Chapter One--The Fight---Angels Among Us/The Blessing

Chapter 1

The fight

Vanessa Walters was the one girl Mike Fowler ever wanted. She was pretty, smart and talented. The only problem was that he was different. Vanessa would never like a cripple. Not a beautiful girl like her.
A driver didn’t have the sense to not look where he was going when Mike was crossing the street. That had been a year ago. It had ruined his right leg and the damage had been extreme. Even though he had gone through seven surgeries, three to minimize scarring, he had an obvious limp that he felt everyone could see. At night, when he took off the leg brace, all he saw were scars.
One night, as he stared remorsefully at his leg, Vanessa’s gorgeous image drifted into his mind; with her long mahogany hair, green eyes and long legs. No man deserved her. And as Mike thought about her, another face came into his head. It was the face of the head quarter back. All the girls wanted Chad, but he was only interested in one. However, Vanessa wasn’t interested in Chad. Chad constantly tried getting Vanessa’s attention in various ways, including ways that weren’t right. But Vanessa just walked away.
The Snowflake Ball was coming up and Mike really wanted to ask Vanessa out. But, ever since the accident, he was plagued by his leg; as well as hitting his body, the car hit is pride, and he was left with no self-confidence. Lately, he had realized that lately she had been paying him some attention. However, it was impossible for him to approach her. She was always in the midst of a group of friends.

Six weeks before the dance, he was sitting in the cafeteria and reading when someone tapped him on the shoulder. Startled, he looked around and saw Vanessa. He was utterly speechless, but she started the conversation,
“Hi, you’re Mike, right?”
All Mike could do was nod. Vanessa continued,
“Since you are in my math class, I was wondering if you could help me with the parabolas that Mrs. Smith taught. Math isn’t my strong subject.”
It took a while for Mike to comprehend that Vanessa actually wanted his help. His wildest dreams had come true.
Quickly, he moved over and made room for her to sit. However, he moved too quickly and bumped his injured leg against the table leg. He winced and Vanessa looked startled.
“Mike, are you all right?” she asked in a concerned voice. He nodded, but Vanessa didn’t seem very convinced.
“Mike, I have a question to ask you. Did something happen to your leg? You limp really badly and now you just winced.”
While Mike was thinking what to say, Vanessa got the feeling that it was personal.
“Sorry! I didn’t mean to be nosy....”
Mike quickly made up his mind and shook his head,
“Oh, no. Don’t worry, it’s all right. It’s just that, well, last year, I was, um, hit by a car.”

Vanessa’s face had the look of pure shock, which quickly turned to a look of sympathy.
“Oh my gosh! I-I’m so sorry, Mike! I….I....”
Just then, Chad walked up, surrounded by his usual group of friends. When he saw Vanessa talking to Mike, he rolled his eyes,
“Yo, Vanessa! What are you doing talking to this loser? You should come and hang out with us.”
Vanessa didn’t even have to turn around. She knew that it was Chad. And, again, she just ignored it. She went on talking to Mike.
“If you ever need any help, with anything....”
Yet again, however, Chad cut into their conversation,
“Vanessa, hey, are you even listening to me?”
And he nudged her. She turned her head around quickly, swiping Chad in the head with her hair. As she did so, three of Chad's friends approached Mike.
“Chad, what do you want?” Vanessa asked in an exasperated tone of voice.
“Yo, Vanessa, all I want is for you to come and hang out with me and my friends, that’s all.”
“No thank you,” Vanessa replied. Chad leaned over and put his elbow on the table,
“Would you come and hang with us if I asked you to the Snowflake Ball?”

Mike’s heart sank. He knew that, if she said no, she had probably already been asked. And as he had thought, her reply was,
“No.”

Then, Chad asked the most shocking question,
“What if Mr. Loser here would ask you? Would you go with him?”
Mike just closed his eyes. He knew that she would say that she would rather go with Chad than him. Then, Mike heard Vanessa’s answer,
“Chad, you just asked me out and I said no. But, if Mike here would ask me, I would say yes.” Mike’s mind was screaming, ‘Oh, my, gosh. Vanessa so did not just say that.’ But, as he looked up into Vanessa’s green eyes, he realized that she was not kidding. However, Chad didn’t look so happy. He pulled his friends aside and whispered something to them. Then, he turned back and stared Vanessa down. She rose to her feet and stared back at Cad, unblinkingly.
“Well, then,” Chad said in a voice that expressed disgust, “if that’s how it is going to be, then we will just have to cause some trouble then, won’t we?” His face matched his voice.
Chad’s friends grinned evilly and then approached Mike. Max, Chad’s friend from football, loomed above Mike, picked him up by his slender shoulders and slammed him onto the hard flooring. Dazed, Mike opened his eyes and saw Max standing over him. That was when Mike got really scared. There was a stabbing pain going up his right leg and he knew that, if Max did that one more time, the pain would be unbearable. Then, suddenly he realized that Vanessa had stepped in front of Max, a pleading look in her eyes,
“Please, Max...no! He has gone through enough already!”
But Max didn’t seem to hear her. To him, all she was only a nuisance; someone getting in the way while he was taking care of business. He shoved her aside and she stumbled into Chad’s arms. He grabbed her and held her close. Mike struggled to his feet, ignoring the pain in his leg. All his mind was focused on was that Vanessa would not get hurt. However, as soon as he got up, Max picked him back up and slammed him down again. Now he knew that he would not be able to get back up. He saw Vanessa’s eyes and they were scared. Whether for herself or for Mike, he did not know. Before he had time to think, however, a fist landed hard on Mike’s jaw. He tasted blood and, again, struggled to get back up. He lifted his head and felt the fist again. About the seventh time the fist hit him, Mike seemed to be spiraling into darkness and the last thing that he remembered was the pleading cry of Vanessa.
Vanessa knew that she would never forget that sight, a friend, lying there, helpless, while time and time again, Chad and Max beat him mercilessly. What Max did next would officially end the fight. The possession of a knife in school was prohibited, and, most of the time, results in major punishment. However, the use of a knife is a whole other thing. Technically, both Max and Chad would’ve been expelled. In this case, however, only Max was.
After the first stab to Mike’s wrist, Vanessa couldn’t take anymore and she couldn’t watch. The first had been bad enough. It seemed as if once Max got started, he wasn’t able to stop himself. Time and time again, the knife would sink deep into the wrist, severing tendons and slicing through skin and muscle.