Wheelchair Accessible

Part Six

By now, I'm sure it was obvious that I wasn't winning any popularity contests. I definitely wasn't the most well-liked person at school, and would, in fact, be willing to bet that I was one of the least liked people in all of Jefferson High. Nobody wanted me around, and they were happier once I was gone. 

I was the Monday of people. 

And I was a fool to think that combining the Monday of people with the actual day of the week could possibly go well. 

After the intense and dramatic conclusion to Ryder and I's basketball game on Saturday, which Shawna had very happily declared I was the loser of, the three of us had walked over to a nearby gas station and I had bought a round of slushies. 

Shawna and Ryder had gotten along like two peas in a pod, joking and sharing stories. Shawna didn't seem to care that Ryder was so much younger; she happily listened and asked him questions and seemed to genuinely enjoy hanging out with him. Ryder had talked about her the whole walk home. 

Since the 'actually being friends with Shawna' thing had gone pretty well, I didn't push back when she suggested that we meet at one of the local coffee places after school to hang out.

But those plans left my mind the moment I walked out the school doors to find Will and the rest of his minions from the football team standing outside waiting for me.

I won't get into the nitty-gritty details, I'm sure you can put two and two together. 

Will didn't like my attitude and thought I needed to be 'put in my place', and the other guys did whatever he did, and I left school with some lovely new colors on my body.

Nobody got caught or anything, which was probably the only positive out of the situation, because I didn't need detention (or worse) on top of everything else. More than anything, it was annoying. I hated that these guys wouldn't leave me alone. It didn't matter how many good swings I got in, they always outnumbered me and took me out.

My phone buzzed insistently in my pocket and I leaned against one of the fences next to the school, wiping the blood off my lip, and covering my bad eye so that I could see the screen of my phone.

Shawna: We're still meeting at The Bean, rite? Are u just running late?

Shawna: Don't stand me up Mark. I'll be crushed.

Shawna: Not that I'm desperate or anything...

Shawna: But people might think I'm a loser if I'm sitting here by myself all nite.

I sighed and glanced at the time. I was already over half an hour late, and I knew that I still needed to get some ice on my face otherwise this was going to look even worse tomorrow. It felt rude to bail on Shawna, but then again, I hadn't known her for that long, so how 'crushed' could she be? 

Mark: something came up. not coming.

Mark: srry.

Shawna: Whaaaaaaaaat? :0

Shawna: What happened?

Shawna: I bought u a donut!!!!

Mark: can I get a raincheck?

Shawna: *sigh* only because you bought me a slushie.

 Tucking my phone back in my pocket, I made my way home, keeping my head down to avoid attracting unnecessary attention. But as soon as I got home, there was no hiding it.