Chapter Seven--The Pursuasion pays off--Angels Among Us/The Blessing

Chapter 7

The persuasion pays off

When Chad left the room about a half an hour later, he left Vanessa deep in thought. She had spent some time, more like tons of time, thinking about her and Mike’s relationship, but never the way that Chad had put it, and know, she was thinking through the logic in Chad’s reaction to her and Mike. He had made a lot of sense. More sense than Vanessa would have thought would come from the head of someone jock like Chad. It was true; Mike didn’t act like someone he wasn’t, just to attract the girls. It was like he was trying to say, ’I don’t care what you see in me. What you see is what you get.’ And then, she realized that Chad had been right; that was the reason that she was ‘attracted’ to Mike. He was himself. Chad had always tried to impress her. And it wasn’t just Chad; it was all the guys who had ever liked her. But Mike just was there. Himself, no one else.

For the next week and a half worth of mornings, Vanessa would ask the doctors the same question and they would always have the same answer. We can’t tell you anything. And then, when Chad would come and visit about every other day, he would ask the same and question and the doctor would give him the same answer everyday. We can’t tell you anything. Then, Chad would come into Vanessa’s room can talk about things, mostly life
Then, three weeks after the fight, Vanessa was told she could go home. Her father wanted her home as soon as possible. At first, she refused.
“No, I won’t leave until I am allowed to see Mike.”
“Come on, Vanessa,” her father almost pleaded, “Let’s be reasonable-”
“Reasonable? Reasonable?? I have been in this confounded hospital for three weeks! It’s not that I don’t want to go. I have wanted to leave this place since I got here! But I have to see Mike! I have waited all this time and all I have heard is ‘We can’t tell you anything’. Can’t I just hear if he is alright before I have to go back to school and face sympathetic teachers and friends?”
“Don’t you want to be among your friends again?” Her Dad asked.
“Of course I do! But it won’t be the same without Mike, since he was my…my-.”
“Your rock? The rock that you cling onto when something was wrong or you were down?”
Vanessa spun around, looking for the person who had interrupted her. There, standing in the doorway, was Chad. Once Vanessa saw who it was, she nodded.
“Yeah. That’s what he is.”
Chad gave her a smile and Vanessa stood just a little bit taller.
Chad walked up to Vanessa’s doctor,
“Are you sure you can’t just let her see him before she leaves?”
At first, the doctor looked doubtful. But someone stared him down until he cracked. However, it wasn’t Chad. It was Vanessa.
“Ok, fine. Let me just go and see first.”
The doctor left and, as soon as he was out of earshot, Vanessa turned towards Chad,
“Thanks. I didn’t know what to say and you just put the perfect words into the air to convince the doc to let me see him.”
“But you aren’t the only one who wants to see him and to check if he is alright.”
At first, Vanessa was confused and then she realized. Chad was here for the same reason she was. He cared. She would have never been able to guess at the beginning of the school year that Chad would ever care about anyone except himself. It occurred to her at just that moment that she had seen a major reformation take place. She and Mike had taught Chad the lesson that not everyone is known for their greatness, or, in Chad’s case, meanness. ‘Oh, I can’t wait to tell Mike!’ Vanessa thought. And, as she said that, she remembered Mike. Looking up, she saw the doctor.
“Are you ready to go and see him?” The doctor asked.
Vanessa nodded,
“Yeah, but can Chad come too?”
The doctor sighed and nodded,
“Sure. Come on.”
Vanessa turned towards her dad and said,
“I’ll call you or mom when I am done here.”
Her dad, though doubtful, knew that there was nothing that he could do, and nodded.
“See you later, dear.”

