Chapter 30: 99 Problems Between Blurred Lines: Part 1/2:

Quick note: This chapter was really supposed to be one part but I didn't want to make it too long and I don't really have much leisure time to write that part. I've written some of it but like I said in the last post I'm pretty busy these days. :/ If you didn't quickly glance over that post  I suggest that you do. http://perfection-sims3.blogspot.com/2015/04/update-hey-guys-i-probably-wont-be.html

"I'm such an idiot!" I yelled in distress, shaking my head back and forth in embarrassment.
    "You're far from an idiot Mel, you just made a silly mistake."  David was looking at me like he was a blind man trying to look across the street.
    "I said 11 squared was 22 for crying out loud...There's no recovering from that!" I snapped. "I'm not good at anything anymore, I'm just completely useless." I pictured the look of all those other students earlier, my cheeks burned like someone had struck a match against them.
     I looked down at the paper in front of us, only becoming more pissed off at myself. "And how many times do you keep explaining this shit to me and I never get it?!?!?" My finger felt weak as I pointed towards problem #99. "You're probably so tired of me."

     David groaned, I knew he was probably annoyed with me whether or not he actually wanted to admit it. "Look, just stop talking. Alright?" He turned the page in the textbook, it smelled like the tears of tortured students.
     "No, I can't stop!" I was fed up with feeling like I couldn't do anything right anymore. "Everything I say, everything I do, everything I think about... is just wrong. I'm a fuck-up."
      His shoulders raised as he let out a sigh. "You don't even know what a fuck-up is."He leaned over, his hand grazing the side of his neck.
    It hurt to know that I wasn't good enough for anything, and I was only going to be reminded when I went home.
      "What's wrong with you?" He asked, as if it was a question that could actually be answered.
      "I don't know what's wrong with me!" I exclaimed, while plummeting my face into my hands. The silky touch of my hair ran along my fingers.

      "There's nothing wrong with you, we all have our moments when we feel like we're not good enough. But the way you bring yourself down all the time is wrong, and kind of annoying." Well damn. He gave me a brief run-down.
      "But you don't understand, I literally fuck everything up, I don't mean to... It just happens." I sounded like a little mouse, just mousing around every word I spoke.
      "See! You're doing it again." He shook his head in disapproval. "You have no idea what a fuck-up is Mel, trust me you will never be one." He reassured me.
      "Oh yeah? I cursed out my uncle last night, told him his wife was a bitch, said my mom was a skank, and my grandmother deserved to get divorced. I fucked up. Now he won't even look at me. I wish I could take it back but I can't, it's too late."
      "You didn't even bother to say sorry?!?!?" Great. Now he was going to make me feel worse than I already did.
    "No! Why would I say sorry?! He's already done with me, he didn't even look at me when I talked to him this morning, he just nodded his head. It's too late to say sorry." I felt the precipitous flush of heat subdue my entire body.

"Do you hear yourself right now?!? You cursed him out yet you're asking why you should say sorry?" Okay, now he was making it seem pretty bad.
 "Well I didn't exactly curse him out, I just said fuck you." I explained.
    "Are you serious?!? Fuck you is still a rude thing to say, everyone knows that, I don't know why you don't. If I said that to my dad I'm almost certain he'd try and kill me. But you're lucky enough to have someone in your life who supports you and ignores your faults... If you really feel that bad about what you did, then you would go and say sorry."
    Oh shit, he was right. What was wrong with me? "I guess I kind of..."
      "Don't even finish your sentence Mel, just don't." He shook his head back and forth, laughing at me.
    I was hypnotized by the witty expression that was on his face. "Why can't I talk?"
    "Because..." His sagacious smirk sickened my stomach. He shrugged, with both of his shoulders looking like two spring boards flexing up and down.
      What the hell was that supposed to mean? "Because what?!?"
    "Because, I know what you're gonna say." The Nadir of his smile dipped even lower.
      "What are you a psychic?!" I laughed at the mere thought of him predicting other people's futures as he glared into a mystic crystal ball.

"Ha! You're funny." His eyebrows jumped up like two grasshoppers. "I'm just used to the things you say. It would be pretty cool if I was a psychic though." He snickered a little bit.
    "This isn't funny, nothing's funny!" I sighed, "Everything is just so difficult and stressful." I fixed my eyes back on the textbook. "I'm so tired of everything, I really am."
      "Me too Mel, me too." It felt like my body was being absorbed by the intense waves drifting from his ocean blue eyes. "It's nice to know I'm not the only one who feels that way."
“You aren't as tired as me. Trust me, you don’t feel the same way I do.” We had finished 99 problems for homework but I had 99 problems of my own to figure out, and they were 99 problems that were far too complex for me to actually solve, I honestly didn't even know if there was a solution to my problems. “Your parent’s aren't getting divorced.”
It felt so weird to say the ‘d-word,’ I knew my parents had issues but it never occurred to me that they would actually consider having a… You know.
“My parents aren't getting divorced but I wish they would.” He stretched his arms out, yawning and groaning like an old man. “My dad’s an ignorant man with anger issues, I don’t know how he ever managed to find someone like my mom, they’re so different, she's a saint and he's a fallen angel.”

