I heard them almost immediately. The whispers of the other kids. I ignored them as well as the bus driver's look of concern, and took my seat on the bus. I had put on a dark, threadbare hoodie with the hood put over my head, dark pants equally worn-down, and bug sunglass to cover my black eye. It took 30 minutes for the bus to finally pull into the school parking lot, I grabbed my backpack, and made my way toward the exit, only to have the bus driver tell us all to sit down again. She then proceeded off the bus, went to one of the security officers. I had a bad feeling about this, and it only got worse when the security officer looked up and looked right at me. I knew this wasn't going to go well. Both the bus driver and the security officer came on the bus.
"Elewen..."
Oh God this isn't going to be good
"Elewen could you come with me... please," said the security officer know to the school as Big Al.
I slowly stood up a little embarrassed by the attention. I always tried to be unnoticeable. With the feeling of dread increasing with each step I took until I stepped off the bus and followed Big Al. We walked down to the front of the building, neither of us saying a word to each other. Finally we had to come to the nurses office. As I entered the office I noted the "colorful" poster on reason not to do drugs. I also noticed that not only was the nurse there, but the Principle Greene, and vice-principle Kerry.
'What did I get into,' I thought.
"Elewen, its going to be ok," said Mrs. DeWitter, the nurse, trying to comfort me.
"Elewen, would you please pull your head down and take off your sunglasses."
'Oh no, how am I going to explain this. They won't believe that I was clumsy. Shit!'
I thought but instead said, "I rather not."
"Miss. Kincaid take off your sunglasses, and the hood now," said the vice principle.
"Why," I replied still trying to find and excuse as to why my eye was swollen shut, the gash on my head, and the fact that my lip was three time its normal size. I was falling miserably.
"All we want to do is help you Elewen; and we won't stop bugging you until you tell us what's is going on," said Mrs. DeWitter. Well what was I going to do? For years I had hid the bruises, the pain and the cuts with long sleeve shirts, jackets, and pants but that was only because they had been on other parts on my body, never on my face.
I hesitantly pulled down my hood, with one hand, and with the other I took my sunglasses off. Not even a second later I heard the gasps as I pulled my face into the light.
"My god," gasped Mrs. DeWitter before clamping her hand down on her mouth. Afterwards I put my sunglasses on.
"Miss Kincaid...how did you...who did...when," stuttered Mr. Greene.
"Principle Greene... should we call the authorities?" said the vice-principle Kerry.
The next few hours I had talked with the principle, vice-principle, the nurse, the cops, and with child services. The report wouldn't have taken so long, but they had to get through my excuse, and I had many excuses as to why I looked like... whats the word... oh I don't know... crap.
After awhile I became a little hot, and without think, took off my hoodie. A big mistake! As soon as they saw even more bruises on my arms, and judging by their coloring which told you when they had appeared, they knew that this was not a one time thing, which was shat I been telling them that it was. The child services worker I forget her name, it was something like Moreshek or Moreshack, decided on 'immediate removal from the house' her words not mine.