The doctor led Vanessa and Chad down the hallway and, as they were walking, Vanessa got more and more scared. She had wanted to see Mike so badly, but now that she was actually going to go and see him, the thoughts she had been having the first day in the hospital came back to her. The ones that she had been thinking about when she had seen the damage that Chad and Max’s friends had done to her. She had looked worse than Mike had after the beating at the beginning of the school year. And she was worried how much worse the injuries would be to Mike this time.
She was still daydreaming about Mike and the mental conversations that she had been having with herself when Chad tapped her on the shoulder. She jumped and turned towards him,
“Yeah?”
“We are here. I just have one question for you.”
“Yes?”
“Do you want me to come in with you or would you like to go in by yourself?”
“I want you to come in with me.”
Chad nodded reassuringly and looked over at the doctor.
“We’re ready.”

Chapter Six--A cafeteria fight...again--Angels Among Us/The Blessing

Sorry this one took so long, but my computer was being weird.

Chapter 6

A cafeteria fight…again

Vanessa spent the rest of the weekend thinking about what had happened. And, although she tried not to, she couldn’t help but think about Chad and how his reaction had been when she had gone to the dance with Mike. In a way, she was worried. She was worried that Chad was planning a nasty surprise for Mike that Monday. ‘But,’ she thought, ‘he knows now that I don’t care about being popular and I have really learned a lot from this experience. What’s the worst that could happen?’
However, the next day, Vanessa would look back at that question and wonder if she cursed herself. The day began stranger then normal. At first, there was an awkwardness, just for a few minutes, between Mike and Vanessa. But, by lunch, that awkward silence was gone and had been replaced by talking about what had happened and how much they had enjoyed each other’s company.

“See, Mike,” began Vanessa, “even though we didn’t dance, it was still pretty neat.”
“Yeah.” Mike said, “And don’t worry, you didn’t-.”
But Mike was cut short by Vanessa’s whisper of, “Oh, God.” Looking into her eyes, they were full of fear. Turning around, he saw them. Chad. Other large football players. Vanessa couldn’t help thinking, ‘I was right. They were planning something for us today.’
The fight that Chad began was the beginning of something horrendous. And, because Chad had brought along six of his jock buddies, Mike truly was scared. Especially since he knew the effects of the beatings personally. But, there were a lot more people this time. Not just to do Chad’s bidding, but to witness the humiliation of him.
Vanessa rose and faced Chad squarely,
“Yes, can we help you?”
Chad grabbed her by the shoulders roughly and threw her down. She hit the ground and Mike saw her wince. That was the last straw for him. No one. No one hurt Vanessa. He stood up, expecting to go and push Chad down. But Chad knew all the tricks; he sent two of the guys to guard Vanessa. Then, him, and the other four jocks advanced on Mike and started beating the hell out of him. He didn’t even have a chance to react to the previous punch before there were another six fists landed on him. But, somehow, he managed to see one thing. Vanessa was fighting with the two guys, her fists flying. She was shaking her head in fury, her long brown hair swatting the guy’s faces. But these guy’s didn’t care whether she was a girl or a boy, they treated her just same as they were treating Mike. And before Mike lost conscience, he saw them hitting her. And not lightly either. Then, everything went black.

Meanwhile, Vanessa was still fighting the two guys. But, when she saw Mike on the ground, not fighting back, something died inside of her. It was as if, suddenly, the fire that had kept her fighting strong had been extinguished. She feverishly tried to continue, but she could feel herself slowly surrendering herself to the jocks’ flying fist and angry words. Then, the world seemed to be disappearing before her and she felt herself falling.

