“My pleasure. Don’t forget about my open door policy, Mia,” she called out as we left her office.
Mom and I stopped to see Claudia, who was currently on the phone. “I guess I should head out,” Mom said, looking as unsure as I felt. “I’ll pick you up out front after school, okay?” She gave me a quick hug. I had to fight the urge to cling to her and beg her not to leave me. I opened my mouth to ask if I could wait a few more days. Would it really hurt anything? I realized though that a few days weren’t going to help anything. Hiding out was an option I didn’t have.
27
I WATCHED as Mom walked out of the office, leaving me behind and all alone. My heart was thundering so hard in my chest it actually hurt.
“Can I help you?” Claudia asked, hanging up the phone.
I gulped hard, trying to swallow back my fear. “Ms. Newman said to give you this,” I said, holding out the small piece of paper with shaky
fingers.
Claudia looked over the pass for a moment. She pulled out of a sheet of paper and filled out the top section. “Give this to each of your teachers and bring it back to me at the end of the day. Here’s a map of the school and your locker number. You’ll need to bring a lock from home.” She handed me the small stack of papers and returned to her computer, dismissing me without another word.
Standing there gaping at her, I wanted to ask about the student aide Ms. Newman had mentioned, but Claudia had already helped the next student in line. Backing away from the counter, I clutched the stack of papers tightly in my hand. What was I supposed to do now? Panic seized me as I studied the schedule and the map. I had no idea which way to go. A guy wearing a jacket with a lion etched on the back bumped into me. I opened my mouth to mumble an apology, but the words refused to come out.
Making my way to the door, I pried it open and hugged the wall once I was clear of the office. Air wheezed out of me in painful gasps. An invisible hand inside my chest squeezed my lungs painfully. I slammed my eyes closed, groping for the pills Dr. Marshall had prescribed. I could feel the panic attack creeping in like a stalker.
“Mia?” a voice called out as my hand closed around the bottle in my pocket.
My eyes popped open as my lungs continued to torture me. “Yes,” I whispered, staring back at a girl who beamed as she watched me curiously.
“I’m Heather. I’m supposed to show you to your first-period class,” she said, showing me all her teeth as she smiled brightly.
Trying to regain control of my erratic breathing, I took a deep breath and exhaled. “I’m Mia,” I answered lamely, remembering that she obviously already knew my name since she had said it. I waited for the inevitable to happen when she would recognize me. At any moment I expected her smile to drop and she would freak out over being paired with the school nutcase.
The inevitable never happened. Heather seemed to be as nice as she appeared. “Who do you have first period?” she asked, pausing to take a look at my schedule.
My hand was damp with sweat, turning the schedule into a wrinkled, slightly smudged mess. “Uh, looks like Mr. Knight,” I answered, smoothing out the paper against my leg.
“Mr. Knight? Lucky. I hear he’s good, but that’s an AP class. You must have a serious Einstein brain. I tried to get in last semester, but they denied me. Big loser, huh?” She held up her finger and thumb in the shape of an L against her forehead. “Have you taken AP classes before?” I gaped at her. Her quick-fire questions had me feeling loopy.
She giggled at my expression. “Sorry. I know I talk superfast. My dad says if my brain was as fast as my mouth, I’d have no problem getting into Mr. Knight’s class. So, did you just move here?” she asked, switching gears.
“Uh, not exactly.” I had no idea how to answer her question. I assumed everyone would automatically know who I was and would be too busy staring or trying to get away from me to ask me questions.
“Really, where’d you go to school last year? Please tell me you weren’t an Eagle. They’re a bunch of assholes.”
Once again, she rendered me speechless. I wasn’t sure what she meant by eagle, but calling a bird an asshole didn’t make sense. I sorted through her questions, trying to pick the easiest one to answer. I settled instead for something that would get her from point A to point B quickest.
“I’m Jacob Klein’s sister, if you know him.”
To anyone else her reaction probably would have been considered comical by the way her mouth formed a wide O before snapping closed. I kept my head up, waiting for judgment day to begin.
In spite of what I thought would happen, Heather seemed to be more impressed than morbidly curious. “Oh, wow. You’re like a celebrity. I can’t believe I was such a ditz. Your picture was only on all the news stations, like every day. Sheesh, they even did a special announcement here at school when you were found. I’m not usually such an airhead.” Her words once again came at me as a rush of letters thrown my way, but this time I had no problem putting them in order.
I let out a small breath of relief. If Heather felt disgusted being next to me she was doing an awfully good job at hiding it. “That’s okay,” I said. “The picture they used on the news was a bad one.”
The picture was taken by someone who had snuck into my room and started snapping shots before Mom could kick him out. My hair was plastered to my head from sleeping and my face looked as pale as white sheets. It was disconcerting to say the least. That picture though was used by every news station for their stories about me.
“I bet you’re sick of questions,” Heather said as we stepped away from the office.
I shrugged. “Sorta. I’m more worried about what everyone is saying behind my back,” I admitted.
“Please, anyone with half a brain is thinking you’re the bravest person ever. Anyone who says otherwise is probably functioning with a quarter of that.”
I smiled. Maybe things wouldn’t be as bad as I feared. There might actually be people at the school who would treat me like anyone else. I thought calling me brave was over the top, but I also didn’t want anyone to think I was a prime candidate for a straitjacket.