Sorry this took so long! I'll post the next one asap :)
Chapter 10
"Lia?" a woman I've never seen before- but is apparently my vice principle, shouts from the opposite end of the guidance office. I stand up with my hands gripped tightly to the strap of my backpack. I advance towards her and she sticks her hand out.
"Hi" I greet with a smile and we shake hands.
"It's nice to meet you" she replies, "follow me, your mom is already in Dr. Deeg's office" she informs me and I follow her down the narrow labyrinth- like-hallway lined with rooms with closed doors and name plates. We reach our destination, a small ten by ten room with a mahogany desk, three padded chairs (my mother in one of them), plain white walls littered with degrees and certificates. I sit down next to my mother and we exchange smiles.
"Hi Lia, it's nice to see you" Dr. Deeg welcomes from behind the wooden fixture. My vice principle pulls a chair up next to my guidance counselor and begins going through a series of papers- presumably my file.
It's five minutes to eight and my mother is nowhere to be found.
"Hi, nice to see you too" I respond shyly. I bounce my leg incessantly.
"So, I see you want to pursue home tutoring?" Dr. Deeg states and I nod my head.
"Yes, that's correct" I reply.
"Can you tell us why that is? I mean, what's changed from last year to now? The last time you were in my office you were thrilled about skipping eleventh grade and going on to twelfth" she inquires and a lump forms in my throat. I look at my mother, who takes my hand and grasps on.
"Well, senior year when you're fifteen isn't exactly a walk in the park." I say with a nervous laugh. I receive stares. I look to my mother, who nods her head ever so slightly. "I um, I have an issue with over-stimulation" I choke out reluctantly, body tense. "My hearing heightens, I-I start to shake, and I-uh, I cry and it's just- not pretty" I explain while rubbing my color bone with my free hand, avoiding eye contact until my last two words. "It's been an issue since I was little, at certain times in my life it's been less prevalent, but high school has proven to enable the, uh- issue at hand" I continue to elucidate and collect sympathetic gazes. I await a response.
"Have you seen a therapist or a psychiatrist about this?" Dr. Deeg asks and my mother and I exchange looks.
"Not since she was eight" my mother pipes up, guidance counselor scribbling away on her note pad. "It's nearly impossible to get information out of her on how she's feeling. She makes sure you can't" she continues to blurt out and I resist the urge to kick her in the leg. The two women behind the desk glance at each other.
"Look," I say while leaning forward, taking my hand back from my mothers grip and clasping my palms together. "My grades are perfect. I get all of my work done on time, I take 5 AP classes. I've been teaching myself since I learned how to read. Academically, I'm on track to graduate in June. But I know that I can't graduate if I continue to rack up X amount of absences" I lock eyes with my guidance counselor. "So I'm asking you- no, I'm begging you, please pull me out of this place" I plea with every inch of myself. I await a response.
"Alright, I think you've made your case" my vice principle nods. "We have some paper work to go through, but we can send a tutor to your house as soon as Thursday. You'll meet with a different tutor each day for two hours, each tutor will teach you two subjects" she grins and I can't help but let out a sigh of relief and drop my head momentarily. "As for track, you'll be allowed to finish off the season" she continues, "And I strongly suggest you start seeing a therapist, I think you could really benefit from it" Dr. Deeg advises and I swallow the golf ball stuck in my throat. I consider it for a moment and then boot the idea out of my mind. "You're a very bright girl, we wish you the very best" she says with a wide grin and my mother and I stand up.
"Thank you" I reply with an ear to ear grin, which me and my mother share, and I shake the adults hands.
"Thank you" my mother repeats my words and my motions.
"It's been a pleasure" my vice principle- who's name I still do not know- tacks on to the end of the conversation and my mother and I exit the office. She kisses me on the top of the head.
"Proud of you" she says as we make our way back to the reception area.
"Why? I didn't even do anything" I giggle in response.
"Yes you did, you don't know it, but you did" she replies and rubs my shoulder.
"If you say so" I agree and before I know it we're out in the hallway. "I'm going to go find Ethan and give him the rundown" I tell her and she nods.
"Alright, I'll see you at home. Love you" she responds
"Love you too" I shout back while walking backwards down the hallway. I practically skip my way up the stairs and to Ethan's study hall room, where the door is open and he's sitting two rows away reading, twenty two minutes left in the period. The teacher in charge has her back turned organizing papers, and while she isn't looking I dart into the classroom and grab Ethan by the arm, swinging him into the hallway.
"What the hell?" he blurts out.
"Guess who is officially on home tutoring and doesn't have to go back to this hell hole?" I announce, trying not to squeal.
"Seriously?!" he gawks and I nod my head vigorously. He gives me a tight hug, lifting me off my feet for a few seconds and placing me back down. "What about track?" He asks.
"I can finish off the season" I grin and pause. "Go back to class, I just wanted to let you know" I nudge his shoulder and take a few steps back. "Sorry I'm leaving you here to fend for yourself" I apologize while striding backwards.
"I'm a big boy, I can handle it. It'll suck but hey, I'll deal" he replies with a laugh and a small smile. "Expect me on your doorstep at 2:30 tomorrow" are Ethan's final words before disappearing back into his classroom.
I make my way back to the library where I stay for the following 4 periods. I decide to brave my last 3 classes, AP Russian, AP Stats, AP Psychology, leaving ninth period free for me to clean out my locker. The second the last bell rings I make a mad dash for the girls locker room, then changing into my workout clothes and meeting my teammates on the track. An hour of stretching and conditioning later, we are ordered to run 4 miles through the neighborhood wrapped around the school. We are dismissed at 4:32, and by 4:40 I exit the school and walk the fifteen minutes home, eating a banana on the way, my legs aching with every motion. I arrive at the foot of my driveway at 4:55.
"Mom? I'm home" I shout as I kick my shoes off in the hallway. Penny is waiting at the top of the stairs, as per usual. I take thirteen steps into the kitchen, where my mother is sitting at the granite counter top- face down. I immediately roll my eyes and make my way to her, grabbing her by the shoulders and pushing her back up against the barstool.
"Mmmm" she groans at the touch of my hands. There's a bottle of gin on the chair next to her.
"I do not have time for this" I mutter under my breath and gently slap my mother on her left cheek. "Mom, come on let's move" I warn her before lifting her body out of the chair with every ounce of energy I have left, her feet only supporting a quarter of her body mass. My legs quiver under her weight. I deliver her to the living room couch and place a blanket over her side. Before I go upstairs I go to retrieve a water bottle from the fridge and a sleeve of saltines from the cabinet, and I leave them on the carpet below my mother.
I quickly trump up the stairs and go straight to the bathroom, Penny following shortly behind. She takes her perch, and I spend 7 minutes washing the day's grit off of my body. I can't help but notice the bruises that rest on my inner thighs, hues of purple and pink. My stomach churns at the sight of them and I quickly look away. I take a deep breath.
When I'm finished showering I make my way to my bedroom, throw on a pair of light wash jeans and a black cotton v-neck. I pull my hair into a simple French braid, and eight minutes later I'm replacing Penny's food and water, locking her in my bedroom for the night. By 5:20 I'm out the door, my mother's keys in my hand.