Vanessa was the first one to open her eyes. At first, the lights in the hospital blinded her. She was confused, but then, she remembered Mike. Immediately, the sight of him not fighting and lying still came back into her head and she sat upright, ignoring the pain she felt. The doctor and her Dad tried to push her back down, but she wouldn’t go.
“Mike!” She almost screamed.
Then, she looked at the doctor, “Where’s Mike??” She asked, franticly, “Is he all right??”
Now feeling weak, she allowed the doctor to ease her back into bed. Tears were welling up in her eyes. The doctor looked at her father uneasily. Something in their eyes told Vanessa that Mike wasn’t okay. She hadn’t even realized the pain at first. And, even though it was bad, she could only focus on Mike. Then, she remembered all the thoughts she had had just two nights ago at the Snowflake Ball. That it had been all her fault that Mike had felt the wrath of Chad. Now, that feeling was even stronger deep in Vanessa conscience.
“He’s not okay, is he?”
“Honey, we don’t know yet.”
Vanessa knew that those words meant he probably wasn’t. Then, another question popped into her head and she was surprised that she hadn’t thought of it earlier.
“Dad, why am I here? Did the guys really hurt me that bad?” The doctor decided to answer this himself.
“Well, Vanessa, the results of those guys beating you are the same of an abused wife being abused by her husband; perhaps even worse. We still need to do some tests. But the damage is mostly bruises; lots of them.”
“Can I have a mirror?” she asked.
“Umm, sure.” The doctor looked slightly surprised. He signaled to the nurse. She left and was soon back with a hand mirror. Vanessa took it and looked at her reflection. It wasn’t as bad as she had imagined. But she looked worse then Mike had after the cafeteria incident. However, that opened her eyes to something. If she looked worse than Mike had, what had happened to Mike?
“Honey?” Her Dad began, “Is there anything I could get you?” Vanessa thought hard and then, something dawned on her.
“Yeah. There are these two guys at school, Chad and Max. Can you go and get them and then bring them here? I want to talk them.”
“Sure, I bring them tomorrow after school.”
“Ok, thanks Dad.” Then, Vanessa closed her eyes and tried to sleep.

The next day, Vanessa couldn’t think of anything else but the people who would be visiting her later on that day. She was trying to figure out just how to tell them how much damage they had done. She knew it would be hard, since she still didn’t know what Mike’s condition was. But, when two o’ clock rolled around, Vanessa had a pretty good idea of what point she wanted to get across when the two jock’s entered the room
“Vanessa? Are you awake?” Her Dad asked though the door.
“Yeah, are they here?”
“Yeah, they’re coming now Vanessa sat up and took a deep breath. ‘ Here it goes.’ she thought. Then, she heard Chad’s voice,
“Mr. Walters, why are we here?”
Mr. Walters replied coldly, “You’ll see.” Then, he opened the door a crack, “Ready?

Vanessa nodded and then her Dad opened the door all the way and in trooped Chad and Max. The reaction was indescribable. Chad and Max just started at her. Vanessa touched her face and said,
“So, you like the bruises that your friends caused?” Chad just stood there, dumbfounded. He hadn’t expected the results to be so shocking.
“Now, Chad, Max,”Vanessa began, “who were those guys who jumped on me?”
“Ummm….”They shuffled their feet and looked at the ground.
“Yeah, I thought so.” Vanessa said.
“What about Mike?” Chad asked.
“What about Mike?”
“How is he?”
Vanessa paused, “I-I don’t know. The doctors won’t tell me.” Vanessa avoided eye contact. Then, Chad said something that Vanessa least expected.
“Do you want me to go and see if I can find anything out?” Vanessa looked into Chad’s eyes.
Suddenly, she wasn’t afraid if Chad saw the tears that now were hot behind her eyelids. She never expected Chad to say something like that, to be thinking about someone else than himself. She nodded slightly.
“Yeah, but how are you planning to-.”
“I’m just going to tell them that I am a friend of Mike and I would like some information.”
“But that’s not going to work. Mike’s Dad can’t even get any information out of them. They won’t tell him anything.”
“But it’s worth a try, isn’t it?”
Vanessa nodded, “Yeah, I guess.”
Max whispered something to Chad, Chad nodded and then Max left. But Vanessa didn’t care. Then, Chad turned toward the door.
“Wait, Chad.” Vanessa blurted out and Chad paused near the doorway.
“Yes?”
“Thanks.”

