Scars Part 8

Alice smiled. Her smile felt stiff, as if it hadn’t been out in months, even years. But she wore it almost proudly. Oh it felt good to smile! The rising sun shone down on her as she walked to school through the crisp autumn air, colored leaves crunching beneath her boots. Arriving at school, Alice pulled her hood up further and slipped quickly up the stairway to Mr. Alden’s English room. She always got to school early so as to creep in unnoticed by the other students and take her seat. They paid her little attention during first period. Probably insults took too much energy at 6:30 in the morning, and the real taunts didn’t begin until lunch. Alice did her best to escape. In between classes she could do little to hide but stick to the walls and keep her head down. During lunch she hid in the art room, and she never stayed at school longer than necessary. Once class was out, Alice was gone, speeding her way home through the cold afternoon light.

  Usually, avoiding people was fairly easy, for most of her peers, and most adults too, were uncomfortable around her. She could see fear and hate in their darting eyes as she walked through each day. Few spoke directly to her, but always she heard the whispers, the snickered jeers and the gossiping mockery. Their words sounded brave, bold even, but their fear was real and so was the distaste of even being around her. There were only a few students at school who would dare come near Alice at all: the bullies. They came to tease, to peck, to openly abuse. More than once at her old school, Alice had been so badly beaten that she had to stay home for weeks, and been too afraid to come to school at all for months. Here at Jefferson, she had escaped without any serious physical punishment. But the names they called out wormed into her mind and threatened to tear her soul apart.

  Today, however, Alice’s mind was far from these thoughts. The smile on her lips was real, the sky was brightening, and for the first time she could remember, Alice was almost happy. Taking her seat, she settled down with her blue notebook and pulled a pencil from her bag.  

  Pressing it into a fresh sheet of paper, Alice’s heart swelled as words spilled out from the deepest part of her awakening spirit.