Snapped Strings

Snapped Strings

 -Chapter One-

-September 3rd, 2008. Bell Ville High School-

Elise was late. She ran quickly from the school parking lot into the school. She buzzed the office buzzer on the outside of the door and waited for the secretary to answer. The voice of the secretary crackled through the speaker.

Hello?” The speaker crackled and was barely audible.

“Uh- I’m a student here, I was running late an-” Elise was cut off by the buzzer making a noise and the door unlocking.

She went into the building and navigated toward the office. She entered the office and went to the secretary to get a late pass.

“Why are you late?” The secretary said coldly as she glared up from the magazine she was reading.

“I-I was just late because I’m still adjusting to the new schedule- and I slept in late, I just came from the middle school last year so I’m still not used to getting up earlier and my sleep schedule is all screwed up and I have a lot to take care of and-” She got cut off by the secretary.

“Okay- jeez I get it.” She wrote the pass and handed it to her. “Now get to your damn class.”

Elise just nodded and turned out of the office. She rushed to her locker, looking at her schedule at the same time, not paying attention to where she was going. Her bangs started to move even more in front of her eyes. She was just running along, and she ran into a guy she hadn’t seen before yet.

“Shit-” She said quietly when she bumped into him. “Sorry-” she said quickly.

“Ugh watch where you're going- damn-” He rolled eyes and walked the opposite direction of her. She sighed.

She kept walking until she got to her band class. She quickly walked into the room and grabbed her guitar from her band locker.

“Sorry Mr. Days-” she said as she handed the pass to her band teacher Mr. Days.

“It's all good.” He smiled and threw the pass on his desk.

Elise got her guitar out of the case and sat alone as she was the only other guitarist in the band other than one other person. The boy she ran into came into the room, some sort of guitar case was slung on his shoulder.

“Great, he plays guitar too- She thought to herself.

He came into the room. He reluctantly sat next to her, and he took a bass guitar out of the case. He glared at her. Elise was just playing some chords and riffs. Then...one of her strings snapped.

“Ugh what the hell-” She set her guitar down and groaned. She grabbed her extra strings so she could restring it.

“Oh dear. Oliver, why don’t you help Laney string her guitar.” Mr. Days requested in a demanding tone.

-Chapter Two-

   Oliver groaned. “You’re lucky I don’t have a choice-” He grumbled as he glared at Elise.

They go into a room in the back and start restringing the guitar.

“Don’t think we’re friends now just because I’m helping you either-” He snapped, rolling his eyes.

“Who would want to anyway-” She muttered to herself rolling her eyes as she took the current strings off the guitar.

Oliver heard her but ignored her. Oliver snatched the guitar out of her hands and started restringing it.

“Thanks- I could do it myself though...” She said, staring at the floor intently, trying not to make eye contact with him.

“Mhmm.” He mumbled. He finished restringing her guitar and he threw it into her lap carelessly.

“Damn-just throw my guitar around-” She muttered under her breath. She stands up and walks back into the band room. But, by the time she was back in the room, band was over. She sighed, put her guitar away and took her red and black, customized iPod out. She turned on her favorite My Chemical Romance album, Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, and exited the band room, into the hallway.

Oliver was quite a ways behind her. She walked with her backpack slung over her shoulder, to math class. Oliver kept staring at her when he walked behind her. He got a random flare of jealousy in him...she was perfect to him...

He started quickening his pace until he was quite close behind her, so close he could touch her. He got directly behind her and kicked the back of her knee and pushed her onto the floor.

Elise falls forward onto her chest. She ends up hitting her forehead in the process. She lay on the floor with her stuff scattered around her. She groaned as she held her throbbing head, the music of MCR still flooded her head.

A guilty look fell over Oliver’s face...he stood there...clueless about what to do. Nobody cared to help her up off the floor, people just went around them, ignoring them. He studied her intently...her head was bleeding...he knelt beside her, a wave of empathy and guilt washing over him.

“Oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god- uh-” He stuttered. He grabbed his zip-up jacket and rested her head on it. He used his t-shirt, that had a Pierce the Veil print on it to wipe the blood off her forehead.

Elise was clearly concussed, so she wasn’t fully with it, and she was a bit hazy and unaware.

  -Chapter 3-

    Oliver panics. “Is anyone gonna help dammit!?” Elise groans as the pain starts to settle in. Olive takes the headphones out of her ears. “A-are you okay-?!”

     Elise looks up at him. She tries to speak but can’t think straight. The last bell to get to class rings and Elise and Oliver are still sat on the floor in the hallway. Then, Elise’s friend Alex, walks toward them.

     “Ohmygod! What happened to Elise!?” She immediately goes to her knees beside Elise. Alex and Elise were best friends. They hung out all the time and yapped about music and their unhealthy obsession with MCR. She touches the bleeding wound on Elise’s head. “I-im gonna go get the nurse. Don’t go anywhere!”

    Oliver nods. “Elise? Elise can you her me? Can you say something?” He brushes her hair out of her face.

     Elise nods. She gives him a confused look. She was confused about why he was being so nice…holding her head, brushing her hair from her face…he just hated her like 20 minutes ago…

    Alex comes back with Miss Parkinsons, the nurse everyone loved. She was a soft spoken kind young woman. She was in her early 30s and the students as Bell Ville high were one of her top priorities. Miss Parkinsons kneels down beside Elise. “Sweetie I’m gonna pick you up and take you to the nurses office okay?”

    Elise nods and Miss Parkinsons picks her up very gently. Elise was barely half there. She only felt the vibrations of Miss Parkinsons steps on the stairs as she carried Elise down. Soon enough, she was unconscious.