"I don't want to do it," I say, biting my lip nervously.
"But why?" Hailee asks. She's looking at me as if I'm stupid.
"Because... I just don't! Okay? I just don't..." I repeat, over and over again. I've been arguing with Hailee all afternoon. She's just as frustrated as me, but I don't get why.
"That's not a real answer," she replies.
I roll my eyes at her answer. "You sound like my mom right now."
"Well is that so bad? I bet she would've said the same thing as me," Hailee says, her voice a fraction softer now. She crosses her arms and leans against my bedroom door.
I close my eyes and roll around on my stomach, tangling myself in the sheets. "I know," I say.
Hailee sighs and then I feel her weight next to me.
"Why do you want me to do it so badly? Do you really want to not be classmates anymore? Not work together on the same projects? Not go to college at the same time?"
My voice is just above a whisper. My eyes remain closed and she doesn't answer for a while.
"I don't want to get rid of you Addy, but you're a bird," she says, just as quietly.
I open my eyes and look at her then. Her back is resting against my headboard and her eyes are trained on the scenery outside my window. The wind is ruffling the tree branches and the grass is swaying as if chasing the wind.
"What's that got to do with anything?" I ask.
She looks at me then, eyebrows furrowed. "You're not flying."
...
My palms are sweaty and my breath slightly shaky. I can't sort out my thoughts and when I touch the doorknob I completely space out. My mind isn't functioning properly.
Get it together!
I shake my head. "You're pathetic," I whisper.
Then I push the door open. Forty eyes meet my own and I feel my brain blanking again.
"Miss Benedetto?" the teacher asks.
It takes a few seconds for my brain to react. "Huh? I mean yes, thats me."
People chuckle. A wave of humiliation comes over me and I look away.
"Come on in!" the teacher says in a cheery tone. I look up at Miss Ellis and my nerves calm slightly.
She has that calming effect I realize, as she's standing next to the blackboard, a pice of chalk in her hand. Her hair is in loose waves and her white blouse flows delicately from her shoulders. Her blue eyes crinkle with kindness at the corners and her smile is saying 'you're a wonderful human being and I believe in you'. She looks like serenity itself. I can't help but smile back and I walk further into the room.
Miss Ellis puts down the chalk and dusts of her hands elegantly, clapping them softly. Her black skirts sways slightly as her small frame moves forward to greet me and shake my hand. Then she turns to the rest of the people in the classroom.
"Students, this is Adeline Benedetto. She'll be joining us from now on and I believe you'll be treating her nicely."
Miss Ellis' hands rest on my shoulders as she says this and she gives me a light squeze. I plaster a 'sales-person' smile on my face as I look at the other students.
My eyes roam around the room, picking up on both familiar and unfamiliar faces.
"Take a seat in one of the empty desks at the back," Miss Ellis says.
YOU ARE READING
Lethal Love
RomanceHe's a murderer, I think. But I also think I'm falling. And I think I'm falling pretty fast and pretty hard too. And it's okay. Because this isn't just falling. This is what flying feels like. ... I'm just gonna go ahead and say it as it is; THIS...