“I guess opposites attract?” My response was weak but I didn't really know what to say to him.
“Yeah, I guess they do.” His mouth gaped again, and he yawned some more. “I  was supposed to start looking at colleges, I think I’ll do it tomorrow though, I’m gonna be busy tonight."
He had a game later, I felt kind of bad for holding him up and cutting into his plans. “I’m sorry, I told you we could do this tomorrow.”
“Nah, it’s fine.” He rolled his eyes, and stared off into the distance. “I didn't want to do it anyways. But I have to…”
“Oh.” It was obvious he was annoyed about something. Honestly, he still seemed as annoyed as he was the day before but I didn't want to pry into his personal life, unless he actually wanted to tell me.
“Yeah…” His eyes reached mine again, they seemed brighter and exuberant. “So what are you doing for your birthday?” He remembered.
It may have seemed weird but, I didn't really want to do anything ‘special’ for my birthday, it felt like another day to me… Another day without my parent’s. What did I even want to do to celebrate my birthday? “Oh, umm… Nothing really, probably just hanging out with my family.”

"You're not doing anything with your friends?" Why did he have to ask that? Didn't he know I didn't have any friends?
      I scowled at him, even though it really wasn't his fault. "You know I don't have any friends." I said in a hush.
      "So? What is that supposed to mean? You have Jess, what's the big deal?" He made everything sound so easy.
     The "big deal" was that I didn't really have a friend. You know, a girl friend that I could talk to about girl stuff and paint my nails with, and take shopping with me. Stuff like that.
    "Jess is always busy with that guy now, I'd doubt she'd want to give up her time with him, to hang out with me." I hunched over, staring off into the distance as I imagined what exactly it was that she saw in him. The guy was odd and unsettling, I didn't understand how she couldn't see that.
    "It's your birthday, she'll make time for you." He paused for a second or so, looking like he was solving a riddle. "I could have her plan something for you- a party?"
     My stomach immediately flipped upside down at the thought of a bunch of people and loud music. "I don't do parties." I cringed, fumbling with my fingers. "You really don't need to do anything for me, it's fine."

     "Well it's kind of too late for that now, I already have your gift."
    "A gift?" That was the last thing I would expect him to say. "What gift?"
     He laughed. "I can't tell you, that would ruin the surprise." He was wearing the devil's smile on his lips, it was the look of pure deception.
    "Well, thanks. But you didn't have to get me anything." An awkward ambiance abated any affable feeling that existed in the room before.
"Yeah, well I did." He stared me down as if he was waiting for me to say something. "Maybe we could..." He was beating around the bush so hard that it was painful to watch. "Do something that day? If you're not doing anything."
"Yeah, maybe. I probably won't be doing anything anyways, just text me or something." I didn't want him to feel like he had to hang out with me on my birthday, but he was the one that made the suggestion so I guess I wasn't guilt tripping him.
"Will do." He pushed the textbook to the side, glancing at his phone. "I guess we should wrap this up now."
"Mhmm" I hummed, trying to keep things simple. I was tired, and I just wanted to lay down and be alone.

"I'll get my keys, hold on." He got up and I rose up too, facing him before he walked away.
"Don't bother, I can walk." He only had about 40 minutes before he had to leave, I wasn't going to hold him up any longer.
   "You're being silly Mel, it doesn't take that long for me to drive to your house." He froze, the only thing moving on his body was his eyebrows. "Are you okay?"
     "David! Stop it! I'm fine, I swear." I brushed it off like it was nothing. "I feel like walking, the breeze from the trees relaxes me and I need that right now." He looked at me like I was even more full of it. I shrugged, "It's a safe neighborhood, what's the worst that could happen?"
     "That's not the point. But if you want to walk, I guess you can walk." The look of confusion still covered his face like a bunch of tiny puzzle pieces. "Text me when you get home." He hid his hands in his pockets, slightly shrugging his shoulders.

     Great. This was the most awkward thing ever, how was I supposed to leave? Was hugging okay? Or was it better to just say goodbye and leave? Fuck.
     "Well, thanks again. Good luck on your game tonight, don't get too beat up out there." I smiled the best I could but I knew my smile was somewhat weak because it didn't take that long for it to fade away.
    "Thanks, I appreciate it." He grinned, flashing his million dollar smile-literally. I guess he had a lot to be happy about, it was too bad happiness wasn't some tangible thing he could share with me.
   

      I walked towards the door, feeling his gaze burn along my back as I got closer and closer to the corner of the wall. Something made me slow down as I began to turn slightly to the right, and then I lost my balance.
    David's hand clasped around mine almost perfectly. He tugged me towards him and I followed in his direction, stumbling all over the place like a drunken fool. "Oh!" I muttered.
The space between us vanished as he got closer to me. His silence was making me slightly apprehensive. One step closer, another step closer, the smooth fabric covering my toes poked at the soft cotton socks he was wearing. His hands found their way to my face and he held them there, with his eyes scattering all over my face.
It felt like his face was a high definition television screen, I could see a lot more things I never ceased to notice before. His long eyelashes reminded me of brown spiders, they moved in the most cryptic and creepy way when he blinked.

