The next day Ashley got ready for school. She was a little unsure of what to wear though. Obviously, short sleeves were out, but it was a little warmer outside.

"Damn, how am I going to make this convincing?" she though ass she searched through her wardrobe. Deciding she'd just tell everyone she was cold, she pulled on a long sleeved black shirt. "It's not the best solution, but it'll have to do. Maybe when the cuts heal up, I'll wear bracelets over them." However, she knew that for now bracelets would just reopen the cuts.

Ashley grabbed a muffin on her way out, and walked to the bus stop. She got on, and looked for Ellie. When she spotted her, she sat down next to her.

"What's up Ash?"

"Nothing," Ashley responded, cradling her cut arm. She knew she was being stupid; Ellie couldn't tell she had cut her arm, but she was still really paranoid. "How was your day?"

"My relatives came over, and they did some catching up with my parents. It turns out my like, sixth cousin or something, is in a treatment facility. Remember how Paige accused you of cutting yourself yesterday? Well, that's what she did. Her name's Brittany, and apparently she is a lot like you: gets good grades, active in school, perfectionist. That's how she hid it so well."

"Wow, did you know her well?"

"Nah, she's not really closely related to me. But still, I did know her pretty well. Its weird, I mean, its not just weird that she was cutting herself, but its weird thinking about how cutting your own skin could feel good? I can't even imagine doing that, can you?" Ellie asked.

"Yeah, I guess I can," Ashley said, thinking of the night before.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Ashley realized her last sentence had been incredibly dumb. "Er, um, I mean…" she fumbled.

"Ash?" Ellie asked, concerned.

"I mean, I can imagine wanting a release for your problems. I mean, my release would probably be more along the lines of smacking Paige, but hey, it's a release, right?" Ashley said, hoping it was a believable recovery.

"Um, yeah," Ellie said, a little confused. "You sure everything's good with you?"

"Oh, yeah, nothing's wrong, "Ashley said stupidly, aware of exactly how incredibly dumb she sounded. She never had been a convincing liar.

"Well, okay," Ellie said, still a little concerned. "But hey, if you ever need anything, I'm here, ok?"

"Yeah, of course, I know that. So, what's happening with your cousin?" Ashley said, curious.

"Oh, well, she's in that treatment facility. I guess they get group therapy and individual therapy. My aunt said she's doing better. Actually, she got put there because one of her attempts to cut got a little carried away. Brittany cut her wrists a little too deep, and she almost died. That's the only reason she got caught. She was really good at hiding it; nobody had any idea that she was doing that."

"Wow, you'd think she'd be more careful," Ashley remarked.

Ellie looked at her strangely and asked. "I guess when you're cutting, you're not really careful, don't you think?"

"Oh, I don't know about that. Just because you cut, doesn't mean you lose all your common sense, right?"

"I guess," Ellie agreed, as the school bus pulled up to Degrassi and the kids got out. "So, what's with the long sleeves? Its pretty warm out today."

"Oh no," Ashley thought to herself, "She knows!"

"Ash?"

"Oh, um, I didn't check out what the weather was before I left the house. By the time I got outside, it was too late to change. Pretty stupid, huh?"

"Nah, I've done that too," said Ellie, apparently believing her. "So, I'll see you during gym Ash?

"Oh, gym, right. Yeah, see you then," Ashley said, separating from Ellie to go to class. "Damn," she thought to herself, "I forgot all about gym. I have a short sleeved gym shirt!" Ashley started panicking. What on Earth was she going to do?!

The hours until gym passed way to quickly for Ashley. What could she do? But then she thought of something.

"I have that long black sleeved shirt. I'll wear that under my gym shirt!" Pleased that she had come up with something, Ashley walked down to gym. Quickly, before Ellie came in, she started changing her shirt.

"Hey Ash!" Ellie called in the locker room. It was poor timing; Ashley had just taken off her shirt. Ellie stopped dead in her tracks. She stared at Ashley's arms. "Oh my God, Ashley! What did you do to yourself?"

"Er, um," Ashley was at a loss for words, not to mention in a total panic. "It was the bushes at in front of my house. I fell into them," Ashley answered lamely. She knew Ellie wouldn't buy that.

"We have to talk. Now," Ellie demanded.

Ashley got really defensive, really quickly. "No we don't." She put her regular shirt back on, and went over to they gym teacher. "I don't really feel good. Can I see the nurse?"

"You do look a little pale," the gym teacher remarked. "Ok, go ahead."

As she walked away, Ellie shot her a worried look. "Later," Ellie said to her, as she left the gym.