16. the bearer of bad news

Background color
Font
Font size
Line height

Eggshells.

Eggshells are what Aaron and Asher are walking on anytime they've talked to me today. I noticed it right away, practically the second I walked away from my mom's car and set foot on campus.

Evidently, I have trouble hiding my pain well. My eyes are still puffy from spending the night crying myself to sleep. I couldn't even manage to put my contacts in because my eyes burned from the tears. So I went to school with my glasses on, my hair in a ponytail, a pair of jeans and a black long sleeve.

"Hey, you good, Estella?" Aaron asks as I absentmindedly shove my food around my tray at lunch.

"I'm going to be here for you, Stel. Until the day you decide you don't need me anymore. And even then, I'll still be here for you."

Brooke's words replay in my mind over and over again like a broken record. I haven't talked much. Most of the day I've spent zoning out, thinking about how one of the greatest days of my life ended up turning into my worst nightmare. 

"I'm fine." I nod, cracking my fingers. I try to sound as convincing as I possibly can.

Asher stops indulging in his yogurt parfait, watching me with furrowed eyebrows as I continue to mindlessly mess with the unappetizing food on my plate.

I hate how they're paying extra attention to me today. I've tried to put a mask on, smiling at Asher and Devin's daily bickering and laughing when Aaron makes fun of the both of them after mediating.

But it's so much harder than it sounds.

It's so hard to put on a brave face when on the inside, I feel broken. It takes every ounce of my strength just to smile.

Devin and Asher engage in conversation, but I'm only half-listening. For the most part, I'm drowning in my own thoughts. They're all so loud and no matter how hard I try, I can't seem to turn them off.

"Do you wanna walk?" Aaron asks me with a curious look on his face.

I nod, hoping that a stroll around the campus with Aaron will help clear my mind. I pick up my tray of uneaten food and toss it into the trash can.

"Where are you guys going?" Asher asks.

"Walk," Aaron responds.

He nods. "Oh. Cool."

"What do you think they'll make us do on Saturday?" I asked Aaron as we enter the cafeteria. "I've never had detention before."

He smiles. "Really? Not even once in your entire high school career?"

We walk up the stairs to the second floor of the school. I slow my steps, realizing now is the perfect time to tell him I've never even set foot in a high school before this year.

I'm also surprised. Devin could have told Aaron and Asher the morning after I shared it with the group during 'circle time'. She could have gossiped about it, going around saying that's why she's so weird.

"I've never been to a public school." I admit. "Well, never been to a school in general until this year. I've been homeschooled my whole life."

He tries his best to hide his face full of shock, which I appreciate. Nonetheless, his eyebrows raise about a centimeter at my words.

"That's— wow," he replies. "So you've done... online school your whole life?"

"Most of it." I nod.

For my first few years of elementary school, my parents hired someone to teach me what I needed to know. Being five years old, I probably wouldn't have been able to learn anything on my own, so I was grateful my mom cared enough to find someone willing to teach me.

When I entered the sixth grade, however, things started to change. I was introduced to Brooke, who was there to guide me through navigating my online classes. Brook and I got along so well that my mom offered her a full-time job as my nanny. It synchronized with the increase of my mom leaving for weeks at a time with no explanations. And from there on out, it was just me and Brooke. Then me and Brooke and Jackson.

Now it's just me.

"I'm going to be here for you, Stel. Until the day you decide you don't need me anymore. And even then, I'll still be here for you."

I can't seem to get her voice out of my head.

"Hey, you alright?" Aaron asks as he leans his head down, closer to my height.

I look up at him, not even realizing the tears spilling from my eyes. I quickly wipe them away, but it's no use. They keep streaming down my cheeks with no control.

"I'm sorry," I whisper. "This is embarrassing."

Stop. Crying.

Now.

"No, it's not," he replies. "You're okay, alright? It's gonna be okay."

I look up at him, a weak smile forming on my face. Without thinking, I wrap my arms around his torso, grabbing two fistfuls of his sweater in my hands. His warmth radiates throughout my entire body as he places his hand on my head, pressing me against him even more.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" He asks in a low voice.

"No, not really," I whisper.

Not yet.

"Okay."

I pull away from him, slipping my glasses back on my nose. With a small sigh, I pull my sleeves over my hands to wipe away any tears left on my face.

"I'm sorry," I say, unable to meet his eyes. "I stained your sweater with tears."

"Don't worry about it."

I give him a small smile as I nod my head. For a moment, I forget about all of my troubles and the only thing consuming my mind is the way Aaron's blue eyes stare straight into my brown ones.

My heart picks up speed when I notice the proximity of our bodies. He looks down at me with parted lips.

"You should— you should probably push me away now... or something."

Right.

I slowly back away from him, taking a seat on the windowsill in the hallway.