Everything was so awkward and needed to be fixed. Was he going to kiss me? Did I really want to kiss him? 
The lines of acquaintanceship, friendship, and casual romance were drawn in pencil on an artists canvas; straight, neat, and perfect. But in an instant that artist grabbed a tortillion and blurred the three of them together so they seemed to all run along the same path, seamlessly. It was just as confusing and complicated to look at, as it was to actually be in the situation.

For some reason my face was interesting to him. God only knew what the hell he was looking at. "What?!" I shouted, still bemused as all hell.
"Oh nothing." He started smirking and his voice sounded so devious. "I just wanted to tell you that you should stop beating yourself up all the time..." He grimaced slightly, tilting his head to the side as he leaned in closer. "Judging by the look of your face, you can't take another beating."
"Oh God!" I giggled, pinching the skin just above his elbow and pushing against his chest. "It's only a few scratches, it doesn't look that bad."
"Yeah it doesn't look so bad but you know if I was there, you wouldn't have any marks on your face right now." He could be very cocky sometimes.
I laughed at his sudden sense of macho-ism. "Actions speak louder than words you know. Maybe it's time you put your money where your mouth is." I shrugged my shoulders and gave him a sassy smile. He could comment about my sassiness all he wanted to but deep down, I knew he secretly loved it.

"Maybe it's time for you to come to one of my games and see what I'm all about, instead of making assumptions." He countered.
"Hmm don't you have a game to be getting ready for right now?" I asked, tapping my index finger against my lips.

"Don't you have to be home by 4?" He raised his eyebrows, as if he were trying to make them reach the sky.

"This conversation is over. Okay?" I laughed some more, backing around the corner as I slowly lead my way towards the door, walking backwards. I picked my sneakers up off the floor and slipped them on.
        "I'll see you around." I waved at him, clutching the door handle with my other hand that was behind my back.
He shook his head back and forth, still chuckling. "Bye, Mel."

*Update*:

Hey guys! :) 

I probably won't be updating as much these next two months. I have my SAT's coming up next weekend, and the months of May and June have always seemed to be the most hectic months all my life  -_-. I will be back on track eventually but for right now updates may be slow and random :( I'm really sorry, I want to write but I'm mentally just not there right now, my mental energy is being invested somewhere else right now, and I can't focus when I have 100 different things on my mind, it just blocks my creativity and stops me from writing. I've been trying to write the next chapter, but it's just not "clicking" and it's really frustrating me so I need a little break. I'm not "quitting" because I really am motivated to finish this story sometime over the summer but I'm busy and stress is really sucking the life out of me right now D:  I will post another update like this when I'm finally stress-free and things get back to normal but until then.. Bear with me x(

To other writers:

 I love reading the stories you guys come up with but if I don't comment or I am a little behind with your updates it's only because I'm super busy right now. I will comment and get back to reading eventually... :) 

I love you all, stay blessed. <3 ^_^

Chapter 29: Living in a Nightmare

 

    A nasty screeching sound found its way from the pits of hell. The heavy breathing and the constant pleading of my mother was unbearable.  Her vocal chords sounded like the strings on a violin, with a violinist playing too close to the bridge of the violin. The heat was insufferable, and it felt like we were truly in hell.
Tears slid across my mother's cheeks, her chest rising and descending wildly as she declared her plea, nearly breathless: "No! You can't take my daughter away from me!" My mother wailed out to some guy who was being overly professional.
     "Ma'am I work for CPS and you've been reported-" The man held out some white and black documents in front of her, it looked so official and frightening. I condensed myself into the corner, watching everything flicker before my eyes.
      "Reported by who?!? I put clothes on my daughter's back and I put food in her mouth. Who the hell thinks they have the right to report me to CPS?!" Her voice rang in the air like some distant church bell, a very distant and faint church bell.
      "Me." I looked over at the man standing behind my mother, it was my dad and he looked like he was in his late 20's. Even my mom looked much younger.
    My mother turned around, snapping her finger in my father's face. " Is this a joke?!?You're barely there for our daughter! You run around with that whore and come back and lay in the bed with me. I've put up with your shit for 3 years now, you're the incompetent parent. You can't just leave and take custody of OUR daughter." She, looked at me with so much passion, a vermilion flame was rising through her eyes. She slowly turned her head back around and faced the CPS officer. "You aren't taking her, you're gonna have to fight me first."

     The CPS officer approached my mother, and tried to calm her down by rubbing her back. "Ma'am, I know this is upsetting but I really need you to cooperate with me right now. If you cooperate this will all be over and done with and you can go to court."
     Something set that spark, something lit that fire, something exploded. Like the wind, my mother ran up the stairs, her feet pounding against every step. Thump thump thump. My dad turned towards the CPS officer and rolled his eyes. "I'm sorry you can just excuse her, she needs help desperately." He stopped talking once he spotted me balled up in the corner. "Oh gosh, I'm such an asshole." He muttered under his breath. He knelt down towards me and sighed deeply. "Look Mel your mom is pretty messed up alright, but don't worry daddy's gonna take care of you and take you to a much better place."
    I glared at him, something didn't feel right. "What about Jess?!" I asked, with my face beat red and my eyes watering at the brim.
      "Jess died Mel, you don't remember that?!" He asked, frowning at me. He rubbed my leg, shaking his head back and forth. "You poor little thing. Look, I need you to go outside and get in the car, an-"