Chad walked out of the room where Vanessa was and was hit almost immediately with an enormous pang of guilt. He hadn’t meant for the guys to do that to her. And it was almost as if he was changing from the guy who had beaten up Mike in the cafeteria only two months ago. He began thinking about the taunting Mike went though after he and Max had done they’re work at school. Now what would the taunting be like? Chad was stopped by one of doctors, who, after Chad had asked about Mike, told him that they didn’t know yet, but would let him know as soon as possible.
Chad knew that it would disappoint Vanessa when she saw that he couldn’t get any information. ‘But she was right,’ Chad told himself. ‘She even said that I wouldn’t be able to get any information out of the docs here.’ He knocked on her door and then went in.
“You didn’t get anything out of them, did you?” She asked and Chad shook his head.
“No, but the doctor said that he would let us know when they had stuff to tell us.” Vanessa just rolled her eyes,
“Yeah, that’s what he told me this morning when I asked. I think the only way to get news out of these doctors is to poke and pry at them until they give in. And that’s what I intend to do.”
Chad was silent for a minute and Vanessa could tell that something troubling was on his mind.
“Chad, is something bothering you?” Chad didn’t say anything, but just nodded. Something was bothering him. After thinking for a bit, it hit him. If he wanted this girl so much, why had he let his friends hurt her? The thought hit him like a punch in the gut. ‘How could I have been so stupid??’ He raged at himself. But, as if his mind wasn’t full enough of confusing thoughts now, something else hit him, harder than the previous thing. The reason Vanessa liked Mike was because he wasn’t making it so obvious that he liked her. And he was also acting like himself around her, instead of making himself seem better then he really was. That was what Vanessa liked about him, was the conclusion Chad derived from the mental argument he was having in his head.
“Chad, want to tell me what is bothering you?” At first, is reaction was no, but he didn’t tell her that. He was just silent. Then, he looked deep into her eyes and nodded.
“I guess I have just realized the reason you like hanging around with Mike.”
“Really? And what is your conclusion?”
Chad took a deep breath,
“Well, he- he doesn’t act like someone he isn’t, just to impress you. And I guess the reason I didn’t like him before is because he was like that. Never mind.” Chad shook his head and looked at the floor. “It sounds stupid and it makes no sense anyway.”
Vanessa sat up a little straighter and put a hand on Chad’s shoulder,
“No, you make perfectly good sense and I couldn’t agree with you more.” Chad looked surprised. He had expected Vanessa to be angry or at least irritable with him. But she was acting exactly the opposite. Then, he was suddenly filled with this feeling. He wasn’t quite sure what it was; and he wouldn’t really find out until many weeks later, while sitting in Mike’s hospital room.

Chapter Five--The Discussion--Angels Among Us/The Blessing

Chapter 5

The discussion

Even though they didn’t dance, it didn’t take away from their experience at all. Vanessa didn’t care; just being there with Mike was good enough. They just sat there, talking. Mike told Vanessa about asking her and how nervous he had been. And Vanessa talked about how bad she had felt not telling Mike the truth about her getting the dress. But then, the conversation hit a more personal note.
“Vanessa, can I tell you something?”
“Sure.”
“At the beginning of the year, you were all I could think about. I even had a hard time concentrating on my schoolwork, because everything I read and saw and heard reminded me of you. Songs, stories, everything.”
It took Vanessa a while to figure out a response that wouldn’t sound stupid or corny, yet would still help her get her point across.
“Why didn’t you come and talk to me earlier in the year?’ She asked.
“Because, mainly of Chad. Even though he always seemed to be near you, I thought and still do, that no guy deserves you. And that’s where I come in. I knew that I couldn’t compare myself to Chad, and if you hung around him, you must think that I am scum.”
Vanessa gasped,
“I guess I can see where you got that from, I mean, Chad can be pretty intimidating sometimes, but when I think of it, I kind of wish that we would have met earlier. If we would have, I wouldn’t have gone though the first few months of high school thinking that I would never meet someone like…like you.”

