Chapter 6

Chapter Six: Apologize! Lyric POV "Shame on you, Miss Spencer, hitting your fellow students barely after school hours." It was Miss Lia; she caught me with my fist midair. Quickly, I typed it down as a text and sent it to her number on WhatsApp. Me: It isn't what it looks like, ma'am. "Really?" She scoffed. Her eyes narrowing at me, "These girls are hurt because of you, and I saw you hitting Janice, but you are denying it. Is it because of the art room incident?" "Please don't blame her, ma'am. She is just angry and gets frustrated because she can't use her words," interrupted Janice, feigning innocence. If I weren't here when it happened, I would have thought I was lying too. As expected, Miss Lia bought it. She swayed her face towards mine, menace evident in her eyes. "What do you have to say for yourself, Miss Spencer?" "What can she say, Miss Lia? Please don't punish her. It is difficult living life the way she does." Living life like me? She had no idea what living with a disability is like. It is goddamn awful; people either think you are snobbish or defective. Miss Lia gave Janice a look of pity. "Why are you so nice, Janice? If you don't want her punished, I do. She pushed me and scraped my arm. Fighting on campus is punishable by expulsion. She should be expelled." Expelled? I had a mental fire alarm at the mention of expulsion. If I were to be expelled, I would have to kiss my scholarship goodbye. I had worked too hard—so many sleepless nights and online courses to pass the test. To get where I am... I could not let them ruin it. Never. Me: They are all lying, ma'am. They attacked me first. At this moment, Miss Lia's screen lit up with my messages. She adjusted her lenses to aid her in reading the message. Then she asked, "She is saying you three attacked her first. Is that true?" The girls looked horrified at the question. They shrugged their shoulders in unison, as if planned. "It isn't, ma'am. She is the one who attacked us, right, Janice?" One of her minions, whose name I still did not know except that she had red hair, said. "Umm..." Janice bit her lips, her eyes afraid to meet mine. Miss Lia urged softly, "Don't be scared, Janice. She won't bully you again." Bully her? Was she not in class when Janice bullied me in front of everyone? That was yesterday. Now I was the one bullying her. Absurd. Her eyes flew open, anger rippling over her face. "Miss Spencer, I will take this to the principal, and you will be expelled for fighting between school quarters." Me: Ma'am, please don't do this. They are making things up. Janice started everything. "Janice is begging that I should not punish you, but you are blaming her. How could you?" She raised her hand to hit me, and I flinched. "Babe," Janice called out childishly. Miss Lia slowly brought her hand down. I turned to find Gavin. The bruise on his face looked better than yesterday, although I could spot new ones littered on his arm. He glanced at Janice, studying her, then at me. "Are you okay?" Gavin asked her, although his eyes were on me. I looked away to hide my tears. I wanted him to ask how I was doing. "I am fine, babe. This girl hurt me," she continued, tears filling her eyes. This girl is such an actress, blaming me for something she started. She was pushing herself onto him as if they were going to have an intimate moment right in front of me. I wanted him to hold me instead. "Miss Spencer, are you going to apologize?" Gavin asked me, his face indecipherable. Apologize? Was he serious? Why was I surprised they were hooking up and I was just the mute girl he helped yesterday? I let that get in my way. "I don't think an apology is enough, Mr. Hawkins. Miss Spencer broke the rules, and she has to be expelled." "But, ma'am, doesn't the rule book say after three strikes before a student could be expelled?" "Well—" "Miss Spencer is going to apologize. Babe, are you okay with that?" He turned to his girlfriend, whose eyes went wide at his suggestion. One would think he had just suggested I kill her. Gavin rubbed circles on her arm; her face softened, and she nodded. "Okay, fine. This is the first strike, Miss Spencer. Behave yourself," Miss Lia said sternly, pushing her glasses to the end of her nose. "Apologize, nerd," one of her minions said the moment Miss Lia was out of sight. She was a brunette with crossed eyes. I put up my phone to type an apology because they would not understand sign language. But Janice slapped it out of my hand, and it went over my head into a puddle of muddy water. I gasped at the sight as my phone was swallowed by the mud. I could no longer see it. I rushed to pick it up when I felt my scalp being pulled, the pain rocketing inside me. It was Janice, her manicured fingers fishing into my scalp. I looked over to Gavin for help, but he had that stupid poker face. "You better learn how to stay out of my way if you don't want another Emilia in your life." I shook my head, tears blurring my vision. I should never have taken this jerk's advice and fought back. She let go of my hair and went back to the arms of her boyfriend. "Next time, you will bid your sweet scholarship goodbye, big eyes," another minion threatened, her ponytail bouncing with every motion she made. I can't believe I fell for this jerk. They deserve each other. I watched them leave, tears rolling down my cheeks. Gavin held her arm; his hand reached out and squeezed her butt. She laughed, rolling her head back. They both came to a stop, and she enclosed him and kissed him. This was too much to handle. I swatted my face away, my gaze going back to my phone. It was dead now. There was no more saving it. At this moment, I remembered the cash he gave me. I went out of school to the street where some homeless people sat and put the cash into their plates. That day, I thought I would have to take the bus like always, but my best friend Wren came and picked me up. I told her what happened, and she promised to kill them. I didn't care anymore; I had to wait until I turned nineteen. When I turned nineteen, everything would be better. --- "I got you a little something," Wren told me in an excited shrill the second she parked her car at the entrance of our house. She reached out to the back and returned with a red box. << What is it? >> "I won't ruin the surprise. Just open it!" She clapped in ecstasy. I had no clue why she was so happy while I embarrassed myself in front of everyone again. With skepticism, I opened the box. Inside, there was another box with the iPhone logo on it. I felt a smile spring on my lips; the box contained a new iPhone with a case and even AirPods. A big smile sprang on her gorgeous face, "It's for you. And before you reject it, it was a present from my father's new business partners. Aaron got like three phones. Also, there is an amazing feature I installed just for you, my heart." I sighed in frustration, << Wren >>. "No." She vehemently shook her head in denial. This was the moment I knew I lost the fight. Wren had tried to buy me a phone for years now, but I would always say no. She happened to be my friend, not my parent. I didn't want her to see me as a burden. "Check out the new feature." I logged into the app; the tutorial feature played, and I learned how to use it. The app was meant for people with speaking disabilities like mine—a text-to-speech app. It even had several accents I could use. She had gotten me a lifetime premium version. In an instant, I burst into tears, throwing my arms around her thin frame. I hugged her so tightly that I felt I might just suffocate her. Letting go, I signed, << Thank you >>. "Anything for you babe. Anything. "