     "You wanna take my kid away, go ahead and do it! I'm not gonna stand around and take this! I'd rather die than see my only daughter get taken away!"
     My mother was facing death right in the face, literally. She held a gun straight to her head, breathing heavily. "You can't take my kid, you can't take my kid, you can't take my kid. You can't , you can't , you can't!" She pleaded as snot ran from her nostrils.
    "YOUR ONLY DAUGHTER?!" My father bellowed, as he tried grabbing her by the arms. "You're delusional and you need help, you killed Jessica and you don't even remember it... Now you're trying to kill yourself?!?" He shook her back and forth, nearly spitting in her face as he said his last words. "Go ahead and kill yourself, I really don't care anymore, I'm so tired of your delusional ass."
     I pushed my self even further into the corner, covering my eyes with my shaking hands. My heart beat pulsed through my palms and my cheeks made me feel even hotter.  This was it, my mother was going to pull the trigger. My mother was going to commit suicide right in front of me, I couldn't dare to look, I just couldn't let that be my last image of her.

    "Hey!" A guy whispered out to me but I kept my head down, too afraid to look up. "Its okay, I won't hurt you, I promise." I still didn't look up at him. All of a sudden I felt him place his hand on my shoulder, "You can't stay here, its my job to rescue you. Please trust me." He pleaded again, as he huffed and puffed as if he had just been sprinting for his life.
      Finally, I glanced up quickly, looking left to right. I couldn't see my mother or my father, I wasn't even in my house anymore, I was just swallowed up by inexorable and unabridged darkness. "Who are you?! Where did everyone go?!" I kept looking all around but there was nothing but plummeting darkness all around us, I didn't even understand how we weren't falling through the sky, there was no ground , no nothing , just darkness.
      "My name's David. That doesn't matter right now... Just take my hand" he held his hand out to me and I didn't know whether or not I should trust him. His light blue eyes looked pure but evil surrounded us, I hesitated. There really was no where else to go and I didn't want him to leave me here, it seemed so eerie and depressing. My hand slowly made it's way into the palm of his hand, and I was caught off guard by his response.

      He clasped his hand around mine and yanked me into his chest, not letting me escape his embrace. "What are you doing?" I mumbled, feeling my own warm breath against my lips because he had me pulled in so deeply to his chest. I couldn't even lift my head up to see anything.
      "Shh!" He hissed, pushing my head down even further. "I'm only protecting you, keep your head down."
     "Why?" I asked.
    Boom! The sound of a distant gunshot tolled through the air. I kicked my legs around and shook myself back and forth, violently trying to lift my head up and get out of his arms but he wouldn't let me. "Let me go ! Let me see! I want to see." I pleaded, so much to the point I was nearly crying. My face was hot and I could barely breathe even though I gasped like a wild dog being chased in the woods. I was only exhausting myself from all my sporadic movements, so I stopped and then he finally reciprocated.
    "No! I can't let you, I'm so sorry but I just can't let you...Come on we have to get out of here." He was talking all low and hushed, yet we were just in some black empty space. I felt him rise up and start walking somewhere, I lifted my head up but I couldn't see anything.
    "NO!NO! I don't want to go with you! Let me go! Stop! NO! NO!" I pleaded, as my breath hitched wildly.

  It was like I was fighting against something or someone. I felt like I was rising up out of something so deep and dark, like the bottom of the ocean.
    "No! No! Don't take me with you- Please don't take me with you! Stop!" I pleaded with desperation seeping through all the cracks in my voice. My whole body jerked forward and my eyes shot wide open, I had overcome whatever had taken over me. I looked around panting, as I held my hand over my chest. Ba-boom ba-boom ba-boom my heart was bolting through my rib cage, and it felt disgusting.
     "Please, please stop" I mumbled, my voice nearly out of breath before I realized I was in my bed, and it was all just a dream. A twisted, delirious, horrible dream.

      I felt sick or something, my stomach was churning and I felt a warmth inside of me, a nasty one.
      Suddenly, I had a flash back of my 8th birthday. My mom had went out and gotten me a burger. A big, fat, cheese-dripping burger that glistened in the light like freshly polished wood. We all had been in the living room ; me, Jess, my mom, and my dad. I groaned just looking at the so-called 'food' but, Jess tugged on my hair. "Eat you meat freak!" She taunted me because she knew I had an issue with eating meat. Like an idiot, I took a bite out of the burger and went from the living room, straight to where I was right now, the bathroom.
     "Why can't she just be normal and eat meat like everyone else?" I knew the mirror was so clear and precise but the tears in my eyes made it look all distorted and blurry. "Our daughter doesn't have to be like everyone else, you should be happy that she wants to be different." Everything just felt so bad, everything hurt. My chest was tight, and it felt like I was running short on air. It was so hot, too hot- on the inside and the outside.

