My hands rubbed against my rough jeans.
Tick, tick, tick
The clock pestered over and over again.
Chipped red nails wrapped a strand of hair back and forth around my index finger.
In and out my breath came through my chest and out of my nose, there I go, there’s the rhythm…
Now gone.
Back to inconsistent breaths that lingered in the air, they waited to taunt me the next time I heaved in.
I waited for the silence as I stepped into the crowded classroom.
It always came.
Back of the room,
tap, tap, tap
My foot hit the ground.
I stared at the wooden desk, picking out every mark of the lost kid before me.
The ridges in the table cut into me as the students’ murmurs clouded over and filled up the room.
My eyes shifted to the drooping flag.
Red, whites, and blues all shoved together—whirlpooling in with my uncontrollable urge to fidget and turn in the cold metal chair.
My hand twitched and the pencil I was holding dropped and banged against the filthy ground.
Seat by seat the shadows turned to see me.
My eyes fell as theirs jabbed into me.
They slid up and down, ripping me apart.
Look away my body begged as I melted into myself.
I’m gone.
My foot grabbed my pencil and it silently crawled back to me.
Perspiration seeped from my hair line.
Tick, tick, tick
There it goes again, the lonely sound echoed through me.
Bell rings. Stand up.
Feet dragging as the hallways narrow.
My drenched hands slid down my jeans.