It was a good thing that no one came to the back of the bleachers of the football field.

I had my knees to my chest, as I cried with my face hidden. My current state reminded me of how I was bullied back in middle school.

Nothing was as terrible as being picked on by children of your own age. I mean, what was so different between us, that they singled me out and made fun of me. The fact that you peed in front of them and then cried, and then basically ran out of the class leaving your little accident-

Okay, okay, I get it!

The brown paper bag was now sitting beside me, as if it was watching me cry out my troubles, as if they’d go away with just that.

I wanted to leave the school grounds, but then I was reminded of the fact that mom and Caleb wouldn’t be so happy with that.

The ringing of the period bell drifted to my ears as I sniffed and wiped at my eyes. I had missed two of my classes and I guess the third was going to be starting now.

Even when I didn’t want to go to class, just to get humiliated again, I had to, or else I would miss out on school work and judging by the way everyone was laughing at me, I don’t think they would be kind enough to tell me what I missed.

Wiping at my nose with the back of my hand, I sniffed again. I had to go before the tardy bell.

I got up off of the grass, and stared at the paper bag still sitting on the grass, waiting for me to decide where it might go.

‘A little something to lower your embarrassment.’

I don’t know if it was put in my locker with good intentions or bad, but the only thing that swirled in my head at the moment, was for me to wear it.

Picking it up from the grass, I stared at it for a moment, before I reluctantly wore it. The two holes were big enough for my eyes, but the reason that my mouth didn’t have a hole made me think if that was done intentionally or not.

The feeling of the paper bag against my face was scratchy and restricting.

It felt like everyone would make more fun of me with this, but at the same time, it felt like a shield.

At least they wouldn’t know what expression I was making.

***

As I walked into the classroom, only a minute before the tardy bell, the teacher looked at me with shock clear on her face while the students began to whisper audibly to each other.

I was grateful that Paige wasn’t in this class with me.

“Jade, here.” I mumbled to the teacher before going over to the back of the class. On my way, there, I was hit with paper balls and laughter. My eyes were getting teary, but then I saw Tim, sitting in the far corner of the class, staring straight at me.

His eyes were questioning, while mine looked away from him.

Sitting down at the seat which was empty and isolated, I sighed heavily.

It seems like this is how it’s going to be from now on.

The teacher stared at me for a while before she began her lesson.

***

I was greeted by Paige, just as I exited the class. She was standing with her two best friends as she searched around the students.

The lovesick part of me was overjoyed by the fact that she would come all the way over to my class, just to see me, while the humiliated part of me, just wanted to leave before she’d realize that I had done some changes to my outfit, adding a brown paper bag as a hat.

I saw her confused expression as the last student walked out of the class, as I walked away from her and her friends, wanting to go to my next class.

The whole day went by with snickers and whispers, whenever I’d enter a classroom or the cafeteria. The fact that people knew that I was the one wearing a paper bag was definitely more humiliating than my peeing accident in history class yesterday.

Paige and her friends were also informed of the laughing stock of the day, and when my eyes had met hers by mistake, I could clearly see the soft pitying look in her eyes which made me want to dig a hole with my bare hands in the middle of the cafeteria and then banish myself in there.

Just when she was about to walk over to my table, I had gotten up and left the cafeteria, making the students laugh at me.

I also saw Tim, looking at me with his tray in his hands, as I left the cafeteria, but he didn’t move from his place.

I went to the library for the rest of the lunch period, where only two people were browsing through books.

A girl and the librarian, who was also setting the books in the shelves. The library had a peacefulness to it as I sat down at the very back. The books were comforting in a sense as I felt a bit relieved that I wasn’t surrounded by mean students anymore, that were only going to make fun of me.

***

Taking a deep breath, I walked over to Paige, who was standing beside her car with a worried look on her face. Her hair was waving around her face, courtesy of the wind, making her look like a heroine in a movie scene.

I sighed dreamily but then composed myself, taking the paper bag off of my head and sticking it in my bag, before approaching the girl.

“Am I late?” I smiled nervously as her head perked up and she stared at me for a second before glaring at me. Woah, I never knew she could do that.

As her glare burned my face, or was it just the feeling of blushing cheeks – she turned away from me and got in her car.

Not knowing why, she was acting like that, I shrugged before getting in her car as well. Her glare was now directed towards the windscreen of the car as she backed up and out of the parking lot.

I didn’t say anything since I didn’t know how to, when she was like this. I’ve seen her like this before. She was always smiling and……shining whenever I saw her before but now, she looked like she was ready to kill anything that came in her way.

Not wanting to be the ‘anything’, I stayed silent till my house came in view.

I didn’t want to say anything to her but the thought that she knew that I had been wearing a paper bag over my head for the whole day, was not helping my situation. She could tell mom everything that happened today and I didn’t want that.

“Um, uh, about today?” She spared me a glance mixed up with a glare as I began to speak, and I wanted nothing more than to stop right there, “please don’t tell anyone about what happened today.” My voice was small and weak as I spoke and she glanced at me again, but this time, she was expressionless.

Her nod was barely there, as she continued to drive and stay silent.

She parked up in front of my house and I gulped when she turned to me suddenly, just staring at me, as if she was trying to find some answers from my face.

My heart was beating wildly as I tried not to let it affect my behavior. “Uh, goodbye then.” I spoke quickly as I went to unlock the door. Quickly getting out of the car, I speed walked to my front door without even glancing over my shoulder even when I wanted to look back and see if she was still there or not.

My heart was still racing as I entered my house, and closed the door behind me, leaning my back against it.

Even when my day was filled with nothing but students making fun of me, I couldn’t stop thinking about her glare, which was new to me.

Was she angry with me?

***