She looked down at her body, and touched her face. She felt normal again. Her breathing slowed down and she was able to catch her breath. The rumbling of her stomach stopped, too. It was the strangest feeling.

She turned back around and walked back inside just as the second bell was ringing. She was late for yet another class. She ran back up the stairs and into her math classroom. The teacher stopped the class and said, “Excuse me, you’re late! Who are you anyway?”

Rachel stopped in her tracks and looked back at the teacher in horror, “I’m Rachel Wood.”

“Rachel Wood? You’re not in this class,” Mrs. Pepper said.

“I um..I just started today,” Rachel said.

“Are you new?” Mrs. Pepper asked.

“I guess you could say that,” Rachel answered.

“Well, take a seat in the back and don’t come late again!” Mrs. Pepper yelled.

She sat down in the only empty seat in the back of the classroom. She looked around to see who was in the class and was happy to see some familiar faces. She turned to her right and was happy to see Brian, sitting next to her. She looked at him and smiled and he smiled back. Her heart began to race with excitement.

“Hi!” Brian said. “Sorry you got yelled at. She’s a ball buster!”

“Yeah, apparently,” Rachel whispered back.

“No talking!” Mrs. Pepper said. “You two in the back be quiet or else I will separate you!”

Everyone in the class turned their heads and stared at Rachel and Brian. Her face got flush red as she was being reprimanded. She was mortified. She quickly turned to face the front of the classroom and took out her notebook and pencil. She had to at least pretend she was focusing on the class, even though all she could think about for some reason was Brian. She was elated that he spoke to her and smiled at her. It was her dream come true. She’d always liked Brian, but he never paid any attention to her before. She wondered if this would last or if it was a passing thing.

A few minutes later, Brian reached over and put a note down on her desk. She looked up at him and he motioned for her to open it. She unfolded the piece of paper and read it: Do you want to go to the movies tonight?

She couldn’t believe her eyes. She blinked and read it again, thinking she was seeing things.

Do you want to go to the movies tonight?

She looked over at Brian and shook her head yes. She couldn’t believe it. She was asked out by Brian and couldn’t have been happier. He smiled at her and then Rachel felt a hand come down hard on her desk.

“WHAT’S THIS?” Mrs. Pepper asked, picking up the note from Rachel’s desk.

Mrs. Pepper opened the note and read it out loud, “Do you want to go to the movies tonight? Do you want to go to the movies tonight?” she repeated.

Rachel looked at Brian whose face was bright red with embarrassment. The entire class started oohing and aahing in unison. Rachel’s face turned beat read as well. She couldn’t believe this was happening, and she hoped that Brian wouldn’t take back his invitation. She hoped that his friends wouldn’t make fun of him for asking her out.

“There’s no note passing in my class,” Mrs. Pepper said. “Both of you go to the principal!”

“What?” Brian asked. “Are you serious?”

“Don’t question me, young man. Go!” Mrs. Pepper said.

The two of them quietly got up from their desks, gathered their belongings and headed out of the classroom towards the principals office. Rachel felt scared. She’d never been sent to the principal before and she knew she’d get in trouble for this, both in school and at home. She knew her father would be pissed to find out she disrupted class and she feared he’d kick her out again. Her heart began to pound as they got to the bottom of the steps and were now on the first floor just steps away from his office. Until now the two hadn’t said a word to each other, but then Brian turned to her and said, “Don’t worry, Rach. It will be OK. I will cover for you.”

“It’s my first time going to Dr. Rundy’s office. I can’t believe my first day back and I’m already in trouble,” Rachel said.

“He’s not that bad really. I’ve been sent to his office a few times before and to tell you the truth, he’s not as scary as he appears to be!” Brian said.

“Really? I find him to be horrifying!” Rachel said, whispering as they got close to his office.

“Shh…” Brian said as the two stood outside of his office staring quietly at the large wooden door with a small glass window. Rachel began to panic as she stood there, waiting for Dr. Rundy to open the door. She surveyed the door as she stood there, and for some reason couldn’t take her eyes off the gold embossed plaque on his door, which read, Dr. R.W. Rundy. The sight of his name made her heart sink into her chest and her body temperature to rise.

