of chairs facing the principle's office, and a window sat near by, it's blinds teasing me with glimpses of the outside world. I was rereading Ms. Robertson's name over and over as my eyes skimmed the name plate on her door. Ms. Robertson, Ms. Robertson. I even whispered her name in different ways. I tried signing  her name in ASL in an effort to distract myself from the up coming doom. It did nothing, just reenforced my anxious condition.

The door in front of me was eerily silent and I wondered constantly what was happening behind it. Would Jake get punished? ISS? OSS? Suspension? Expulsion? Would that happen to me? The thought chased them selves around my head until I was dizzy. When a cough came from down the hall it jerked me back into reality and reminded me of someone else. Chasten. 

I tried not to stare at his swollen face in the nurse's office, but it was nearly impossible. It turned into a game of let's-see-how-long-I-can-stare-at-his-face-without-embarrassing-either-of-us. I love that game. Chasten's eyes, of course, never left my face, so I was left with trying not to stare. Then the other strange thing, he talked without a prompt. Willingly. I didn't have to know him long to see that this was a rare thing. 

But of course, at this age, everyone seems to like the sound of their own voice. But Chasten seems to have a practiced blank look and carefully formatted words. He seemed to mull over his words a billion times over before they passed through his lips.  Everything about him was planned: The way he moved, how he responded, everything. It's like he has a calendar for each second of his day.  I wasn't sure if he was protecting him self or if it was just him being him. Science class stripped away his planned exterior. The look on his face, when he answered the question. He looked angry, embarrassed, like he was mad at himself for speaking.

I was so absorbed in pondering the mystery that was Chasten Davidson that I didn't notice the click of the door opening or the polite cough. 

"Ms. Oak. Ms. Oak." A stern female voice repeated, slightly annoyed. I snapped my head up and blushed, my face flaming. Good thing my skin is mocha, not pale. 

"Yes?" I asked, the snake in my stomach twisting around again. 

I began to rise from my seat when the piercing  wail of the ambulance cut through the air. Ms. Robertson swiftly walked past me into the Nurse's office. I heard them talking in low voices and Hope's obnoxious voice. Ms. Robertson walked back out again and pointed to me. 

"Lo, stay there, don't come out side. Chasten, can you walk?" Ms. Robertson said in a commanding voice. 

Chasten said something and stumbled outside. I gasped at his face. It was bloodier than I last saw it and he seemed to have trouble standing up. His hair was plastered to his forehead, and his eyes were unfocused. Chasten was swaying a little, and he took small steps toward the exit.

"This place is up in flames... everything is on fire..." Chasten muttered, eyes wide, unfocused.  Hope took a large step back, then slid her phone out of her back pocket. 

 The nurse helped steady him. Hope trailed behind, looking a little miffed. Guess she was mad because the attention wasn't on her anymore. Hope didn't even have medicine on her scratches, probably because the Nurse was too busy taking care of Chasten. The entourage of people disappeared around the corner, and I heard the opening and closing of a door. The ambulance sounded much closer.

I waited a couple seconds before I ran to the window. I moved the blinds a bit so I could see out of them. Chasten was leaning up against a tree near the front of the school, his face in shade. His eyes were closed. Hope was standing as close as possible to Ms. Robertson and Ms. Robertson kept trying to move away from Hope. The nurse was by the street, hand shading her eyes as the Ambulance came into view. 

Chasten started to walk towards the sidewalk, but his legs buckled and he collapsed on the grass. The nurse ran to his side, and felt his pulse. She forced Chasten to sit up, and his head was touching his chest. Then, as if he's awoken from a sleep, he raised his head and tried to stand. The nurse appeared to tell him to sit and stay, and he did while the Ambulance pulled up to the school. 

The Nurse waved the responders towards Chasten, and they knelt down next to him. Chasten and the responders seemed to be talking and a stretcher was brought out. Chasten climbed into and was carried inside the Ambulance. 

Hope held her phone at a secretive angle and was video tapping the whole thing. Ms. Robertson was conversing with the lead responder, and both turned to look at a small black car screeching into the parking lot.  My eyes narrowed. Who was that? The black car parked poorly on the side of the curb, the front almost touching the curb, while the back end stuck out in the street. A shortish woman with brown hair and badly done blond highlights stumbled out of the car. 

Flashy bangles adorned her wrists, and a too-small black shirt fit her almost too well. Her high waisted jeans were ripped. I wondered how she could walk on her high heels. She walked toward Ms. Robertson, throwing her arm around her like she was an old friend. She seemed to be yelling in her ear, a gigantic smile on her face. Ms. Robertson was leaning away from her, but the woman seemed oblivious. 

The nurse stalked up to the woman and forcefully pulled the woman off Ms. Robertson. The woman seemed to grow angry, then she started yelling at the Nurse, making wild hand gestures. The nurse wouldn't take any of it and put her in her place fast, by the look of it. The woman then turned to Ms. Robertson, a look of pure anger on her face. Ms. Robertson put her hands up in a calming gesture. The woman calmed down and instead, tried to sit down on one of the large rocks on the school's front lawn, but missed by a long shot, and instead tumbled on the grass. Her shoulders shook up and down like she was laughing. 

Hope still had her phone up and out, a large grin on her face. When Ms. Robertson turned her way, Hope quickly tucked the phone behind her. Sneaky little- the woman got up, and staggered over to the ambulance. She shouted at them, waving her arms wildly and almost losing her balance. One of the responds nodded and waved over Ms. Robertson. Ms. Robertson nodded and pulled out her phone too, talking rapidly into it. The woman was now leaning up against the ambulance and was playing with her hair. Hope had her phone back out. 

Sirens sounded and the woman looked around wildly, then stalked up to Ms. Robertson hand raised. Then she slapped her across the face. Everyone looked shocked except for the woman. Just as the woman was turing to walk away, the police pulled up into the parking lot. Two officers got out and with Ms. Robertson's help of pointing her out, the woman was arrested.  The woman was screaming and kicking, her high heels searching for a target to kick. I think she hit one in the gut, but the other one was strong enough to contain her. They shoved her in the back seat. In a flash, they were gone. 

Ms. Robertson got on her phone again and I heard ringing in the office. Must be her. Soon enough, one of the kind office ladies came back and told me that I could go back to class. Ms. Robertson would call me to class when she got back from the hospital or tomorrow. I nodded, my head numb, not really processing anything. I collected my bags, and went to forth period.  

Ooooh intense chapter, eh? So sorry for the delay, testing sucks. The next chapter will probably be out around this time and then I'll update every Friday, Saturday or Sunday. Be sure to give feedback in the Comments!!!!!!!!!!!! (A vote wouldn't hurt either) 

NOTE: Not proof read yet so I will probably republish it with changes later. It's up to you if you want to reread it or not.