InsaneJournal

Who: Lena Duchannes
Where: High School
When: Forward-dated to Friday morning
What: Lena gets bullied and blows up in school.
Status: Narrative/Complete
Warnings: Bullying, natural disasters in unnatural places

Silent reading was possibly about the most boring assignment in the history of ever. It was a simple excuse for the teacher to have some quiet time while he caught up on grades before the end of the semester. It meant he wasn't going to teach a damn thing until the new year and that the class would just have to deal with his extreme lack of planning by doing the one thing that teenagers were virtually incapable of. Staying quiet. "He dropped her off at school today again." "I know. I saw. Do you think they're dating?" "O-M-G, are you kidding me? There's no way that he could be dating that. I mean... just look at her hair. Makes you wonder if she even uses shampoo." "Ladies!" Everyone in the room raised their eyes as the teacher called the attention of the two girls sitting directly behind Lena. Their words, though told through whispers, were clearly audible to Lena, who was doing her best not to lose control of her emotions. It was obvious who they were talking about. Ed sometimes dropped Lena off at school, and sometimes he picked her up. It was only for convenience. They did live together (which sounded wrong in context, but no one knew about that). And it was obvious that Lena's hair was a bit on the frizzy side, but that didn't bother her too much... unless other girls would bring it up. "Silent reading please," Mr. Gillman said before returning to his grading. Lena rolled her eyes. That would do little to deter the girls from their gossip, and just as Lena suspected, the girls continued after just a few minutes later. "Maybe he feels sorry for her." "Maybe they're adopted siblings." "Maybe she's actually a lesbian, and he's her cover." "He's too good to be her cover." "Yeah, you're right. He's way too good for her. There's no way that a guy like that would ever go for a girl like her." SNAP. A crack in the shape of a snowflake suddenly appeared at the window, as if someone from the outside had just flicked a quarter at it at high speeds. The crack slowly began to grow, sending tendrils like nerve endings shooting in all directions. "What was that?" One of the girls said, and now everyone was watching the window as it began to tremble under the weight of the breaking glass. Everyone.... except Lena. She was clutching her hand tightly into a fist, and she too seemed to tremble underneath the weight of her dark thoughts. "Is she-- Is she doing that?" All eyes were suddenly on Lena, and it became clear to her what was happening. It was the same story every single time. You would think human nature would be a little more creative, but everywhere she went, they all had the same insults. The same crappy human nature rearing its ugly head, poking fun of something because of their own insecurities. It was so typical. It was so pathetic. It was so predictable. SMASH! The window exploded from the outside in, as shards of broken glass rained down on the students in the classroom. One by one the other windows followed suit, exploding, shattering, breaking and flying all over the place. Then came the wind. The howling barrage of swirling air slammed into the tiny high school classroom, drowning out the shrieks of the students and teacher alike. Papers were being whipped around the room like confetti, and many of the students, who were already cut up from the glass exploding, had to hide underneath their desks for fear of papercuts or getting blown away by the sudden bout of wind that had descended upon the room. Slowly, Lena closed her book and moved to stand up. It was almost as if she was inside a cone, where neither the wind nor the glass nor the flying papers could touch her. She walked with deliberate steps down her row toward the front of the classroom, though she could still hear the screaming and wailing of the students behind her. "IT'S HER! SHE'S DOING THIS! SHE'S A FREAK! A FREAK OF NATURE!" "Mr. Gillman," Lena said in her usual inflectionless voice. "May I please be excused from class?" Mr. Gillman was also hiding underneath his desk. His glasses were askew on his face, and he seemed to be struggling to pull himself up to look at her properly. "YES! YES, LENA! YES! YOU MAAAAAAAGGHHHHHHH!" "Thank you, sir." As if she hadn't just caused a full blown tornado inside her classroom, Lena walked out as calmly as ever, flicking her wrist at the door behind her so that it would shut with the help of a gust of wind. She then proceeded to head out the doors of the school. Leaving school in the middle of the school day was not allowed, but Lena didn't care. She'd had about enough of school and bullies for one day. Besides, there was no way she was going to let anyone -- anyone at all -- see her cry.