Chapter 2
Chapter 2
My life seemed to be over as I forced air into my lungs and thought about the situation. I could bunk off tomorrow, but what about the next day and the day after that? That panicky feeling began growing again, till it filled my throat and I had to let out a cry to rid myself of it. Who could I tell? Dad or Mum? Come to think of it...I hadn’t seen Mum since last night. Was she even at home?
“Hope, can you come here a minute?” Dad asked.
I went down the stairs and walked into the living room. He had the phone pressed to his ear, and his brown was furrowed in concentration.
“Ah, there you are. Ms Ross, she’s here. You want to speak to her? OK, I’ll get her on.” He pressed his hand to the phone and then passed it over to me.
Was this about me throwing up? Had news reached the teachers already? I shakily pushed the phone to my ear.
“Hope? Hello, it’s Ms Ross, your form tutor. I’ve been informed that an incident happened today at school, and I was wondering if-”
I slammed the phone down, and Dad gave me an odd look.
“Um...I forgot to do some homework, and she was just reminding me. Sorry about that!” I blurted, before racing up the stairs.
She knew! She had to, what else would she be talking about? I felt sick to my stomach, and I clutched it in desperation. I felt saliva seep across my tongue, and I swallowed it, sobbing. I crawled towards the bathroom, and pushed open the door. The floor was cold against my bare hands, and I crawled faster, and then gripped them onto the bowl of the toilet. There was only one thing for it. I leaned over and pushed my fingers up my throat, letting the desperation and hurt seep out, in a burning sea of worry.
I stepped out of the bus and onto the pavement. My feet slapped against the floor as I walked along, my stomach in knots. I dreaded what would happen in school. Up ahead I saw Stephanie sitting with some of her friends, and I braced myself, waiting for the insults. She spotted me straight away and motioned to her friends to be quiet. I walked past, and glanced at them as I did. That was my biggest mistake.
“What’s that smell?” Stephanie asked, sniffing the air, “Oh, is that puke? Oh, hey Hope! Sorry, something in your throat did you say? Maybe it’s your fingers!”
I went on past, ignoring them. They cackled behind me, and I quickened my pace to get into school. Great, I was past them and through the gates. I just had to get through the day now.
“Hey, fatty. How’s the diet going? Well, the puking!” Voices jeered at me as I ran through the corridor.
I got into my form room and saw Ms Ross standing by her desk.
“Oh, Hope! There you are dear. I called you last night; we must have been cut off or something. I was just asking if you knew anything about this mugging that happened yesterday.” She asked, turning to face me.
“Oh, a mugging? No, I’ve got no idea about what happened. Sorry!” I muttered, sitting down at my desk.
Ms Ross sighed, and continued to potter around with her books. I let out a breath of relief-If she didn’t know then the teachers wouldn’t know, and Dad wouldn’t find out. Stephanie sauntered into the classroom, and made her way over to my desk. She casually flicked a note my way, and then went over to her table.
“Stephanie! What have I told you about school uniform? Skirts must be at least to your knees, and your blouse must go at least to your hips!”
“Sorry, miss. I think they may have used some of the material from mine to make Hope’s!” She giggled, and leaned back in her chair.
Ms Ross glared at her, but said nothing. She knew how cruel Stephanie could be, and she didn’t want to get dragged into Stephanie making remarks about her recent divorce.
“Right, everyone off to your next lessons! We’re 5 minutes behind the bell! Go!” Miss Ross ushered us out of the room, and then brought in the next class for French.
I walked down the hall and into my geography classroom. Everyone was already sitting in their places, and I ran to mine.
“What’s that film called? Oh yeah, Run Fat boy Run!” Michel Bolton jeered.
I ignored the twisting sensation in my stomach, and took out my folder. I had been in love with Michel for the past 4 years. I knew it was stupid-He called me names every day, and hung around with Stephanie.
“Okay everyone, settle down! Your teacher isn’t here today, so I’m covering. Well, you might want to know a bit about me. My name’s Ms Matthews and I studied geography, IT and psychology in college and-“
“Got a first name?” Michel called, winking at the teacher.
“Well, if you must know, my first name is Rachel. And I was born as Gipp. So, my maiden name would be Rachel Gipp”.
Okay. This chapter was mega long. I would appreciate it if you could tell me whether you prefer long or short chapters, cause I need some feedback about that. :)