Toxin

𝒞𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝒪𝓃𝑒

Charlotte felt a wave of dread as she looked at her chemistry test. It was like a foreign language to her, full of symbols and equations that meant nothing. She glanced around and saw her classmates filling their papers with confident strokes while she had nothing to write. She felt a lump in her throat and tried to remember anything from the lectures, but her mind was empty.

She was the first one to hand in the paper - not because she had aced it - but because she had surrendered. She disliked chemistry with every fibre of her being. She always shone in physics and mathematics, her true passions. She wished she could drop chemistry and focus on what she enjoyed.

She walked out of the classroom and headed to the nearest bench. She opened her physics textbook and bit into her dark chocolate bar, hoping to soothe her nerves and divert her attention. "Hey nerd," she heard a taunting voice behind her. She turned around and felt her textbook being pulled from her hands.....

Minutes later, she was sitting on one of the chairs in front of the principal's office, bleeding from her mouth and clutching her torn textbook in her hand. She held back her tears as she gazed at the floor. Her hand was quivering, and her hair was tangled. She sensed someone sit on the chair next to her. She looked at the person and saw a boy who looked as bruised as her.

She observed his features: he was a skinny and pale teenager, with a mass of dark brown hair that fell on his blue eyes. He wore glasses that were slightly too large for his face. He had welts and gashes on his face and arms. He was staring at the floor with a vacant expression on his face. When he felt her stare on him, he raised his head and met her bright brown eyes. "What are you staring at?" he asked, squinting his eyes.

Charlotte's pale face turned pink as she cleared her throat. "I'm sorry," she said, looking away. But he kept staring at her, his eyebrows knitted. His eyes moved to her trembling hand and her ruined textbook. He recognized the cover and the title. It was the same physics textbook he had. He felt a spark of curiosity. He opened his mouth to say something, but the principal interrupted him by opening the door.
_____

"This is unacceptable! Causing trouble all day, especially both of you!" He pointed his index finger between Johnathan and Charlotte. Charlotte and Johnathan didn't try to argue because they knew he wouldn't listen as always. For some reason, he believed the bullies, not the victims. Charlotte glanced at his bulging belly, struggling to fit in his buttoned shirt.

"As always," he cleared his throat, as his heavy body sank into the chair. Charlotte always wondered how the chair survived till now. "Detention for both of you for tomorrow. You will clean the school court"
______

"So your name is Johnathan?" Charlotte asked as she picked up the bag of crisps from the ground. "Yes," he answered while wiping the bench with a damp cloth.

"Charlotte?" He asked, and she hummed with her soft, feminine voice. "So...why do they...bother you?" She asked.

"None of your business," he said, and she nodded, continuing to collect trash from the ground. "Well...my mom always told me that they are insecure...so they try to make people feel more insecure so they could feel superior," Charlotte said, trying to cheer him up. Saying this to herself always made her feel better. But from how much time she repeated it, its meaning wasn't as effective as it used to be.

"Your mother is ....gone, isn't she?" He asked, making her stop her movements. "How did you know?" She asked. "I don't know... I just guessed by the way you talked about her," he said simply.

"Why....were you bullied?" He asked. Charlotte hesitated for a moment and shrugged, "For reading.....? And...being...Good in physics? I don't know why that is a problem," she said with a faint sad smile. "You like physics?" He asked, and she nodded. Mentioning that, she remembered how her aunt was going to be furious when she knew the physics textbook was ruined. "...what is your favourite subject?" She asked curiously. "Chemistry..I also like bio -"
"Chemistry!?" She exclaimed.
"Yes."
"Do you get good grades?"
"...yes?"
"Can you please help me in it...it would really help...please, " she pleaded, and she became happy by the thought of making her aunt proud. "That would really help. "

He looked at her with suspicion and said curtly, "No.". She sighed and resumed her task.

______

"Charlotte Baudelaire!!" Charlotte heard the scream from outside her room and felt a surge of fear. She ran to the living room and saw her aunt, Anne, holding the chemistry paper in one hand and the other on her hip.

She glared at Charlotte. "I-I tried," Charlotte stammered, trying to hold back tears. "So I pay you a lot of money and work hard, and I am not even your mother!! And this is how you repay me!!?"

"I'm sorry," Charlotte apologized. "I promise I will get better grades next time,"
Her timid voice said.

"Isn't that what you always say, Bauldelair!?" She snapped and put both of her hands on her hip.
She always emphasized the word 'Bauldelair', saying that since Charlotte's father married her sister, their life had been ruined.

"If you don't get good grades next time, you know what will happen," she threatened, pointing her index finger at Charlotte.

Charlotte nodded, feeling a knot in her stomach. She had to get good grades next time, she didn't want her aunt to......

she took a deep breath and went back to her room to study chemistry. She wished that Johnathan would've agreed on helping her.

_______

"Johnathan, please. I failed miserably in the last exam." Charlotte chased after him, struggling to keep up with his long strides.

"You are the only one who can help me," she pleaded, her voice cracking as tears spilt from her eyes. Johnathan halted and glanced down at her.

He sighed heavily and said "fine".
"Really?!" She beamed, gazing up at him. "Oh, thank you!" She breathed, wiping her tears away.
Johnathan was about to reply, but...

"Get out of my way, Freak!" A boy shoved Johnathan into Charlotte and walked away. Johnathan sighted and stepped back, giving Charlotte some room.

_____

"So you are going to balance the equ-"
Johnathan tried to explain, but Charlotte cut him off.

"Balance?"
"Yes- and-"
"What is.. 'balance'?" She asked, looking up at him with curiosity while they sat on a wooden bench.
"You don't know how to balance an equation?" He asked in disbelief, and she shook her head.

Johnathan looked at her, confusion writren on his face, and she gazed at him, puzzled. "What?" She asked innocently.

"Well...think of it as a math equation -"
He was interrupted by her searching for a chocolate bar in her bag.

"What are you doing?" He asked, annoyed. "Chocolate," she replied, but she frowned when she didn't find any. "I swear it was..here... somewhere." she turned her bag upside down, spilling everything on the floor.

"Charlotte! Stop! You are such a disaster, " he remarked, and she blinked at him. He sighed. "Just look somewhere else."

"Are you sure you have one?" As he said that, he unzipped the small pocket in her bag and found the bar.

"Oh," Charlotte said, sheepishly.

_______

Charlotte gazed at the paper of the chemistry test. She got a C!! She grinned and searched for Johnathan to share the news with him.
When she couldn't find him anywhere, she asked his teacher. He said that he was in the school's infirmary. She dashed to the infirmary and entered there.

She saw the nurse tending to his wounds. The nurse smiled at Charlotte. "Hello Charlotte. Are you hurt?" She asked, glancing back at Johnathan.

Johnathan eyed Charlotte, and he deduced that she was looking for him, not hurt.

The nurse knew them both very well, Charlotte and Johnathan were beaten up almost twice a week.

"No, thank you Mrs.May" she hopped beside the nurse, looking at Johnathan. "Guess how I did in my last exam?" She asked, hiding the paper behind her back, but he looked at her quietly, waiting for an answer. "C!" She showed the paper to him.

He smirked. "Good for you,"
After the nurse left, Charlotte immediately hugged him without thinking.

"Thank you, Johnathan. You helped me a lot." She smiled, and Johnathan felt a warm feeling in his chest. "You're welcome," he added.