Part Four
It was during last period when I finally excused myself from the classroom, pleading a headache. However, in truth, I just could not stand the thought of being in that enclosed room one more second. At that moment, everything was putting me on edge: from the teachers’ useless rantings to the classmate behind me who was constantly tapping a pencil on his desk. Two simple words can clearly describe how I felt—utterly annoyed.
Now I found myself aimlessly roaming the narrow hallways, the sound of my footsteps bouncing off the walls. With each step I took, I drifted a little bit further into my own little world, growing more and more confused. It seemed as though all I could think of were those last words Ian had uttered to me earlier, “I will never abandon you...and neither will God.” To say the least, as soon as those words had registered in my mind, I had instantly felt more abandoned and quite alone. After that, it was only a short time before I had completely shut down Ian, closing off all contact. Now I was trying to avoid him at all cost. I had decided that if by chance we met anytime in the future, I would simply act as if I had never, ever known him. First it was my dad, then my mom; and now my best friend, Ian, was just admitting that he too believed in God!
With my jaw muscles tensing, I gripped my backpack’s straps more tightly, trying to still my shaking hands. “Why am I feeling like this?” I whispered, “Why?” It was then that I broke free from these troubling thoughts as a nearby door slammed shut and heavy footsteps echoed off the walls behind me. “Lexie!” he called out, but I ignored him and quickly picked up my pace, focusing on the nearest exit. “Will you wait up for a sec?” he pleaded.
“Almost there! Just a few more steps,” I thought as my hand was just a few inches away from touching the door handle. “Just a few—”
“Lexie, stop!” Ian growled through clenched teeth. He yanked me to a complete stop. Facing me completely, he murmured lowly, “I thought I told you to stop...”
Okay, if he wanted to play that card, then fine. I narrowed my eyes and said in a too sweet voice, “And I thought that I told you earlier to leave me alone. Clearly you didn’t get the message!” At my response, Ian furrowed his eyebrows and exploded with, “For Pete’s sake! What is wrong with you? You have been acting like this all day!”
“Nothing is wrong with me!” I cried.
At that, he looked me dead in the eye, not believing a single word I had just spoken, “You’re fine?” he said as if it were a joke.
I hesitated slightly before answering softly as I stared hard at the floor, “Yes.”
“Then why have you been avoiding me all day? Was it something that I said? Something I did?” he exclaimed in an exasperated tone.
I opened my mouth to speak, but I struggled for the words, “I...I...”
Ringgggggg. The last bell sounded just as the classroom doors swung open and crowds of students came pouring out. I let a sigh of relief escape through my lips as the hallway quickly filled with students scurrying all around us, trying to navigate to an exit or their lockers. I yelled above the crowd, “I have to go.”
With one last glance toward Ian, I disappeared into the crowd and slipped out the door only to be welcomed by a cold blast of air hitting my face. With my heart heavy, I started the long trek home, longing for someone to understand, to listen. But there was no one...no one.
With my heart heavy,
I started the long trek home,
longing for someone to understand, to listen.
But there was no one...no one.
