Chapter 9

An Unexpected Courtesy

School had ended half-an-hour ago, but Anna remained behind to get better understanding of algebra two. After all, math had never been her strongest subject. Well, after making sure she could make an attempt at understanding the homework for that night, she grabbed all that she would need that night for school from her locker; one thing that pleased her was that her book bag was ten times lighter than the previous day. Only one textbook and a few folders, surely light enough for even a little bird to carry with one talon.

She slipped her book bag onto her shoulders, more cheerful and upbeat at the ending of another school day. But she still couldn't shake the terrible tale of Erik's tragic and traumatic past. And that crooked grin he sent her in drama class still frightened her, but she decided it was best to just shake it off and head home.

The grounds were empty of course, most everyone was either home or participating in a club, but it felt more comfortable to not have to deal with numerous people who were all struggling to get home whether it be, dealing with traffic in the parking lot, waiting for the bus to get there or just walking. It was more peaceful to just be alone.

"Oh what do you know? It's the nerd girl," her joy was short-lived when her ears were spiked by the snarls of Carlotta. Hating to have to turn around, she did it regretfully and there in front of her, stood Carlotta Guidicelli, Luciana Lodovico, and Carlotta's boyfriend Piangi. Anna couldn't understand why Erik had called Piangi the fat boy, he was quite lanky and pretty thin, but muscular. But she stopped focusing on that and remembered that the worse people she could most likely run into ever, she had run into.

Carlotta, stood there, mimicking a model pose with Luciana trying to do a poor imitation of her. "Well, nerd girl, staying behind to 'study'?" Carlotta put up the air quotes before snickering. "Leroux High School has enough geeks, nerds, creeps and other weirdos. Strange enough that we have to get another one." That set off the guffaws of both Carlotta and Luciana, while Piangi really just stood there, watching, but not in any disapproval. He was more of looking like he was dragged into this.

"So then what are you here for?" Anna remarked hoping to find some lame or horrid excuse of Carlotta lingering here with her posse. Not even she could deny feeling threatened by them considering there were three of them and only one of her.

Carlotta smirked and looked the other direction. "None of your business nerd girl."

"But I thought we were here for detention," Luciana air-headedly blurted out, to which Carlotta smacked her shoulder. Luciana yelped in pain, over exaggerating her attack.

At the immediate mention of the reason they were here, Anna's fear evaporated and she wiped a light sweat drop from her temple. "Well, I can at least say this, I'd rather be here to study than for detention, and I can't wait to see where you guys are in a few years."

"What are you entitling to that?" Carlotta hissed advancing on Anna in an impending manner. The fire was smoldering like acid in Carlotta's dark eyes.

Luciana trailed behind Carlotta shortly. "I think she's trying to say we're stupid." And for the first time in a while, Luciana was right, to which Anna now wanted to smack her forehead for stating something that was even obvious to the dumbest girl she thought she would meet.

"What?!" Carlotta shouted shoving Anna threateningly. "Is that right nerd girl? Are you saying I'm stupid?" She shoved Anna over again.

Now Anna was regretting getting herself into a situation like this, but she knew right now wasn't the time to be a coward in their eyes. "Well, from what I've seen from you two so far, I'd think you wouldn't be accepted into beauty school or heck clown college," she knew that that was most likely not the wisest thing to say, but someone had to tell them the ugly truth someday and Anna wasn't scared by Carlotta or Luciana, they deserved what they were hearing. If everyone in school was too afraid to tell her the truth, Anna wasn't at all intimidated to tell them.

Now Luciana had cut in front of Carlotta and shoved Anna herself till Anna almost fell over. But she backed into Piangi. He grabbed her by her shoulders and spun her around to face him, now he looked aggravated and angry.

"Don't insult my girlfriend like that!" he bellowed, shoving her as well.

However he pushed her enough that she fell to the ground. Anna collapsed against the hard concrete cement and thought she must have seen a few stars twirling about her head. Before Anna could pick herself back up off the ground, she found herself bulldozed to the ground by Carlotta's high-heeled black boots, which was digging into her chest. She yelped in pain, but not before Luciana's high-heels jabbed into her right arm. Anna yelped in even more pain.

