I've been getting so many reviews complaining that they don't need another Jo the victim story. If you're one of those people who left one of those or if you are about to, just stop. It's extremely annoying because I'm going to write my story for the people who do like it, no matter how small that number is, and if you really don't like it don't read it and definitely don't leave those comments because all it does is annoy me, I'm not going to delete the story.

For those of you who are actually here to read the story and not spit on it, I hope you like it.

Jo's POV

I close my locker door and jump with a start when I find I'm facing a group of people.

"How are you going Jo?"

"Are you ok?"

"What happened?"

"Is everything I heard true?"

I am instantly pelted with questions as if I am expected to answer them.

"I c-can't answer... answer that if I d-don't know w-what y-you heard." I answer the only question I understood. All the people around me seem to be all the popular gossipers who want to know what they should spread. A writer for the school newspaper is here too with a pad of paper.

"Can I interview you for the paper?" She asks.

"N-no, s-sorry." I answer her, finally pushing through the small crowd and heading to my first class.

"What's wrong with her voice?" I hear people whispering behind me. I roll my eyes and smile at their typical behavior. It's so good to be back in the predictable cliché of high school, where I know everything that's going to happen.

"Rico!" I call out as I spot him down the hall. He turns quickly but looks down when he realizes it's me.

"W-wait up!" I call out as he continues to class. I finally catch up with him, grabbing his shoulder and whirling him to face me.

"Wh-what's g-gotten into y-you?" I ask him. He looks surprised.

"I didn't think you'd want to talk to me." He says guiltily. "If I hadn't snapped at you and left..." He drops his sentence as the possible outcome of that night plays through both of our heads.

"R-rico, listen, e-every..one th-thinks that it's th-their f-fault, what... happened t-to.. to me, but the o-only one at f-fault is V-vikram." I tell him, staring straight into his teary eyes. It sends a shiver down my spine to say his name, but that's not important. Rico takes a minute to consider what I've said.

"I'm just glad you're alright." He tells me. The bell shrills through the hallway and I smile as we begin to walk to class.

"Every-everything is going to b-be fine." I tell him, taking hold of his elbow and bringing him with me to first period.

The whole period everyone stares at me, even the teacher. It isn't surprising, I'd probably do the same thing if I weren't the one in this situation. They're just curious. Rico looks at me with pity and glares at anyone staring at me. He's like my metaphorical guard dog.

"Miss Masterson, will you please read the section?" When my name is called I snap to attention. This teacher obviously doesn't know.

"I... uh... I-I..." I stutter in a miserable attempt to get out of reading.

"T-the mi-mito... chon-chondion.." I begin to try and read the section out loud about this part of a plant cell, but I can't get the name mitochondrion out, even though I know the word, it's turned up on flashcards with Rico a million times.

"is a sphere-spherical to r-rod-shaped or-organ... elles with a d-double m-mem-brane." Giggles can be heard from the other side of the room and my cheeks flush red. The teacher looks at me guiltily as he realizes what is going on. I know exactly what the book says, I can read it in my head perfectly fine. I already know that the mitochondrion is a spherical to rod-shaped organelles with a double membrane. I already know that the inner membrane is infolded many times, forming a series of projections called cristae. I know that the mitochondrion converts the energy stored in glucose into adenosine triphosphate for the cell, but I just can't read it with my voice.

"The in-inner mem..brane is in-in-in..." the snickers turn into laughs and I slam my book shut, running out of the room to catch my breath. Maybe Lacey was right, I probably should have waited until I could read the textbook to come back to school.

"Johanna, you can just read the section out here until class is over if you like." My teacher says, offering me the textbook before reentering the classroom. I accept it and sit beside the classroom door, rereading the section I memorized weeks ago.

The bell rings and I sit the book back on my desk inside the class before hurrying to my next period.

"Hey! Jo, you alright?" Rico catches up to me just as Lacey approaches me from ahead.

"F-fine." I tell him, clutching my books tighter to my chest.

"What happened?" Lacey asks, asking Rico more than me.

"Just a l-little t-trouble reading." I say. My stuttering is so much worse in a classroom full of listeners than in front of two of my friends.

"You sure you're alright?" Lacey asks.

"Yes." I tell her.

"You're lying." Rico accuses. People are staring and pressure is building in my ears from the embarrassment.

"Just s-stop a-attacking me, o-ok... ok guys?" I ask them, walking away to find the only person who will talk to me like a normal person, Danny.

I find him beside his locker, preparing for his next class.

"Hey." I say to grab his attention.

"Hey Jo, how's your first day back?" He asks.

"G-good." I tell him.

"Is something wrong?" He asks. I roll my eyes. I'm tired of people always asking me if I'm alright, because I really don't know what to tell them.

"Yeah, L-lacey and Rico k-keep bugging me." I say.

"You know they're just trying to be helpful." He says.

"W-well they're n-not." I answer.

"Well, I gotta get to class, you probably should too, unless you want a tardy to be on your spotless permanent record." He teases, playfully jabbing me in the shoulder with his fist before turning and walking away.

"R-right. Class." I mutter, forcing my feet to drag me towards my next fifty minute block of boring. I've never been so impatient to get home before.

"Now after watching that video, I'd like you all to write a response to question 7 on page 423. Five sentences minimum." We're instructed. I pull out a notebook and pencil and begin to write only to realize I can't write decently with my cast. The letters look like numbers and the lines blur together until my writing couldn't be differentiated from scribbles.

I switch to my left hand and can write legibly, but I have about 15 words down when we're asked to pass them forward. I groan and slap my pencil against my desktop, earning a glare from my teacher. The bell rings and I dart into the hallway, eager to catch up to Danny for the period we share together.

"H-h-hey j-j-j-jo!" Archie calls out behind me. Because I don't think I'm able to speak the obscenities I'd like to shout at him, I flick my middle finger in the air as I walk backwards away from him, smirking like nobody's business.

"You're only going to piss him off." Danny scolds me, pushing my hand back down to my side as he leads me away by the elbow.

"H-he deserved i-it." I tell Danny, still filled with enthusiasm about flicking Archie off.

"Doesn't matter, now he's got a reason to dislike you." Danny says.

"Oh c-come o-on, I'll be f-fine." I tell him.

"If you say so." Danny sighs.