Mike was in shock. He never expected that to be Vanessa’s reply to what he had said. He just sat there, thinking. Vanessa excused herself and went to the bathroom. She waited until the bathroom was empty, and then went in. The discussion that she and Mike had just had had been way too deep for her and, as she thought about what Mike had gone through with Chad and Max, she got more and more upset, blaming herself for what Mike had gone through. She went into a bathroom stall and began to cry. She didn’t care that her makeup was running down her face, but she was puzzled as to why she was crying. It was the one night that she had been waiting for almost all her life, to go to a dance with someone who she actually liked, so why was she so upset? She was so confused with herself. When someone would come in to the bathroom, she would act as if nothing was wrong, but as soon as they would leave, she would go back to crying again. The same thought was going through her head, ‘If it wasn’t for me, Mike would not have had to suffer so much at Chad’s hand.’
Meanwhile, Mike was waiting outside for Vanessa, but after fifteen minutes and Vanessa hadn’t come back yet, he began to worry. Finally, he went over by the bathrooms and waited. Then, he heard it. As he listened carefully, he heard someone crying, softly. He didn’t know if Vanessa was in the bathroom all alone, but he had heard her cry before and knew that that was her cry. Just then, a girl passed by and opened the door. Mike tapped her on the shoulder.
“Yes?” She asked.
“Vanessa Walters is in there. Can you tell her to come out, please?”
“Uh, sure.”

The girl replied, confused. She walked in and, about one minute later, the door opened. There stood Vanessa, and Mike couldn’t believe it. He didn’t think she was suddenly ugly, just shocked at the way she looked. He could tell that she had been crying. Vanessa hid her face in her hands. Mike took her hand and led her outside to a bench. They just sat there, Mike waiting for a response and trying to find something to say all at the same time. Then, Vanessa spoke,
“M-mike, I-I’m sorry. I just, just lost con-control.” Mike looked at her and tears began to well up in his eyes. He didn’t know why, but just seeing Vanessa looking that way made him upset also.
“B-but Vanessa,” Mike began, “Why…?”
But Vanessa broke in,
“The conversation that we just had, it hit hard and, it brought up all these old thoughts that I had.”
“Of what?”
Vanessa took a deep breath,
“That, it’s my fault you ever got into the fight with Chad and that-.”
“What?? You’re blaming yourself for what happened to me? Why?”
“Because if I had just said yes to Chad’s question about the dance, you would’ve never had to go through all you did.”
Mike was stunned. Here Vanessa was, blaming herself for all that had happened.
“No. No, Vanessa, it just doesn’t go like that. If none of this would have happened, we wouldn’t be here now and we wouldn’t be the friends we are now.”
“So,” Vanessa said, thoughtfully, “I guess it all depends on the way you look at it.”
“Yes,” Mike smiled, “You keep on looking at the side in which you think it is all your fault. But what you should be looking at is what good has come from it.”
Vanessa looked up and smiled. Mike wiped the tears from Vanessa’s face, along with much of her make-up. Then, he looked at his watch.
“Say, Vanessa, I can call my Mom and have her come and pick us up now. If we leave, we will only be missing the last fifteen minutes.”
“Sure. But won’t it take your Mom, like, forty-five minutes to get here?”
“Yeah, but we can wait. Want me to call her?”
“Yeah, go ahead.”

Mike got up and called his Mom. Soon, he was back at the bench where Vanessa sat.
“Listen, Mike, I’m sorry. About earlier. I probably ruined-.”Mike put his finger up to her lips,
“No, you didn’t ruin this night for me.” Vanessa gave him a small smile. Then, Mike reached over and gave her a hug. Vanessa hugged back, feeling secure in his arms.

