Untouchable

Amelia

Coldness rested on my right cheek, with brightness showing even through my closed eyes. Voices filled the area around me.

BAM

I jumped up, frightened by the noise, and came to the realization that I had fallen asleep in class. Embarrassment filled my face, glancing around to see the eyes on me and the woman in front of me. I looked up. Mrs. Martin stood in front of me.

“Sleeping in my class again, Ms. Johnson. Next time it happens, you’re going to the principal’s office. You’ve already missed the discussion, so I’ll allow Ms. Burton to catch you up.” She shook her head at me before walking away, telling the class to get back to work.

My eyes fell to the ground, where she dropped my textbook. She pushed it onto the ground to wake me. I quickly reached down, picking up the science textbook to place back onto my desk. I used my fingers to run through my hair to make sure that it didn’t look crazy from sleeping. I couldn’t help but feel bad for constantly falling asleep, but I felt like I couldn’t help it.

I spent all night studying and practicing the piano for an audition with the band solo for the Winter Talent Showcase. This would be my third year in a row auditioning for it, and I felt pressure to work on something better than I had a year ago. My parents put a lot of pressure on me to do my very best, and I won the last two years. If I don’t win this year, I think my life will be over.

The bell rang before I could get fully caught up on what I’d missed, and I knew that I fucked up; I can’t fail. Mariah did give me her notes, so I could look over them and write my own before returning them to her in our last class. I took a deep breath as I packed up my items into my bag before putting the straps over my shoulders.

“I’m sorry again, Mrs. Martin. Trust me, I won’t let it happen again.” I gave her an apologetic smile while I exited the classroom to head to the library for my lunch break. I had notes to review, and I could eat some of my lunch in a quiet environment. I have no clue how I’m going to keep that promise; I feel so drained every day, and I crash in her classroom at the same time each day. It happens before I even have a chance to fight it.

“Good afternoon, ’Melia.” The librarian said this as I walked into the library, and I returned a greeting before walking to the back of the library to my regular table. I sat down, pulling out my notebooks from my bag along with my small lunchbox. I grabbed my pencil and the sheet of Mariah’s notes before opening up my notebook. As I wrote down her notes, I ate my cut fruits with my fork, trying to finish writing as fast as I could in order to be able to focus on eating.

I was so focused that I didn’t see Taylor approach the table until she sat beside me. I looked up at her, giving her a small smile. “Geez, you look like shit.” She opened her lunchbox, pulling out her recently warmed-up spaghetti. I assume she went to the teachers’ lounge. Sometimes, certain teachers will allow students to use the microwave in their lounge, but it all depends on how likable you are.

I rolled my eyes, placing my pencil down for a moment due to the crampy feeling starting to form. “Oh, thank you. I’m trying something new.”

She let out a laugh, pulling out a fork from her bag before opening the container that held her main meal. “You need to get some rest; you’re going to work yourself to death at this rate. Your parents need to lighten up on the pressure.”

I shrugged my shoulders as I popped a grape into my mouth before making a face due to the lack of crunch. “I wish they would, but they only want me to succeed, and I just need to push myself. I’ll rest when I’m dead.”

A look on her face showed disappointment and maybe some annoyance; I couldn’t tell. “I worry about you.” She leaned forward to take a bite of her food, her blonde hair sliding forward off her shoulders. She quickly moved her hair back to its original spot before she could accidentally ingest it along with the noodles.

I finished my fruit, enjoying the juicy watermelon, before shoving my small container back into the bag. There was a short silence between the two of us before I broke it by asking her how she did on the test from Mr. Cameron’s class. It was a stupid question, and I hated when it was quiet. I don’t think I know how to be in someone’s presence and be silent. Mr. Cameron was a science teacher. I never had him, but by the way Taylor spoke of him, I’m glad I haven’t. She was very anxious when she took it on Tuesday. I attempted to help her, but with everything on my plate, I couldn’t.

“I passed with a seventy-seven; I felt like I did better, though. Even Sam did better than I did. An eighty-three! He’ll never let me live this down once he finds out my grade.” There weren’t many people in the library, but the few who were shushed her for being too loud.

Samuel was a known class clown, but he was very intelligent. I’m not sure how he can not pay attention in class and pass all of his classes. Somehow, he made it all look easy.

Since middle school, Taylor used to date, but once they broke up, they started to have this back and forth thing; they always wanted to one-up each other. Apparently, they broke up because he cheated on a test by copying hers but somehow did better than her. Each of them wanted to prove who was better than the other, I assume. I wondered if Taylor genuinely worked so hard because she wanted to get good grades or if she only wanted to show Sam that she was smarter. Maybe both? It was too complicated to understand.

“Oh noo, not Samuel.”

This caused her to roll her eyes at me. She must be really upset over this; I’m sure he will push her buttons a few times later.

