Stranger

Lin

A/N: Yo! So I've got about 30 chapters of this written. I'll try to keep posting 1 or 2 a day until my insane pace catches up with me. 😀

I noticed Nora was dragging the morning of her second day of school. She'd fallen asleep pretty early and had a tough time getting out of bed. I knocked on the bathroom door to try to hurry her along. School started in 15 minutes.

Nora finally came out and grabbed a couple Pop-Tarts from the pantry, her backpack weighing her down. "Remember, you have a doctor's appointment after school today," I said. "Vanessa will meet you at the end of the day."

"But I'm not sick," she told me.

"When was the last time you went to the doctor?" I asked her. She shrugged. "We just need you to get a check up to make sure everything's okay. It'll be no big deal."

She groaned, but didn't protest any further. Soon, she was out the door. I was out the door as well within thirty minutes, my morning filled with various meetings throughout the city. My day was going well until I got a phone call around 1:00 in the afternoon. The caller ID said Hunter College High, so I immediately picked up.

"Hello? This is Lin," I answered.

"Lin! Hey, it's Dr. Fisher here from Hunter," he said. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, thanks. What's up?"

"We're gonna need you to come in if you're available," he continued. "Unfortunately, Nora got into a bit of a physical confrontation today."

"A physical confrontation?" I asked.

"Yeah, I can fill you in on the details when you get here, but looks like Nora initiated a physical fight with another student."

I sighed out and scrubbed a hand over my face. "Okay, I'll be right there."

I hung up and apologized to the person I was meeting with. We rescheduled for another day. I hopped on the subway and was at Hunter within 10 minutes. The secretary led me back to Dr. Fisher's office, where Nora slouched in one of the chairs. She looked angry and didn't look at me.

The secretary closed the door on her way out and I took a seat.

"Sorry to have to call you in here, Lin," he began. "But we have a bit of a situation."

He pulled something up on his laptop and then turned it around so I could see. It showed security footage of a hallway, which clearly showed Nora push another girl to the ground and start to punch her. Seeing the exchange again seemed to amp Nora up more.

"Nora, what happened?" I asked her. She didn't answer.

"She's refusing to talk to me," the principal told me. "I told her if I didn't know what the problem was, I couldn't help her out. I know starting at a new school can be a hard transition. Were you having some personal issues with this girl?"

Again, she said nothing, just tapped one of her heels as she slouched in the chair. The principal sighed.

"We interviewed the other girl and she said they'd had a verbal argument before hand in which Nora used profanity. Nora's not giving me any more information."

"Nora," I said, looking at her. "Don't you want to tell your side of the story?"

She just shook her head simply, twisting her lips to one side.

"We have a very clear disciplinary policy when it comes to physical violence. It's a mandatory 3 day out of school suspension."

I nodded in understanding. It was only her second day of school and she was already getting suspended. "Will she be able to make up her work?"