Then, she heard loud footsteps coming to the door, and a large shadow appeared in the frosted glass window of the door. She knew it was he, coming to yell at them. She took a step back, so as not to be so close to the door or to Dr. Rundy when he opened it. She wanted to hide behind Brian but knew she couldn’t do that.

The doorknob creaked as she watched it turn, then the door opened slowly and within seconds, she saw Dr. Rundy standing there with a severe look of disappointment on his face.

“Rachel, Brian, come in,” Dr. Rundy said in a deep, slow voice.

The two stepped into his office and waited for him to say something.

“Sit down there,” Dr. Rundy said, pointing to two chairs opposite his desk. “What did you do to be sent to my office?”

Rachel was silent and waited for Brian to answer, but he didn’t. He waited, too. She couldn’t believe this; she thought he was going to cover for her.

“Well.” Rachel started talking. “What happened was that…”

“It was my fault, Dr. Rundy. Rachel shouldn’t be punished for my mistake,” Brian said.

Rachel looked over at Brian in relief as she listened to him talk.

“What do you mean it’s all your fault? Mrs. Pepper said it was the both of you who disrupted her class today!” Dr. Rundy said, with the same scary look of disapproval.

“Well,” Brian said, “What happened was completely my fault and Rachel here was just caught in the middle of it. She does not deserve to be sitting here.”

“Well, Rachel?” Dr. Rundy asked. “Is this true?”

Rachel didn’t know what to do or say. Of course she wanted to get out of her punishment, but at the same time she didn’t want to throw Brian under the bus, especially since she kind of had feeling for him.

“It’s ok Brian,” Rachel said. “It’s as much my fault as it is yours. You don’t have to take all the blame here.”

“C’mon Rachel, I passed you the note and I was the one starting conversations with you. You didn’t do anything,” Brian said smiling at her.

“Well, Rachel, it seems like Brian is the one who caused the trouble up in math class. You are free to go, but don’t let it happen again!” Dr. Rundy said.

“Go?” Rachel asked, confused.

“Yes, you may leave my office now. But Brian, you will stay here with me. We have more to discuss!” Dr. Rundy said.

Rachel slowly got up from her chair; feeling like this was all too good to be true. She wasn’t getting in trouble after all, and it’s all because Brian stood up for me and took all the blame. She was so grateful that he’d done that. She couldn’t bear the thought of going home and telling her dad she was sent to the principals office, or even worse, having the principal call home to tell him the news. Still, the thought of the frightened her as she slowly walked out of his office, shutting the door behind her.

Part of her felt bad that Brian had to take the brunt of this situation, but it was only fair. He was the one who got her in trouble after all, and he was nice to tell the truth to Dr. Rundy. She wished she could have thanked him, but knew it wouldn’t have been an appropriate time to do so.

RING RING

The final bell rang of the day and Rachel couldn’t have been happier. She couldn’t wait to go home to process everything that had happened in school. Then, she remembered her dad was picking her up to go to the hospital. Suddenly, she was feeling depressed about the idea of seeing her mom in a coma in a hospital bed. After all, she didn’t know what she’d say to her when she saw her, especially because this whole thing was her fault.

Rachel went to her new locker and took out her backpack and books and headed toward the front door of the school. As she was walking down the hall, she heard her friends yelling her name, “Rachel, Rachel! Wait for us!”

Rachel turned and greeted them, “Hey guys, what’s up?”

“Nothing much! Just heading out, we’re walking into town, wanna come?” Dana asked.

“Wish I could, but my dad is picking me up to visit my mom,” Rachel said.

Dana’s face dropped, “Oh, for the first time?”

“Yeah, I haven’t seen her there yet,” Rachel said.

“Oh brother. Well, good luck,” Dana, said. “Text me after and hopefully you will change your mind about the movies later.”

“Thanks!” Rachel said.

She stood there, outside the school building, all bundled up in her winter coat and scarf as she waited for her dad. She watched her friends walk away in the distance as they laughed, linked arms and skipped into town. She wished she could have gone with them instead of having to go to the hospital. She dreaded going to the hospital; everything about it was upsetting to her. The fact that her mom was in the hospital, for one, the smell of the hospital, the noises of the hospital, the whole thing.

As the after school noises quieted down, she looked at her watch. Her dad was already fifteen minutes late to pick her up. She knew that was out of character for him, but continued to wait for him.

She took out her cell phone and dialed his number. It rang and rang, until his voicemail picked up.