“I heard he takes Adderall to help him focus since he acts like a fool all day.” She pulled her water bottle from the side of her backpack, popping up the lid before taking a big gulp of it.

“Adderall? I didn’t know he had ADHD.” I wouldn’t be surprised, though.

“He’s not. Well, I’m actually not sure, but he definitely hasn’t been prescribed them.”

I turned my attention back to my notebook, continuing to copy the notes from this morning. “Who told you this? Are they even a reliable source?” I took a sigh because I knew I wasn’t going to finish these before the bell rang. I picked up my phone from the table, pulling up the camera in order to take a photo of the rest of them.

Tara cleared her throat, twirling her spaghetti with her fork. “You didn’t hear this from me, but Ryan A. told Carmen, who told Karlie, who told Ryan S., who told me. I think they’re all pretty reliable. Plus, Zaiden supposedly sold them to Sam. Therefore, I believe them.”

Zaiden Carter.

The bane of my whole existence

If anyone thought Tara and Samuel were rivals, clearly they don’t know the relationship I share with Zaiden. Or the lack of.

I do think it’s funny how many people it took for Taylor to receive this information. Felt like middle school or maybe movie-type stuff. “Interesting.” Was all that came from my lips.

“Maybe I should buy some. Not to take them, but just to talk to him.” Oh, did I forget to mention? Taylor had a crush on him. MY best friend had a crush on my archenemy.

“Sounds really fun.” I rolled my eyes, making a disgusted face at her words, before I began to gather up my things. “That was a joke, by the way. I don’t condone taking drugs.”

I couldn’t help but allow the thought to cross my mind. Not the buying from Zaiden part. The Adderall part. That would actually be useful for my situation, but I don’t have any reason to get diagnosed for it. I could lie, but I am the worst liar to walk this earth.

“I’m heading to class.” I placed my belongings into my backpack before standing up to adjust my skirt. Taylor remained in her spot, though.

“You have like three more minutes until the bell rings.”

“I know, but I don’t want to finish a conversation that pertains to the spawn of Satan.” I pulled my backpack onto my shoulders and quickly grabbed my phone and my lunchbox. Taylor huffed, but I could see the smile she was hiding.

She knew how I felt about him, and sometimes I think she does it on purpose. I hurried my way out of the library to make my way across the building to my next class, and speaking of the devil, I had my next class with him. As I walked through the empty hall, the bell rang, and that caused me to take a deep breath. It was soon about to fill with a bunch of people—people who push and shove, and rush to their next class without caring about those around them. I may walk with my head held high, but I’m not the tallest girl in the world.

I sometimes fear that I’ll be crushed by some of these big, sweaty boys. It seemed the air got heavier as students rushed out the doors. The smell of body odor filled my nostrils, presumingly from students who had gym class and the freshmen boys who aren’t self-aware that they smell.

I felt a knot form in my stomach, and I could feel my chest become heavier. This happened sometimes, and I just brushed it off since it was probably due to me not eating enough at lunch. I finally made it to math class, taking a few deep breaths before entering the room.

I approached my normal seat, in the front of the class, of course, but there was tape on the corner of the desk. I looked over at the other desks, and there was tape on those as well. Then my eyes fell back to the one on mine. It read “Mitchell Anthony” and last time I checked, that wasn’t me. “Mr. Tim? I’m confused. This is my desk.” I tapped the tape directly on the table as Mr. Tim walked back into the classroom.

He let out a chuckle, taking a sip from his can of Coke while walking to his desk. “It used to be. Everyone now has arranged seating. There is too much chitchat in the back, and not everyone is engaged with the lesson. I thought as seniors, you would all be more responsible enough to pay attention.” I began to speak, but he cut me off. “That wasn’t directed at you. There are a few who aren’t.”

I tried speaking once more, but he cut me off yet again. “I trust you’ll be fine where you are. Have a seat.”

I huffed, turned my heels, and walked down each desk in order to find my name. There were four rows of five. I was in the second row on the fourth desk. practically at the back of the class. How could this be? Why couldn’t he move everyone else? I know I shouldn’t receive special treatment, but in this situation, I should. I took a seat, adjusting myself a few times before letting out a sigh.

Students rushed into the class right before the bell rang, and each had the same reaction I did, but they didn’t argue about it. It was utter bullshit that we had assigned seating; I felt like we were stuck in elementary school.

“Good afternoon, class. I know it’s Friday and everyone is exhausted from the day, so I have a surprise for you.” Mr. Tim stood by his desk, flipping through papers as a few perked up at the word “surprise.”

The door swung open, and Zaiden strolled in. The strap of his backpack hung lazily on one shoulder as if it wanted to fall off because of the lack of support to rest on. “You’re late.”

“I know.” His voice was low, and his tone was nonchalant.

