emotions, jack gilinsky

44

amara rahman

"god, they're all looking at me." i mutter, slightly shielding my face with embarrassment as i made my way to my locker with bri and edwin by my side.

"no they're not." bri disagrees.

edwin hums sadly, "..yeah they-"

she shushes him before he could finish his sentence, but i already knew what he was going to say. "you guys can go, now. i'll be fine."

she frowns, "are you sure?"

"yeah." i nod. "go to class. i'll see you later."

she gives me a tight hug, "ignore it all, and call me if you need me."

i give her a small smile before she leaves my side. edwin gives me a friendly smile as well before going after her. i was surprised bri wasn't mad at me when i didn't tell her about cj and i this summer. instead, she just continued to comfort me.

i sigh, hiding my head in my locker and taking another breath. "amara."

i attempt to pull my head out, but end up hiding my head on the top of the locker. "ow."

i open my eyes, no other but meredith reed standing before me. "what do you want?"

"listen.." she sighs, and that's when i noticed the bandage around her palm. "i know you're probably iffy about me, but i need to give you a heads up."

i try not to narrow my eyes at her, "about?"

"those other popular guys are going to try and project it during lunch. i've been trying to get them to stop all morning, but they're not budging."

"why're you telling me this?"

she furrows her eyebrows, "why not?"

i shake my head, "never mind. thanks for telling me."

"yeah." she nods, a sincere smile presenting on her lips. "jack was really worried about you-we were all. if you're up to it, you should get some yogurtland with us after school."

"yeah.." i murmur. "i have to go straight to the diner after school, then home."

she nods understandingly. "alright..what're your plans for lunch?"

i let out a small sigh. why was she trying to talk to me? "not the cafeteria, that's for sure."

she nods once more, "yeah, i get it. i should get going..i'll see you later. keep your head up."

"thanks." i reply, a bit of confusion still stuck to my voice. she flashes me another smile before turning back and walking away, her wound still in sight.

before anyone else could approach me, i hurry into my class, letting the dreadful day begin.

+

just like the others, entering miss nawell's class was awkward. stares were on me, other than the people who'd seen me already today. but even some of those people were looking.

once the bell rang, nate and derek abruptly enter, miss nawell rolling her eyes at the two as they clumsily walk towards my table. though, i couldn't help but notice jack's absence.

i also noticed a few glances from miss nawell, meaning she'd known, as opposed to my other teachers.

when class had ended, derek and nate spoke to me in unison. "sit with us."

"not going to the cafeteria." i mutter, shaking my head as i slip my backpack on.

"don't worry about it." derek assures, referencing to the video. "jack took care of it."