    Standing there, hearing those voices play around in my head was making me sick. Standing there, thinking about vomiting was making me sick too. I needed fresh air, most importantly I needed a good view, I needed to smell the grass.
    The cold wooden steps felt inviting to my simmering skin as I sat down on them outside. I loved the winter time, and I always wished for snow every year but it never happened. There was a slight frost in the air and the trees swayed back and forth, looking like brown needles in the sky. A family of crickets was chirping in a steady rhythm but I couldn't see them. Those lucky little crickets, living in harmony with each other. All they had to do was chirp and enjoy life. Why couldn't my own life be like that?
     I pulled my knees in closer to my chest, my tears felt like ice as they rolled down my shuddering thighs. All of that disgusting heat left my body, and I was just sitting there sniffling and shaking, not even caring that I could possibly catch pneumonia from how cold the world was and how cold my own life was.
Creak! The warmth from the inside of the house felt good as it reached my back but I still didn't twitch. I wanted to be alone and flood this horrible feeling out of my system with my tears. I wasn't sure who was standing in back of me but I knew it wasn't Adrian. Adrian probably would've yelled at me for not being in the house, despite how crappy I looked right now.

"Can I join you?" It was Croy, I knew his voice so well, even when he was restless. What did he expect me to say? No?
"Sure." I groaned, squishing my bottom lip between my frozen teeth.
He sat down, hugging me as he kept me enfolded in his snugly arms. "What's wrong?" He rubbed my back, rocking me back and forth like a new born baby.
"I had a bad dream." I instantly regretted telling him that because I already knew what he was going to ask after that.
"What was it about?!" He asked, before I felt his body grow tense. "It's okay if you don't want to tell me."
"Oh no it's fine." I couldn't look at him. "I just had a dream where I got ran over by a truck." I sighed. "It backed up and rolled over my body again, and then it accelerated, crushing me yet again." I sniffled, "It just felt so real, ya' know?"
"Ahhh Mel!" He sounded so wise, and full of hope. "Dreams are nothing more than a battle between your subconscious and your conscious mind, just leave it all behind and you'll be fine." He squeezed me tighter, kissing my forehead. "You know you're going to be fine right?" He asked again.
"I don't know! I don't know what's wrong with me! I don't know why I'm sad, I just am! I just don't know anymore!" I wheezed between my chest spasms.

"I know it's hard Mel- most people hate change." He sighed, and I could tell he was struggling with his words. "I was 20 when your grandfather left my mother, it hurt like hell even though I was 'old.'"
"She deserved it." I quickly whispered, between a contraction that squeezed it's way through my throat.
"Mel-" He sounded all stern and parent-like, he pulled me away from him and tried to remove my hands from my face so he could look at me. "That's not a nice thing to say."
"I don't give a fuck. She's a fucking bitch, and mom is too! How could you feel bad for them? Look at the way they treat you?! This family is fucked up and I hate it!" Harsh wasn't even a good way to describe how I sounded, my words were way more than harsh and I didn't care, I was so tired of caring about this shit every God damn day.

"You're crossing the line now stop it!" He exclaimed, as he grabbed onto my shoulder . I ripped his hand away from me and got up, towering over him like an ugly green mutilated giant.
"No! I hate this family! You know what mom did to me during the wedding?! Do you want to know why she fucking left so early?!" I got in his face, not even noticing the misty wet look of hurt that was gleaming from his eyes.
Why was he so forgiving towards them? Couldn't he see how much they hated me AND him too? "That alcoholic, low life skank pushed me to the ground and stormed off! And guess what my grandmother did?! NOTHING! Not a God damn thing! That rotten old bitch left me there to drink away my pain!"
He got up from the porch step and faced me, his face looking red and filled with rage. "You lied to me!"
"Of course I lied!" I retorted. He shook his head at me, when he really should've been shaking his head at himself. "You were too busy with your little queen bitch of a wife to even realize that something was wrong with me that night!"

That was when he snapped, he lost it and grabbed my arm. "Let go of me!" I hollered.
"You're out of control! It's midnight and you're causing a commotion outside for the neighbors to hear!" He gritted his teeth, if he was a cartoon character he would have fumes coming out of the sides of his ears right now.
"You're worried about the neighbors hearing?! Let them hear it all! Let them know that my mom is a selfish bitch and she never cared about me! Let them know how fucked up our family is!" I screamed to the top of my lungs. "I'm only 15! I shouldn't have to deal with this shit! I shouldn't have to worry about whether or not my parent's will be around for my birthday or at least come and visit me for Christmas!"
I felt something I had never felt before, and that was pain. I was doing so good and not letting any of my family issues get to me. Why was it hurting me now? Everyday I felt like I was dying or something, and no one knew it except for me. I was tired of hurting. "I shouldn't have to worry about my dad running off and fucking some little girl that's practically my own age! It's not fair! I hate everything!"He wasn't hearing any of my shit anymore, I was pretty sure I lost him right after I had made my little comment about Adrianne, but it was the truth.
"Go inside!" He hustled me forward, blocking the porch steps with his body. I tried to stand tall up against him and put up a fight but he didn't budge either. "Melody, get inside the God damn house!" He shouted, pointing towards the door.
"Fuck you!" I screeched, running inside as I slammed the door behind me.

