That One Moment...

Chapter 16

Day 64

It was finally Friday afternoon. Sarah was sitting in yet another hour-long assembly. This time it was focused on taking responsibility and personal choice. The principal had also reiterated that their football game with Beach had been cancelled this week. The team would have to win the last two games to qualify for state. This led into a "rant" about how individual choices can have a broader impact on other people. 

Sarah started to do homework as the lecturing continued on. She had picked up extra shifts this weekend so that she could stay out of the house, so getting ahead on school work was a bonus. Sarah had been able to find a rather secluded spot on the bleachers away from "people." Things were a bit awkward in her life and she had no one to blame but herself. As such, Sarah had decided to return to her loner status. Less drama, less anxiety, less trauma to deal with.

This had been one of the longest weeks Sarah could remember.  She had zoned out at lunch on Monday and not really noticed what was going on until they were all being ushered into an assembly later that day. Unlike today, Sarah had found herself in the middle of the most popular group in school. All eyes had been on them, whether due to popularity or the gossip that was circulating about her involvement in the Halloween crash. Her favorite gossip this week was tied to her not just being in the crash and surviving uninjured, but being able to get up and flee the scene...next up would be some alien abduction or something.

Monday's assembly was mostly just going over the incident again, as well as some new details. There had been pictures of the injured and dead students, which had triggered Sarah to bawl again. She had felt someone grab her for a side hug, but was surprised to note that it was Leo. Looking over, she saw that Ryan was deep in conversation with a group of cheerleaders. Lindsey was even rubbing his chest. Leo must have felt her tense because he looked over in that direction and seemingly scowled. Sarah thought she heard him mumble "idiot," but then Chris came over and sat on her other side, while Dylan parked behind her and Abby came in with a bunch of her friends to sit in front of Sarah. If she had thought harder about it, she would have noticed at that point that they had all formed a protective barrier around her. There were no question coming her way, no random people trying to get gossip from her. Sarah was more than thankful for the friends, but it didn't last.

On Tuesday, Ryan was waiting again to drive her to school. Sarah was surprised and ended up asking him why he was bein so nice. He seemed taken aback and said they were friends, so why wouldn't he be? He turned to being offended when she pointed out that he and his friends were way above her social standing and that she really didn't belong. It had dawned on her that she never should have even been at the party Friday. It wasn't "her." She was a loner, she blended in and stayed to herself both at home and school. That way she could just get through the next year and a half without any more drama and get out of this town. Look what happens when she starts making friends and doing things? She can't cope. Her parents were right about that. Sarah had said pretty much something similar on the car ride in, which led to Ryan being distant the rest of the week. Not surprising, she probably sounded like a raving lunatic that morning, but she had been dealing with some things.

She had sensed Ryan watching her during the week, but they hadn't spoken since Tuesday morning. Interestingly, she had talked more with Leo and Dylan than usual. Dylan had even drove her home after work last night, mentioning that Chris had asked him to check on her after practice. Even as she tried to return to blending in and being a nobody, they wouldn't leave her alone. Abby had talked her into going to a "pre" practice on Wednesday afternoon to see if she could hang with the girls basketball team and now she was on the hook for practices next week to prep for tryouts. Chris had been chatty still in her first two periods, which is how she knew the boys soccer team was headed to states this weekend. He had joked that Ryan was half glad that football was cancelled. She could understand that.