Chapter Four--The Dance--Angels Among Us/The Blessing

Chapter 4

The Dance

The following Friday was the day before the dance, taking place of December 8th; and Vanessa was very excited. Most girls at school were going to have their makeup done before the dance. However, Vanessa was doing her own makeup. The only thing that she was doing drastically different was her hair. After school, she told Mike that her Dad was picking her up and waved bye. However, that was a lie. She was taking the bus to the hairdresser. When there, she showed the picture from her magazine to the lady. Then, she watched her hair fall.
Her hair had originally been halfway down her back. Now, it was shorter than shoulder length. An hour before Mike was coming to pick her up, she went and took a shower. As she stood in the shower, she thought of a question that Mike had asked her early that week. He had asked what the color of her dress was. She had said Magenta and silver. She was still puzzling over the question. After washing her hair and spraying herself with shower spray, she took out her blow dryer and hair straightener. She stood in her bathroom and straightened her hair. As she looked at herself, she couldn’t believe that it was herself looking back in the mirror. She did her makeup and put her dress on. Sitting down, she took a deep breath. Then, she put on her shoes; strappy silver heels. She was in the bathroom, putting on her lipstick, when the doorbell rang.
“Can you get it?’ She yelled to her Dad.
“Yes!”
Then, it hit her; she was actually going to the dance with Mike. She began to shake and couldn’t put her lipstick on straight. Then, she yelled,
“Ready?”
“Yes!” Her Dad shouted back.
She opened the door and stepped out. Walking down the hallway, she calmed her nerves. Then, she did it. She stepped out of the hallway and into the light where Mike and his parents were waiting.
“Hi.” She said, shyly.
Mike’s eyeballs popped out of his head about two inches. Vanessa was stunning enough in the dress. But he had had no idea that she was going to cut her hair! He was speechless and his mouth was hanging open. She got her purse and walked up to Mike and his parents.
“Dear, you look beautiful!” Mrs. Fowler exclaimed.
“You do!” His Dad said and Vanessa had a secret suspicion that he was shocked just as much as Mike was.
“Y-You look great.” was Mike’s stuttering reply to Vanessa’s beauty
“Thanks.” whispered Vanessa. Then, Vanessa found out why Mike had asked her the color of her dress. He held out a small box and inside was the most beautiful arrangement of flowers on a wristband. A corsage. Vanessa gasped at the beauty of it. She was still shaking and when she saw the flowers, her legs almost gave out on her again. Carefully, Mike slipped it onto her wrist. It matched her dress perfectly. Then, he leaned in and whispered, “Your hair looks really cute!” Vanessa just smiled and looked at the corsage for a long moment. Then, she looked back up into Mike’s eyes and her eyes widened.
“Thanks.”

After all the pictures were done being taken by the parents, Mike helped Vanessa into the car and they set off, Mrs. Fowler driving, of course. For a while, there was an awkward silence between them both. Vanessa couldn’t keep her eyes off the corsage. She was looking at it again and Mike was watching.
“I guess you like the corsage?” Vanessa jumped and looked up. Unable to find the words, she just nodded. Mike smiled,
“Good, I thought that the color was off, but I guess I was wrong.”
“No,” Vanessa said, “The color matches exactly.”
For a while, Mike again watched Vanessa looking at her corsage. Then, he tried again to make a conversation,
“I take it that you have never had a corsage before.” Vanessa shook her head.
“Ok then,” Mike said, “That’s good to know because I have never given one out to anyone before.”
Vanessa giggled and it made Mike feel all warm inside. Her laugh was the cutest little laugh in the world.
When they got to the auditorium, Mike got out and went around to the other side of the car and opened Vanessa’s door. She took his hand and got out of the car. Mike was really nervous. But Vanessa couldn’t seem to realize why. Then, she saw him. Chad was there; and he had no date. Mrs. Fowler drove away, leaving Mike and Vanessa no place to hide from Chad’s evil stare. Then, he found them. As Chad walked over, Vanessa prayed silently to herself that nothing would happen. Not on this night, the night that she had been dreaming of, but never thought would happen. At first, Chad didn’t say anything. He just looked at Vanessa and Mike with a look of pure disgust on his face. Then, he turned to Vanessa,
“Why are you here with him? The cripple?”
“Because he asked me, Chad. And I said yes, just like I told you I would.”
“I can’t believe you,” Chad snarled, “going with him. You were so popular. This has probably lowered your school status by half.”
“And I am supposed to care about school status, how?” Vanessa asked.
Mike was about to talk, but then he realized something. He didn’t have anything to say. He figured it was better to keep his mouth shut then get in another fight with Chad and ruin Vanessa’s night.
“You do want to be popular, don’t you?” Chad asked.
Vanessa looked into Chad’s eyes, “I don’t care if I am popular or not. I made a really good friend who has taught me a lot. That is worth so much more than being popular.”
“And what,” Chad began, “has this guy taught you?”
“He has taught me that anything is possible. From standing up to you and your big mouth to going through the inevitable.” Chad walked away in disgust, obviously unable to take anymore of this encouraging and, in his eyes, touchy-feeling stuff. Vanessa turned to Mike, who was standing there.
“Let’s go in, okay?”
Mike nodded and, arm-in-arm, they went in.

