Surface

Chapter 12 - I Did Something Bad

"I'm afraid so. My locker said 'Fake' and Norah's said 'Liar'."

"Mine's read 'Tramp'," I said shamefully remembering the humiliating experience.

Helen rubbed her face frustratedly. "All things her mother said to her that night!"

I stirred my drink. "So it's confirmed. Her mom is abusive." True, I was not a big fan of Hannah at this point but it would be cruel to let the abuse go on right under my nose. Besides, maybe if her home life was worked out, she'd start to change for the better? That was a long shot but worth the try.

"What do we do? I know people always say we should tell someone like an adult but don't you think Hannah would have said something if she wanted to?" Helen inquired.

"Maybe she's scared."

She looked at me like I was crazy. "Scared? Hannah? Have you met her? There has to be more to it . . ."

I rolled my eyes. "Everyone gets scared. It's just some are better at hiding it."

"So we tell?"

"That would be the ethical thing to do."

She sighed and then bit her lip. "We can tell anonymously, right?"

"Of course. We can leave a letter in the principal's office."

Soon we were both scribbling down different versions of the letter. There were so many they covered the surface of the table. It took us a while to get it right, not wanting to give too much away about ourselves or sound insensitive. Nevertheless, we came up with the final draft.

Dear Principal Parks,

it has come to our attention that a student of your's, Hannah, is dealing with both physical and verbal abuse from her mother at home. We urge you to further investigate this.

"Short and simple. It should get through to him." Helen smiled and placed the note in her purse. "I'll take care of getting this to him. Thanks, Arielle. For everything."

She gave me a quick hug and then exited looking less stressed. I locked the door behind her and went back up the stairs, taking them two at a time. I had a whole Saturday to myself and wanted to spend it reviewing what I knew about Victoria's case.

"Wait . . ." I stopped at my door. I left it closed but now it was open a peep, a strip of light shining through and casting a shadow. A shadow from my bedroom. The shadow of someone who wasn't me.

I backed up into the wall behind me as quietly as possible. My grandmother wasn't home and Helen just left meaning someone broke in. My best bet was to make a run for the front door and get help.

It became evident there was indeed someone in my room when the floorboards creaked underneath their steps. My hand flew to my mouth to muffle a gasp. My feet inched their way along the wall and towards the stairs. I had one foot on the step when I tripped. I landed one stair below me on my knees but that wasn't the problem. The problem was the fall caused an explosion of sound, causing the intruder's shadow to pause and then lunge toward me.

I stumbled down the steps, darting to the front door. My hands latched onto the objects around me and threw them behind in an attempt to block the stranger's path. Only, the person wasn't coming after me. The figure slipped out the backdoor.

My fleeing came to a stop. I changed directions and locked the door behind them. I found the biggest knife in the kitchen and brought it up to my room along with the house phone. I dialed 911 and kicked the door open. The person was gone as I had thought. I placed my desk chair against the knob of the door and locked my window. Then, I took a seat ready to press the call button on the phone.