1 Dream

Her feet were numb from running. Her shoes, were filled with blood and covered in mud.

Why was she running?

What was she running from?

To whom, was she running?

These questions had mired her thoughts, after waking up from the nightmare: that had guts to bother her on regular basis.

Was she that easy to bully?

She thought to herself looking at her panda eyes in the mirror; while

brushing her teeth in a rush … she was late for the first lecture of the day.

****

She dreaded facing Mr. Jackson while sneaking in from the back door

and taking the last corner seat: wishing Mr. Jackson to be ignorant for

the first time in his life.

Mr. Jackson pinned her with his iconic cold glare and called out for

her attention, who was avoiding looking at him like avoiding plague.

"Miss Morgan."

She was forced to face reality and see her hopes of getting

away unnoticed.

She sat upright and with a careful smile and utter obedient-good-girl tone she replied "Here Sir."

Disregarding her little act Mr. Jackson quipped,"Your ability to magically appear in your seat is rather commendable."

The coldness in Mr. Jackson's words made her shiver. She could literally see her credit points reducing. She has started it and now she had to continue it – being little white lotus.

In response she gave a meek smile, forcing herself to ignore snickers and chuckles of her peers.

Mr. Jackson's probing gaze was unnerving as hell. She felt like confessing all her sins under the heat of his seemingly cold eyes.

Her palms were sweaty under the desk and her straight neck has dew in the cool September weather.

The deadlock made all the students to turn their heads in her direction. Her friend Linda, had another worry at her hand.

Linda too had arrived late and the reason that she coined was of tending to her ailing friend; the very one who was under the line of fire right now.

She paled as soon as she found Mr. Jackson looking at her. I am dead meat!!!

And to prove her premonition right the next second she heart Mr. Jackson "Both of you report to the teachers lounge after class."

As if taking pity at their crumbling vanity Mr. Jackson let them go, at least for now.

Alana blanked out… Which both?

Then she looked at the class and found her best friend in the middle rows with hunched shoulders, trying to minimize her sense of existence. She had an answer in her heart. For some awful reason she wasn't as guilty as before, after realising that she wasn't alone in this pit.

*****

Apart from the morning showdown with Mr. Jackson, her day wasn't that bad at all. Linda and she, got away unscathed from the teacher's lounge because of the arrival of beautiful new interim Miss Fia, who was supposed to be under Mr. Jackson's tutelage.

They slipped away as Miss Fia was telling her worries over handling teenagers when she herself was not that far apart, being freshly out of tech. University.

Digesting the information they rush back to class. I thought you won't be coming so I told Mr. Jackson you were sick.

Linda shook Alana's arm with amour hiding her guilt underneath.

Alana wasn't upset. She was rather thankful to her friend for what she did. Anything was better than facing that Hitler alone.

"Ah! don't mention it. No harm done."

She generously hugged her back with understanding smile in response.