Miss Me Not

"Jill, will you take Katie to the clinic while I call the office?" I heard her say as I stalked out of the room with my bag.

I was more than halfway to the office when the ramifications of my actions dawned on me. My pace slowed and I closed my eyes briefly in dismay. I was bound to be suspended, which meant a call to Donna, which meant trade school for me. I was screwed.

The principal's secretary was expecting me when I arrived. "He's waiting for you in his office," she said unsympathetically.

Keeping my chin up, I made my way to Douche Bag's office and knocked on the door.

"Come in."

Opening the door, I stepped into the one room of the school that I had hoped to avoid.

He was sitting behind his desk with his fingers stapled together on a folder atop his desk.

"Ms. Hanson, am I to understand you initiated a fight in the middle of first period?"

Words of denial sprang forward to attempt to save me, but I held them back. This was all just a formality. I had already been found guilty and convicted. Nothing I could say would change anything. They saw what they wanted to see. Believed what they wanted to believe. So, I sat there, in stoic silence.

"Remaining silent will not help your situation, young lady," he said in the condescending tone that had earned him the nickname I had deemed him with. "I want to know why you would think you could get away with initiating a fight in one of my classes with an innocent student."

I literally bit my tongue at his words, so I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of an answer. I could taste the copper of my blood in my mouth, but I remained silent.

"Fine, we can play your silent game, but you will not leave my office until I know why you threw a book at a fellow student," he said in a clearly aggravated voice.

I balked at his words. Spending the day in his office was as enticing as wrapping myself in barbed wire. I could say anything. Take my punishment, and then I would at least be free of this god-awful place. Looking at his smug face, though, kept me silent as I sat there with my arms folded across my chest.

The minutes slowly ticked by as we sat there in silence. Eventually, he stopped glaring at me and went on with his work. I kept my eyes on him, unwilling to show my weakness by looking down. First period ended with the ringing of the bell and still I sat. My butt eventually went numb at the end of second period and yet, I didn’t move. I remained rigid, not showing any sign of giving in.

By the time fourth period ended, I was in agony. My legs and back ached from my stationary posture while all feeling had left my ass hours ago.

Douche Bag's lunch was delivered to him at the end of fourth period, and my eyes never strayed from his as he slowly unwrapped his deli sandwich.

The sudden buzz of his intercom startled me, making me jump slightly.

"Yes?" he said, holding the button down on his phone.

"Ms. Jones is here to see you."

"I'm in a meeting," he said, looking at me.

"She says she has something urgent to discuss with you."

"Fine. I'll meet her in the conference room," he said, clearly aggravated as he stood up from behind his desk. "I'll be right across the hall," he warned, exiting his office, but leaving the door open.

Once he was out of sight, I slumped in my seat, trying to appease my aches. What the hell was I doing? I couldn’t help thinking. I was only delaying the inevitable.

I could hear their muted voices from across the hall, but I couldn’t make out what they were saying.

A few minutes later, the door across the hall was thrown open and Douche Bag stalked back into his office, seething. Whore Cat followed behind him, smiling at me slightly before closing the door behind her.

Studying me critically, Douche Bag sat back down behind his desk, clutching a stack of crumpled papers in his hand. "Ms. Hanson, it has come to my attention that perhaps, though your actions were wrong, you may have been provoked. Do you recognize these notes in my hand?" he asked, holding them up.

Not sure where he was going with his new strategy of questioning, I looked at Whore Cat for clarification.

"It's okay, Madison, you can tell us," she said with kindness that had been absent before.

I wasn't sure what they expected from me, but I took a deep breath and finally answered him. "Yeah, they were meant for me."

"Do you know who they were from?" he asked.