Senior Squad

12| "I Bet That Stung."

Aria

"This sounds like a very difficult morning." Mr. Caldwell reiterated what I told him, as I laid in his comfy, bean bag chair.

"Yeah." I nodded.

He continued writing as the little penguin clock kept ticking. I was tempted to break it, though I also remembered Lyle either gave him that or found it soothing. Either way, I didn't want to take that risk.

Once Mr. Caldwell finished, he sighed and looked right at me with an odd, enthusiastic grin planted on his face. "Would you like to talk more about it?"

"Can I just sit here and chill?"

"Technically you could... However, there is another session after you in about fifty minutes." Mr. Caldwell tilted his head to the right as he thought for a moment. "Possibly thirty, since he's on a time crunch."

"Then I guess I'll be out of your hair." I told him as I tried getting out of the bean bag only for him to stop me.

"I'm afraid, you can't leave."

"Why not?"

He sucked in his bottom lip for a second before he said, "Well it's not safe."

"Really?" I exclaimed while he nodded. I couldn't help, but groan and look up at the ceiling. I was starting to feel exactly like Elise. "Do you really think I'm so unstable that I'd shoot up the school or something?"

"Not necessarily, though that example is troubling."

"Don't worry, I won't." I reassured him.

"Thank you." He responded.

We both sat silently as the penguin clock continued ticking. He locked his fingers together and rested them on the desk while I let my arms lay out on the chair. Neither of us wanted to say anything, though he ended up breaking the silence first by saying, "Listen, I do want to help you."

"I know you do." I nodded. "I just wish this didn't feel so fresh, you know?"

"Fresh?"

Wait, did I really say that? I backpedaled by nodding and letting out a laugh or two. "Sorry, it's not that fresh. It has only been two years on this exact day. The twentieth of September."

"Do you still feel hurt?"

"Of course." I unintentionally scoffed. "Why else would I be here? Actually, I didn't want to be here to begin with. Papí called the school and set this up."

"Well he's worried about you."

"Who wouldn't?" I asked. "Who wouldn't feel bad for someone like me? Never mind, there's probably a bunch of people who couldn't care less."

"Aria, please calm down."

"I am calm." I told him once I finally managed to get out of that chair. "You know, maybe he was right. I'm not all that fine and probably should've stayed home, but what good would that have done? I can't keep crying over them because they're gone. That's not living... that's pathetic."

"No, it's perfectly natural."

"Is it really? Other kids could easily–"

The door opened all of a sudden, prompting us both to see Audrey's baseball stud ex-boyfriend, stick his head in and say, "Yo, is this a bad time?"