Someone clears their throat about ten feet away from where Aaron and I stand. We both turn our heads at the same time, met with a Asher standing beside Devin, who has her lips pressed together, stifling a laugh.

Asher furrows his eyebrows, most likely wondering what exactly just happened between the two of us. I can tell the exact moment he decides to shrug it off, his expression quickly shifting when a small smile appears on his face.

"Fuck off." Aaron rolls his eyes as he casually backs away even further from me.

"You know I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but uh— we're kind of screwed."

Asher bites his bottom lip, waiting for Aaron and I to put the pieces together. Both of us are confused by his words.

"Mr. Porter found out about the whole bear thing cause someone decided to post it on social media, so we have to go to the principal's office. Like, now."

Devin explains Asher's vague statement, gesturing to him as the someone who posted about our little experience on his socials. I don't even know how to feel. A part of me is nervous to meet with the principal, but another part of me wants to laugh at the ridiculousness of the entire scenario.

"Well... shouldn't we be going over there already?" I ask.

"Yeah, we should."

Devin turns around in the direction of the stairs. We all follow, walking down the steps toward the front office. For some reason, it's like everyone knows exactly what's going on as we make our way through the cafeteria. My peers stare at the four of us, each pair of eyes burning into my soul.

So dramatic, Estella.

"Hi Courtney." Asher smiles as we enter the front office. "Me again."

She shakes her head as he opens the door that presumably leads to the principal's office.  Devin, Aaron and I walk inside as Asher holds it open for us.

"Thank you all for coming," Mr. Porter says as we enter the small, yet very organized office.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Porter."

Asher holds his hand out for him to shake. Mr. Porter glares back at him, causing him to drop his hand and stuff it inside of his pocket.

"So here we have Asher Miller, Aaron Fulton, and Devin Summers," he says as he slightly spins in his chair. "Tell me why you three are always in my office."

"Mr. Porter, it's because you always—"

"And we also have the newest addition to the school, Estella Ramirez." He adds, cutting Asher's comment off.

I give him an awkward wave, having every reason to be embarrassed. New students don't end up in the principal's office after only a month of being enrolled.

"Mr. Porter, we already have detention on Saturday to make up for the whole hiking thing."

He swivels his chair to face Aaron. "I know that. What I didn't know was that the four of you encountered a bear while you were out on your little rendezvous."

I shift uncomfortably on my feet. I look to the others, who all seem to be unfazed as they stand in front of Mr. Porter.

"Your honor, I don't see how it makes a difference."

"What did I tell you about calling me your honor, Asher?" He asks with furrowed eyebrows. "And it makes a difference because you not only broke the one and only rule the counselors set, but you were all aware of the danger the bear could cause to all the other students on the hike and you failed to report it to anyone."

I purse my lips. In our defense, we were going to let the counselors know that we had seen two bears, but Asher was right, it wouldn't have made much of a difference.

"Well, what would they have done differently if they knew the bear was there?" Devin asks. "Everyone would have just started to freak out and it would have caused more chaos than necessary."

Mr. Porter crosses his arms with a sigh. He tilts his head, staring at Devin with an unamused look on his face.

"Listen, your honor, they had nothing to do with it. If you're gonna punish anyone, then it should be me."

"It will be you, Asher."

"What are you gonna make us do?" Aaron asks with shrug. "We should have told the counselors about the bear. We learned our lesson."

"Did you though?"

"Yes." Aaron nods.

I cringe internally, afraid that Aaron's words might make Mr. Porter want to punish us further, or worse, involve our parents in the matter.

"I'm gonna let you kids off with a warning this time," he finally says with a sigh. I take an audible breath of relief, causing the others to turn to face me. "But, and mark my words, if any of you end up in my office one more time this year, you will be facing consequences."

Wait, slow down. It's only your first rodeo, Estella!

We nod, letting Mr. Porter know we understand. Before we walk out of his office, he reminds us of our detention on Saturday.

"See you soon, Courtney." Asher waves as the four of us leave the front office.

"Did you not just hear what Mr. Porter just said?" Devin asks once we near the cafeteria. "No more doing dumb shit for no reason. Seriously."

Asher rolls his eyes, stopping in his tracks to face Devin. "All right, I'll try."

"Try? No, it's not that hard, Asher," she says, shaking her head. "Unless you wanna spend another year here, you should get your act together. Same goes for you, Aaron."

Aaron shrugs. "I'm not trying to get expelled."

"Good."

"Me neither." I shake my head, staring down at the concrete ground.

The three of them look at me with confusion written all over their faces. Aaron cracks a smile and Asher lets out a loud laugh. I do the same, catching Devin, yeah, Devin, smiling from ear to ear with her friends.

You are reading the story above: TeenFic.Net