I looked up from my test. I could never actually read it, despite being the smartest in my grade. Maybe the entire school. Hard to say, though, as I'm only in seventh, whereas my school goes from elementary all through high school. Mr. Petrakis understood this, and he understood that I have ADHD. And that I've been kicked out of every single school I've attended. I think it's weird that he would get fired shortly after my expulsion and would end up teaching at the same school I attended. Probably nothing. My best friends were similar. I didn't know Phoebe very well, but Atticus was absolutely my best friend, through and through. He touched my shoulder as I rose from my seat.
"What?" I whispered, aggravated. I looked at him. "I'm just asking for help reading it." He looked at me pleadingly, as if telling me not to.
"Don't. He isn't human." He said this so certainly, I almost believed him.
"You're full of crap, Atticus. I just need to check what this word is." I pointed to a word, which to me looked like 'ieasaciprttbrhog,' but Atticus helped me.
"It's biostrategraphic. Now, don't go up there. Finish the test." I obliged, grudgingly. I've been told I'm very stubborn, but Atticus was my weak spot. He knew how to soothe the storm in my head- I don't know what it was, but he never failed to make me bend. The rest of the test was fairly easy once I got past the multiple choice section. I rose once more to turn it in. Atticus pulled me back down.
"What part of 'don't go up there' don't you understand?" He hissed, his baseball cap vibrating slightly.
"Whatever, I'm turning in my test. I need to go, Atticus." I wrenched myself from his grasp and strolled upward to the desk. Placing the test on his desk, I turned to go. I could feel Mr. Petrakis' gaze on the back of my head. Turning back, I crossed my arms.
"What, Mr. Petrakis?" He had been looking over my exam carefully, but looked up at the sound of my voice.
"Oh, nothing, it's just, you misspelled a few words." I huffed and turned back, sitting at my desk near the back. Before I could sit, he called me back up. I dragged myself towards the desk and planted my hands on the desk.
"What?" I asked, annoyed.
"Nothing. May I speak to you in the hall, please?" Atticus' eyes shot wide, and Phoebe glanced at him. She said something to him and hugged him, before he stood up and approached us.
"Sorry to interrupt, Mr. Petrakis, but may I use the restroom?"
"Oh, fine, but finish your test first." Atticus produced the test, complete, and walked toward the bathroom. I walked out into the hall, not knowing what I had coming for me.