Chapter 28: What If Wrong Is Actually Right?: Part 2:

    What makes something 'wrong'? What makes something 'right'? Does someone tell us what shall be done and what shall not be done? Or do we just know what's 'wrong' from the time we're born? Does some unforeseen being plod its way into our conscience and tell us to: "Do the right thing, be the better person, help those in need, to be good, and do good?"
    I contemplated what the 'right' thing actually was. My fingers were saturated with my own sweat. In that moment I could've fallen straight to the ground with the way my knees trembled. I was weak, scared, and enraged, but most of all, I felt brave. I felt like I had to do something-  the 'right' thing.
"Security!" A droopy old teacher called out from across the field.
I looked over at her, and then quickly glanced back over at Shanice. There was no way that old woman was going to get involved with this confrontation.
Fear stabbed me straight through my spine like the needle of an epidural. I became paralyzed from the waist down, I couldn't feel my legs.

     "I'm going to tell you one more time Quinn. Pick my fucking paintings up right now-"
     "Or what?" The white-haired guy countered, walking closer to the girl as they came face to face.  "You think you're so pretty but nobody wants you, get your head out of your ass, you're just a whore with a bunch of lumps."
    "Fuck you Quinn, you're no more attractive than me." She swung her mahogany shaded hair around her shoulders. Shanice wasn't overweight but she wasn't skinny either, she was something in between those two but it worked for her. A mirror was always attached to her hands, she was self-obsessive or as some would say, "conceited." Even on rainy days, she still managed to look camera-ready.
Quinn was known for being a 'bad apple', and truthfully no one really knew why he was here. Lakewood was an expensive school, even for someone that didn't take their education seriously. But then again, it was always better to hear "Oh my son is enrolled at Lakewood" rather than "Yeah my son is enrolled at PS22" or something generic like that.
"What's the matter, are ya' too pretty to pick up your own paintings? They're horrendus anyways, they bleong on the ground." He sneered.
"I can pick up my own paintings, but I'm not going to. Especially since you knocked them out of my hands." Their foreheads were nearly bumping into each other. "Pick-Up-My-Paintings." She pointed at her artwork on the ground.

"I'm not your God damn slave. Get on all fours and pick up your shit like any regular person would, it's not that hard, you can do it. After all, you're used to being in that position, you're a bitch so start acting like one. Get on your knees, and pick up-"
Booosh! Shanice jumped on Quinn like a savage-ridden lion, throwing punches and wild kicks that eventually led to them both tumbling down on the turf.
"Oh God.  Don't just stand there like an idiot! Do something!" The little voice in my head  was controlling my body. I didn't want to but my legs moved forward, closer and closer towards the two of them tumbling on the ground.
"Don't get involved! Everyone stay calm and wait for security to get here!" The teacher called out. This had to be stopped even if that meant I was technically doing the 'wrong' thing.
Students flooded around us like a bunch of grey clouds in the sky on a stormy day. "If anyone jumps in or even gets hit on accident, I will have to report you guys for the NT-Policy, back up!" She warned again. But who was going to listen to the frail old woman?

I looked back at her, and looked all around the kids surrounding me, and then I glanced back down at the ground. There was blood and ripped fragments of their uniforms covering the turf now. Shanice had her arms up, trying to cover her face, and protect herself for dear life as Quinn was slinging punches at her. "Someone please help me!" She squirmed around, trying to get Quinn off of her. "Where the fuck is security?!" She hollered, with her face all red and puffy.

No one was jumping in, they were all just watching. Some people were even shouting and egging them on.  Were these people insane? Or just apathetic and cynical in their minds?
Sometimes the 'right' thing may be the 'wrong' thing according to laws and regulations placed on us by society, or those in higher authority. But that still doesn't mean you should forget what's right.

      I hesitated for a moment, looking at my hand that was shaking as I held it out towards them. My voice was a catalyst, as soon as I yelled "Stop!" I went full-on , and full force, straight into the fight, and it hurt.
     "Get the fuck off me" He hollered, as he tugged his shoulders back and forth, releasing my grip from his shoulders and sending me straight to the ground.
     "Ahh!" I winced a little bit, but ignored the pain and jumped right back in. "Get off of her" I managed to say as I was hanging onto him with all of my might, which was making it hard to speak and on top of that dodging punches and kicks wasn't helping my voice sound any better either.
     "Who the hell are you" He turned around, facing me and lifting most of his weight off of Shanice, as he tumbled on top of me, pinning me against the ground.
            “Stop this nonsense right now!” She croaked, pointing her old saggy finger at us. What was the point of being a teacher if you weren’t even going to set the right example for your own students? I mean seriously, she should’ve been yelling “Help her!” or “Break up the fight!” But instead, she was advising us not to touch each other and just sit around and wait for security. People can die from brawls and fights, sitting around and waiting for a person of authority to come and settle the situation was a waste of time. When there’s a conflict you must use action, and that’s what I was doing.

