My Rules

rule 2

I spent the rest of my day in the safeguarding office.

We were led there by Mr Mason and Mr Curtis, each man with his hands on one of our shoulders. I looked at Laura, who seemed shaken and avoided looking at me. She seemed scared, but also oddly satisfied.

We were each taken into one of the smaller rooms that safeguarding use within the office. I looked around. The walls were cream, just like the classrooms. There were two low grey tables put together and two squat, squashy black chairs.

My face felt sore. It felt swollen and tender. I reached up to touch it. Split lip. Graze near my eye. Dried blood under my nose-

"I wouldn't poke around too much if I were you," Mr Curtis came in, first aid kit in hand. He sat down across from me in the tiny room, sternly saying, "Now, what was this fight about?"

I looked at him, feeling an eye beginning to puff up. Brilliant. I looked down at my hoodie and saw blood on the sleeve. He placed an ice pack in my hand and I pressed it to my face.

He sighed. "Laura tells me that you called her a number of abusive terms."

"Like what?" I murmured, my lip curling.

"Bitch, slut, whore." He fumbled around with facial expressions, trying to seem more delicate, less accusatory.

I laughed. He raised an eyebrow.

"Did you?"

"No." I honestly hadn't. It wouldn't be smart to chat shit about someone who's hated me for years. "Someone probably said I did."

He made a small note on a pad. "Do you have a history of conflict?"

I nodded.

I didn't know why Laura and Aggie hated me. Laura, mainly. Ever since Year Eight she'd been giving me ugly looks and calling out names to me when she passed me. In Year Ten she started shoving me into walls.

"Did she bully you?"

I shook my head.

"So you were both aggressive?"

"No." Sure, I'd glared at her on my better days when I was more up to it, but nothing more.

He frowned. "If she was the only one being aggressive.... How often was this conflict?"

"Weekly, maybe." I shrugged. "Sometimes daily."

He sighed. "So why is it not bullying?"

I hesitated. I didn't really know, I'd just never thought of it as bullying. Maybe thought that I was such a freak I deserved it. "It's only bullying if you choose to be a victim. I'm not a victim. It's not bullying." My voice came across as terse.

"Who started the fight?"

All these questions. I wished he'd just fuck off already.

"Arren? Who started the fight?"

"She did," I snapped. "She approached me, accused me of chatting shit about her and then attacked me. It was self defence. Can I go now?"

..............................................................................................................................................

I wasn't allowed to go to the rest of my lessons. Instead, I had to complete the work in the safeguarding office. Normally, I'd have stayed for revision after school, but I left as soon as possible.

Many thoughts were clamouring in my head, so I made the walk back home quick and practically ran into my dad's house, through the dim hallway and upstairs to my room. Dad wouldn't be home for another four and a half hours at least.