Mr. Tim didn’t argue with him, though. He never did, and that frustrated me. He was a pretty chill teacher, and he was very good at his job, but it always irritated me when he didn’t hold people accountable for their actions.

From my peripheral vision, I could see Zaiden walking down each row, looking for his seat. I didn’t even look for empty desks that he could potentially sit at, and I held my breath, hoping that there was one on the opposite side from me. Nope. Behind me. He was behind me. I smelled his cologne the moment he approached the desk before hearing him drop his backpack onto the ground.

“What’s the surprise??” Mitchell eagerly asked as he sat in my seat, and I never wished for anything more than being in that seat. Well, not more than getting into Juilliard. Mr. Tim held up a stack of papers, placing them on MY desk in front of Mitchell. “I’m so glad you asked; you can pass them out while you’re at it. Today, we are having a pop quiz. After anyone finishes, you’ll be able to finish up any work you have for my class that you have yet to turn in. For those who don’t, you can do work from your other classes.”

Once the quizzes were handed out, Mr. Tim instructed us to start before he returned to his desk to mess around on the computer. I felt a pull on my ponytail; it was light, though. I ignored it. Another pull. I ignored. Another one. This time it was harder than before, so I snapped my head back to glare at him for a quick second. I turned my head back to my paper because I’d be damned if I got in trouble because of HIM.

A gust of wind embraced my body, causing the appearance of goosebumps. I looked around, noticing that I was close to the air vent. I believe all classrooms have some sort of coldness, but sitting this close to the air vent resulted in being wrapped in the uncomfortable cold. I often feel sleepy when it’s cold, so the lack of sleep seemed to be catching up with me at this moment. I rested my elbow on the desk, staring at the sheet of paper in front of me.

I felt the desk behind me shaking slightly, which caused me to do a quick turn to notice that Zaiden was shaking his leg. “Stop that.” I whispered before turning back to my quiz. I sensed him moving forward before his whisper found its way to my ear. “Oh, the little princess can’t concentrate? My apologies.”

Ignoring his sarcasm, I rolled my eyes and began to write out one of the problems in order to get the proper answer. Some of the questions were multiple choice, and this was one of them. My paper quickly turned into a slight smugness over the written numbers due to my consistent erasing. My mind was blank, and I noticed a few questions were stumping me. Did I forget this? That couldn’t be possible; I always studied until I remembered it.

Study…

Shit, I didn’t review it last night. I spent so much of the night practicing the music for the showcase that I forgot to review the notes. I forgot the refresher, and I forgot to make sure that I remembered it. I began noticing a few others finishing before me, and this rarely happened, so I rushed through it. I rushed through it, and I regretted that the moment I turned it in.

Why did I do that? Was I embarrassed for not finishing as quickly as I normally do? The quiz was over once the last three people turned it in, and I wanted to ask the teacher if I could redo it.

The knot from earlier appeared in my stomach again the longer I thought about it. I tried replaying the questions in my head, attempting to remember them and see if my answers were correct, but I don’t have photographic memory, so I couldn’t remember.

I pulled out my notebook, deciding to finish copying the notes from this morning. For some reason, I felt everyone was looking at me. What did they think of me? Were they making fun of me for not finishing as fast as I normally do? Did they think I was stupid?

“Miss Johnson? Can you come here, please?”

My teacher’s voice snapped me out of those thoughts. I froze for a moment before sliding out of my chair, flattening down my skirt while I walked up to his desk. My eyes wandered around the room; everyone was paying attention to what they were working on and chitchatting. No one was looking at me. No one even seemed to care.

The packets of papers sat on Mr. Tim’s desk; a few were turned upwards, and a few were the other way around. A red pen rested in his hand. He was grading the quizzes currently. I approached the front of his desk before moving over to the other side, when his head gestured to move closer. The paper sitting in front of him had my name written above it, and I could feel my heart pounding. “Ms. Johnson, this is unlike you.” He whispered as he slid over my packet towards me. There was red ink over a few questions, but there was no grading at the top. Before I was able to speak, he moved his hand, and the ink found a home near my name.

78

I could feel my eyes watering, causing me to blink multiple times to clear them. I felt a pit in my stomach and noticed shakiness in my hands. “I-... I am so sorry. I promised I studied… But that was a couple of days ago, and I didn’t do a refresher last night. I just blanked, sir.” I whispered back, allowing the words to fall from my lips. Crying or throwing up were the two options I had. I have never gotten a 78 before. Ever.

“Listen, I have no clue what is going on with you. If you come in early Monday morning, I will allow you to retake it. I won’t put in this grade as of right now, but if you don’t show up to retake, I will have to. That will be your only chance, so please study up.” I had no other words, so I nodded my head before walking back to my seat while lost in my mind.

Once I slid into my seat, I did something I never thought I would do. I turned to Zaiden.

“I need your help.”