           “It’s not worth it! Stop fighting! Please get off of me, I was only trying to break up the fight, Quinn!” I screeched, as I shook my hands beneath his grip. Quinn ignored my plea and scratched my cheek. It burned like pouring alcohol on a fresh wound. My adrenaline was pumping and my mind was unrestrained, in response to my instincts, I started kicking violently, trying to get Quinn off of me. But where was Shanice? God damnit, that bitch probably got up and left as soon as I jumped in to save her. That’s what I get for trying to be a ‘good’ person. I looked over at my side, rolling back and forth on my back, dodging Quinn’s punches. Luckily he got on his feet and I was able to try and defend myself. I grabbed a hold of his wrist and tried my best to stop him from punching me but he was stronger than me and his wrist quickly escaped from my grip. I threw my hands up over my bruised face, trying to protect myself.
     

     “What’s the matter are you scared of a little masculine power?” I gave up and let go of his wrist, he swung at me again. “You know that’s what you get, when you choose to fight guys. If you want to fight like a man, be brave enough to get hit like one.” He laughed, holding his arm up in the air, delaying his punch he was about to throw at me. “Where’s security whe-“ Thump! Quinn’s head jerked forward and he landed on top of me, holding onto his head as he winced and groaned in agonizing pain. “Ahhh! Fuck!”
            It was like I was trapped inside of a whirlpool. What the hell just happened? The constant up and down motion of Quinn’s chest was the only thing I could feel on top of me. “Get off of me!” I mumbled, pushing him over to the side.
           “Owww” He groaned. I looked up and it wasn't until then that I realized what just happened. Shanice was standing over us, smiling a rough and edgy smile with blood on her face. I looked down at the ground, her paintings were right next to me.

     "Alright! Alright! Break it up you bastards!" A tall mean looking guy dressed up in all black said as he approached us.
    He tugged Shanice straight to the ground, but she was trying to hit Quinn. He whistled and motioned for back up. A tall woman dressed up in black came over and pinned shanice down to the ground. "Not a word. Do you understand? Not a God Damn word is going to come out of your mouth." She pushed her deeper into the ground as if she already hadn't had her face in the ground far enough. Shanice laughed like it was a joke, still trying to tug on Quinn's hair.
     Like lightning, another black draped guy swooped through the crowd and straddled on top of Quinn, pushing his hands into his back. Quinn winced, flapping his arms around in the air like a seal."Stay still, you idiot." The guy all dressed up in black pushed Quinn's head into the grass.
     His voice was all muddled and unclear as he spoke."Hey man! My head is fucked up, that whore just threw all her portraits on my head." Quinn rubbed his head some more trying to get up even though the security guard was pushing him down. He demanded that they "Get an ambulance!" He flapped his arms some more. "I think I'm dying of An aneurysm!"

     And then there was me, sitting on the ground, still looking at this awkward scene. The shadow of the dreadful figure standing before me was black and rigid through the streaks of green grass. "Get up." He demanded. I couldn't, my body just wouldn't move, I kept my head down. I was coming down from my high, now ashamed of what I had just participated in. "Are you dead?! I'm not speaking Chinese! Get up right now!" His voice shook the ground beneath me, it was deep and dark. Stony like a rock.
    He tugged on my hair like he was playing tug of war with my head. "Damn kids, always startin' trouble." He mumbled.
    "Stop pulling on my hair! I was just defending her!" This had to be illegal, there was no way in hell he could touch me that roughly and get away with it.
    "I don't care what you think you were doin'. You're a bad girl. I ain't stupid, I've seen em' all and I can guarantee you were instigating this fight and just adding fuel to the fire."
    He dragged me by my arm, green muddy streaks were coating my pants and then he tugged on my hair once again. "Check the cameras and stop pulling my hair before I get up and beat the shit out of you." I hissed.
    His breath smelled all minty and fresh as he leaned close to my face. "Oh yeah?" He smiled a patronizing smile at me. "You ain't gonna do shit to me. I could handle you but that's not my job, the Dean will handle you himself."

***

               “Ms. Wiggins, I assume you know why you are here.” Mr. Drist said as he hunched over his desk, his hands crossed as he seared me with the stare of his flaming eyes.

                "Of course I know why I'm here, but it wasn't my fault." I said sternly, still looking him in the eye.
                Mr. Drist was the dean but that still didn't mean I wasn't going to defend myself. "Do you know what an agitator is, Ms. Wiggins?" He asked, with his royal tone of voice.
     "Uhh, yeah. Why?" I fiddled with my thumbs, this was my first time sitting in the dean's office.
    "Well, that's what you were." His eyes widened, and he smiled, all knowingly. "As soon as you jumped into that fight, you only made the situation worse."
    "I was only helping Shanice, sir." I defended. "Do you really think it's okay for people to stand by and watch a girl get beat up by a guy?!"
     "Ms. Wiggins, you need to realize that not everything is white and black. Sometimes the right thing, is really the wrong thing-look at you." He pointed his interrogating red laser beam of a finger at me. "You've got a bloody lip, a scratched up face, and your pants are all muddy."

