Willow

Chapter Four

Maybe it was the pain, or maybe it was just because I didn't eat anything in the morning, causing my blood pressure to be low. Whatever the reason, my eyes blurred so badly that I fell over, my shoulder hitting something sharp. It penetrated my skin. I let out a yell.

The eighth grader bent down and breathed on my face. I almost puked. He leans in, staring at me. Slowly, he puts his hand out. I smacked it away but used my injured arm. I fell back down on my other elbow.

"What do you want?" 

He grins, revealing his yellow-tinted teeth. "I want you."

I smile, face flushing. He chuckles, leaning even closer. I swing my arm, punching him square in the face. 

"Ow!"

I jumped onto my feet, gave the pervert one last kick, and ran out of the classroom. 

"I should have never signed up for this." I sigh, running down the hallway. By this time, the hallway was half full, with students up and about, talking next to their lockers. Most of them didn't notice me, but I bet some people stared, wondering why in the world a girl had a bleeding nose and hair that looked like a bird's nest. At this rate, I wasn't going to make any friends.

I found my backpack and started to run down the hall. I only had 3 minutes left till the bell rang. At this point, I was full-on jogging, though I wasn't a fast runner. I hope people will stop staring at me. It's really ann-

BOOM. Two seconds later, I was on the floor, head spinning, wondering where the heck I was. At that moment, everything seemed to slow down. I will never forget that instant.

In the bright ceiling lights, a boy wearing a blue hoodie and yellow stripes stared down at me. I couldn't hear what he was saying. I was too focused on his face. He seemed surprised. And sorry. He was repeating the same thing over and over again. Then, he held out a hand. I took it, grasping his fingers through mine. 

He pulled me up.

"Sorry." was all he said. He smiled cheekily, turned around, and walked away. I remember staring after him, looking at his bright sweater, wanting to catch up with him and say thank you. But, a mob of students came along, drowning me in a sea of people.

I will never forget that moment.