"Who's stupid now?" Carlotta hissed standing tall and proud with her one boot on Anna's chest, like she were victorious.

With one last will to end this pain, Anna lifted her leg and jammed it into Carlotta's knee. Carlotta screamed in pain and hopped away on her one leg trying to sooth the pain. Anna knew how to kick, but then Piangi crushed his foot into her leg, keeping it pinned to the ground.

"You're going to regret doing that to my Carlotta," he growled, along with Luciana who looked like they were about to torture her till she was dead.

"Excuse me, but may I inquire as to what you bumble heads are doing to Miss Branson?" Anna's ears were pierced by the clear and distinguishable voice of Erik. What was he doing here, was the only question running through Anna's head, which was enough to distract her from the searing pain inflicted by her offenders

Carlotta turned her head to face her nemesis. "Oh, well if it isn't Erik Monet, the weird one."

"Good day, Toad Girl, but you are aware that all three of you can be suspended or even in fact expelled for attacking this girl in such a way," he didn't seem to move, but he stood there, calm and as still like the Grim Reaper, trying to attack them with his words. "And Mme. Giry is on her way out and no doubt she will be passing by here. But even then, who would she believe, the injured girl on the ground or the three usual mischief-makers of her class? Take your pick."

Anna was relieved of her pain when she felt Luciana's heel and Piangi's feet lift off of her. She gasped in remission, but she didn't get up yet.

"You'll pay for this, Monet, you will," Carlotta barked at him before she took her leave with Piangi and Luciana, strutting away as if performing the cat walk on a runway.

Erik smirked and strolled over to where Anna laid on the ground. He held a hand out to her which she took and he lifted her up off the ground. In what felt like no lost time at all, Anna seemed to have been on her feet without her realization.

"Are you all right?" he seemed concerned for her, which startled her a little.

Her book bag fell off her shoulders, but she left it on the ground. "Yes, thanks. Um...thanks for saving me," Anna couldn't believe those words had actually left her lips; it should have felt like it was the end of the world that she finally expressed gratitude to him, something she didn't think she would do in a long time. It was the same as when she realized compassion for him that day, finally.

"It was nothing. You look like you're hurt," he affirmed looking at the now forming bruises on her arm and hand.

Anna groaned a little and stared at her arm. "I'll be fine, I'll just say I ran into a locker or the corner of someone's books."

"Corner of someone's books?" Erik arched an eyebrow under his mask, not that Anna could see. He hadn't heard of someone ever running into the corners of someone's books, but he had heard of someone running into another person and knocking over their books.

Anna laughed under her breath. "It's happened to me before. I actually have a scar on my left arm from when I ran into someone else's binder while getting to my locker. I was in a rush and wasn't watching where I was going."

"You don't seem to be doing that a lot," Erik smirked, not looking at her, instead, just helping to grab her back pack. "If you had any sense of watching where you were going, I wouldn't have had to save you back there."

"Well, thank you at least," she took her back pack from him, slinging it over her shoulder, before she began heading off past him. Her mind clouded over by what Erik had just done, he had saved her from probably what could be her worse experience of high school ever. Now she was really confuzzled over her own opinion of him.

Her steps halted as Erik called out to her, his voice as clear as a bell. "Let me give you a ride home." The words seemed to reach her ears, but comprehending them was impossible. Anna wondered if she had truly heard what she thought she heard.

She turned with a puzzled expression. "Why? I live close enough to here to walk and my back pack doesn't weigh as much as a sack of stones today."

"Well, you don't know who else you could run into on your journey home. For all you know, Carlotta and her posse could be waiting behind any street waiting to see you before they decide to attack you yet again," Erik leaned against the flagpole, as calm and as composed as he could be, his eyes ignoring her.

For a second, Anna was about to refuse, but she realized he could be right. After all she didn't where Carlotta, Piangi and Luciana went. For all she knew, they could be hiding behind some bush or something waiting to exact their revenge on her.

"All right," she accepted his offer, not really sure that the words had really come from her lips.

He shrugged his shoulder, signaling for her to come with him. But as she followed him to his car, she kept hoping that this decision wasn't going to be her greatest regret.

Hey guys, I managed to find time to update this. Hope you enjoy this chapter and I'll try to update again before I start school again.