     "I wouldn't be this muddy if the security guards hadn't dragged me across the dirt, they hurt me more than Quinn did, they were rough and they cursed at me. Do you think that's the right thing to do to a student who is a minor and a female?!" I retorted, nearly about to leap out of my seat and shake him by the shoulders.
     He remained firm, not even budging the slightest bit. "They were doing their job Melody, and that would've never happened if you would've followed the NT policy and kept it moving. This isn't about them anyways."
    "Well then what is this about?" I asked, sounding just as confident as he did.
     "This is about students following the code of conduct." He replied.
    "Well, the code of conduct is absurd. What if I hadn't jumped in and she would've gotten beat to death?!?" It was like he was on something, either that or he just really didn't have common sense.
      "Ms. Wiggins, you can't attach your feelings to the situation. That's the end of this discussion. Now, considering this is your first incident I will be generous and not punish you too harshly. Would you like two hours of detention or a week of suspension?"
    I guess some good deeds do get overlooked. Mr. Drist didn't care if I was trying to help Shanice, he only cared if I was going to be suspended for a week or sit in detention for two hours.
Staying home for a week and doing whatever I want? Sounded like heaven to me... But then I thought about it, realizing that was a bad decision, and my uncle probably would've been pissed if I got suspended. And Adrianne, ugh. She would probably stone me. "I think detention is the better choice, sir." I murmured.

      "Mhmm, it definitely is, based on your attendance history. You don't need to miss another day of school." He looked at me like he expected me to say something, so I did.
    "Well, that's what happens when you have a head injury." I sighed, thinking about it. My poor little brain. Whether it was dealing with a blow to the head or trying to argue with an ignorant man, it hurt equally the same.
    "No, you still could've come to school." He said coldly.
      "And do what? I wasn't supposed to do anything that could over-work my brain." I sounded extremely rude but his comment caught me off guard.
      "You could've sat there and gotten somewhat familiar with your materials." He shurgged, looking over at me like I was just coming up with excuses that entire month.
   Did he not understand what a brain injury meant? He was a fool.

    He sighed deeply as he looked at me. "Ms. Wiggins, it's such a shame to see our alumni stray from the right path." He shook his head.
     I looked at him shyly. "Huh?"
      "You're a red apple, sweet and strong...don't become a bitter green apple, we don't like those here at Lakewood. There's a reason why students give their teachers red apples."
      What the fuck? Was this guy on drugs? 
I was done arguing with him so I got up and grabbed my bag.

     He waved a pink slip in the air at me. "Don't forget your detention slip Ms.Wiggins, I expect you to serve it today. And I will call up your guardian and your parents and notify them all even though you're not living with your mom anymore."
     I looked at him, frowning. "Why? My mom isn't looking after me anymore..."
      "She's still your mother Ms. Wiggins and it's my job to inform her."
     "Fine. " I sighed before walking out of the door.

***

     "I'm sorry, maybe I'm not understanding this correctly. You're telling me that Melody was reprimanded and punished for trying to break up a fight?" My uncle looked at the Dean like he was insane, because he definitely was proving it right now. He sighed, "I'm sorry I just don't understand how that makes any sense." He frowned and shifted around in his seat a little. "My niece has her ups and downs but she's generally a good kid, and I know for a fact she would never want to fight someone...I'm actually quite surprised she jumped into a fight." He looked over at me for a moment and flashed a smile. "But I'm proud of her for standing up for what's right."
     "Sometimes what one may perceive to be 'right' is actually wrong." Mr.Drist fiddle with his tie. "Our NT policy forbids the students of touching each other in any violent way, even if an innocent bystander gets hit they get punished too because we always strongly urge the students to evacuate an area where physical harm is taking place...Its a great skill for them to practice in the real world."
     Was this guy fucking serious? A good skill for the real world? Well, yeah maybe if someone wants to be a *****.  Sitting in detention for 2 hours was painful enough but now that I had to stand here and listen to his bullshit again, I wasn't sure which was worse.

     "It is what it is. I'm proud of her and I don't see anything wrong with what she did. Is this discussion over now?" My uncle looked at me, and I looked back at him with my eyes wide open. I couldn't believe he was being so straight forward and somewhat rude.
     "I guess we are finished Mr.Wiggins. I assume you're a very busy man, working in a hospital and all. It took at least 5 or 6 calls before I actually got to speak with you on the phone! That must be a demanding job, I can only imagine."
      "Yup, you got that right. I was actually in the middle of a surgery when you called me 9 times. I save people's lives Mr. Drist." He paused for a brief moment, making sure his eyes locked with Mr. Drist. "I don't have time to play phone games with this ridiculous circus ring of a school you're running. When you want to talk to me about something serious that's when I'll listen. But when I'm in the middle of a surgery, trying to save my patient's life I don't have time for silly little games." If his words were bullets, he could kill.

     "Well maybe you should prioritize yourself better, surely your niece is just as important as your patients." Mr. Drist pointed at me as if that would make a difference.

     My uncle rolled his eyes. "You're not getting the big picture here, I can't tolerate this nonsense any longer, I have lives to save and you just messed up my schedule. I will be taking Melody home now." He looked at me and motioned for me to get up, I wasn't sure if he was secretly mad at me but there was really nothing I could do at this point.
     I got up and grabbed my bag, heading towards the door with him before Mr. Drist got out of his chair. "It was a pleasure speaking with you Mr.Wiggins."