The Insanity of a Wallflower

Honored Fool- III

I rubbed the bridge to my nose and sighed now that the test was over. "But I think I passed it..." I murmured on a lighter note, and she smiled and shook her head.

"You're a brave soul," she congratulated me. I smiled and let out another breath before I opened my locker.

But Karri's words of brave had an odd effect. Inwardly, I began to feel humiliated. How ironic she would say that... for my heart was still racing, I had run out of there as fast as I could; every move he made haunted me. I was scared of him. Hayden had such a power that most people only dreamt about- but I cowered from. I knew all too well the consequences of being under the shadow someone like him casts.

I tugged slightly on the hair that chose to separate itself from the bun and I began unwinding the dial to my locker. But my hand slowed when my thoughts once again drifted back to those last moments in class. My hand stilled completely as my brows creased softly. It wasn't just Hayden that I was scared of. It was people. All of them. I learned long ago that almost nobody could be trusted.

Students behind me all laughed and continued on their way. Their voices encased me loudly as they fought to speak over one another. I turned and watched them now. Not one of them knew that I disliked them; that I felt repulsion for them. I didn't interact with enough of them for any lasting emotions to slip across. Normally I'd walk away before my presence became a permanent fixture. To the people of my school, I was just Alys; neither hated nor liked. And luckily for me no one ever really stopped and realized that they knew nothing about me.

I was in no denial about how strange I was. I hated others around me, it was plain and simple. But, I also disliked myself.

Hesitantly I turned that latch one last time and pressed into the hinge. I replaced my math binder for another and quietly pulled out a new sketchbook from the opened locker. I watched Karri now as she also grabbed her own binder for the next class that we shared.

She was special... but as much as I tried with others I couldn't. Even though there were some people who I inwardly liked and didn't mind their company. I smiled distastefully at myself and I closed my locker. No, I only needed Karri. I didn't have to force myself with other people. I could live freely this way. I didn't feel like I had such a suffocating hold around my neck. I was a normal high school student who had learned to deal with her problems and I got along fine like that.

"Al?"

I looked to her hesitant voice. Her soft green eyes were on me. "Did something happen today?"

I hesitated, before finally answering honestly. "It's nothing; I just got myself wound up." And slowly I led the way to our next class. She looped her arm with mine, an odd habit I had just learned to go with, and kept pace with me. We stopped a few feet short of a bathroom entrance. The water from within the toilet pipes had long left their bowls and were flowing freely through the halls.

"Oh well now, that's hygienic." Karri grimaced as she stepped back away from the water. We hopped around the damage and kept walking.

"Senior pranks are getting bad this year," I said lightly.

She nodded her head. "I get the fun of it, but why actually damage something to that extreme? A good prank is one to laugh at, not one to inconvenience you with no actual fun about it."

"Show people that poster then?" I laughed. But she looked at me oddly.

"You know, I should. They've plagued our halls with them," her hands waved dismissively at all those prints that lay before us, "and everyone's sick of it. Even the legit cheerleaders, and they were the ones whom actually worked hard all year and brought us to state".