Eleanor & Grey(72)

“Congratulations, you’re old as dirt. And you would be a Hufflepuff,” she said with a slight tone to her voice.

Before I could reply, another person bumped into her, and when he turned to look back he said, “Sorry, Hunch,” then hurried off.

“What did he just say to you?”

“Nothing,” she huffed, tugging on the sleeves of her black hoodie. “It’s nothing.”

“It sounds like it’s something.”

She sighed and looked up to me, shrugging her shoulders. “Some people call me Hunch. You know, like The Hunchback of Notre Dame, because of my posture.”

“Okay, that’s where the line is being drawn. I’m going straight to the principal’s office to report this.”

“Don’t waste your breath. What are they gonna do? Kick out half of the student body because they’re making fun of the freak show?”

My heart shattered as she said those words, because she spoke them as if they were so absolutely true. “Karla, you are not a freak show.” She didn’t reply. “Do you hear these things from these people every day?”

She nodded slowly.

I couldn’t even imagine.

“Come on,” I said, grabbing her arm.

She cocked an eyebrow. “What?”

“We’re leaving.”

“What? I can’t. I have science.”

“Not today. Today we’re skipping class.”

“But…my dad…”

“I know, but I’ll deal with your father later. For now, you and I are leaving this building and having a mental health day.”

“What’s that?”

“A day where you say screw high school and screw the closeminded muggles. Then you go home and watch a marathon of Harry Potter and eat food that’s super bad for you until you want to vomit.”

A small smile appeared on Karla’s lips, and I swore it was the first time I’d ever seen her grin. She looked absolutely stunning when she smiled.

“More of that, Karla,” I said without thought.

“More of what?”

I snickered. “Nothing. Never mind.” I combed her hair out of her face, and nodded once. “So? What do you say?”

“Is this some kind of trap? Like some reverse psychology kind of thing?”

“Nope. Just a break from reality. What do you say? Are you in?”

She nodded slowly at first, but then it quickened as the grin stayed plastered to her face. “Yeah, I’m in.”

We turned around and headed straight for the exit, not looking back once. The moment we hit the car, it was as if I could see Karla’s demeanor completely shift as her body relaxed. School was stressful for the average teenaged student, but I couldn’t even begin to imagine what a struggle it had to be for someone like Karla. Not only was she dealing with the bullying from her peers, she was also still grieving the loss of her mother.

I knew life wasn’t fair, but it seemed extra cruel to Karla.

We stopped by the store to pick up some goodies for our movie marathon, and then we headed to the house to get started. We laid out some blankets and pillows in the living room and made it into the comfiest space known to mankind. Then we kicked up our feet and started the first Harry Potter movie.

For the first time in a long time, I saw Karla light up.

I knew Greyson would likely be mad at me for pulling her from school, but after everything she had to deal with, she deserved a break.

As we watched the movies, I witnessed a version of Karla emerge that I hadn’t known existed. She sat wide-eyed with her focus on the television screen. I remembered that wonderment when I’d seen the movies for the first time, that excitement, the happiness.

Her lips moved with the dialogue, making it very clear that she’d seen the films dozens of time. She pretty much had it all memorized to a T.

The only times we paused the movies were for bathroom breaks.

It turned out I needed a mental health day, too. A day of magic and adventures, a day of being far-far away from muggles.

Around three, it was time for me to go get Lorelai from school, which was sad, because Karla and I were absorbed in the movies.

Karla started to stand up, and I shook my head. “You don’t have to come. It will be a quick trip.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Dad doesn’t like me being left home alone. He doesn’t trust me.”

“Do you think you’ll be okay?” I asked.

“Of course, I’m not an idiot.”

“Well, okay then. If anything goes drastically wrong, call me. Let me put my name in your phone.”

She handed her phone over. “Wow. You must really want to get fired today.”

I smiled and tossed her cell phone back to her. “I’ll be back in a few.”

I headed off to Lorelai’s school, and when I pulled up to the pickup line, I saw the normally energetic little girl walking with her head down. I quickly put the car in park and headed over to Lorelai.

“Hey, buddy, what’s going on?” I asked, my gut filling with concern.

“Nothing. Just stupid Caroline,” she muttered, looking at a girl to her left who was talking to other kids their age.

“What happened with Caroline?”

Lorelai sniffled as she dragged her backpack against the sidewalk. “She just invited everyone to her super awesome birthday party except for me.”