They were sitting at their table after dinner when Mike turned toward Vanessa and asked a question.
“Vanessa? Is what you said out there true?”
“Is what true?”
“That being friends with me is-.”
“Better than being popular?” Vanessa finished; she seemed to do that quite a bit. Mike nodded. However, he was afraid of what she was going to say. Then he was surprised by the nod of Vanessa’s head.
“Yes,” she said softly, “I was popular before, but then I met you and realized that not everyone in the world gossiped and back-stabbed each other. I guess what I mean is that I never thought there was anyone out there who would be like, like me I guess. I was popular, sure, but I acted much different when I was with my friends then when I was I at home. The way I acted at home is the way I am. And you brought that side out in me Mike. If you understand what I am saying.”
Vanessa, in her head, was thinking, ‘He probably doesn’t get what I am trying to say. I didn’t make any sense at all.’ Then, to her horror, she realized that she had said that thought out loud. Not that loud, but still, Mike had heard. However Mike’s eyes didn’t show any sign of anger, but of perfect understanding. He just nodded and Vanessa smiled and sighed a breath of relief.

Chapter Three--A rough first day back---Angels Among Us/The blessing

Chapter 3

A rough first day back

The next day, Mrs. Fowler gave Mike and Vanessa a ride to school; and it was awkwardly quiet, both of them thinking about yesterday. Mike couldn’t believe that Vanessa hadn’t told him about her Mom earlier. Vanessa was embarrassed that Mike had seen her cry.
When they got to school, Vanessa helped Mike out and then left for her class, not saying anything. Mike was worried about her. He, however, had more to think about when he saw that people were just ignoring him. It was as if nothing had happened; now or before. Of course, they didn’t know about the thing before, but they certainly knew about what had happened to Max’s most recent victim. Nothing that Max had ever done to people had ever landed someone in the hospital. Much less for a week. Nor had anyone’s long-term physical condition for the rest of their life been affected. At lunch, after being ignored and not spoken to for two periods, Mike wasn’t expecting anything different but as he was approaching his favorite spot, he saw someone already sitting there. It was Vanessa. She was silently eating, but when she saw Mike she smiled. Then, she saw the expression on his face,
“Rough first day back?”
“Rough?? More like terrible. Is it the wheelchair that drives people away? Because people have been avoiding me like I am horribly disfigured or something.”
“Well,” Vanessa pondered, “Max’s damage has never been this bad before. To tell you the truth, not one of Max’s victims have even had to go to the doctor. People are just now realizing that being beat up can cause serious injuries.”
Mike sighed,
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
Vanessa put a hand his shoulder,
“Mike, I know that I am right.”
Just then, Vanessa looked at her watch,
“Mike, I have to go. My science teacher has to update me on a project that the class started.”
“That reminds me, “Mike said, “You didn’t have to stay home from school with me last week.”
“But I wanted to. Listen, I really have to go. I’ll see you later; and hang in there, okay?” Vanessa put a hand on his shoulder again and smiled. Mike smiled back and a warm feeling of acceptance spreading throughout his body. Vanessa patted him on the back and picked up her bag. Then, she left the cafeteria; and she threw Mike one last smile.
That smile gave Mike the inner strength to get through the last two periods of school without getting tied up with the thought that no body could see him. He just thought of that smiling face until the bell rang. He got out of the classroom and, right outside the room; Vanessa was standing, waiting for him.
“Did I tell you what my last class was?” Asked Mike, startled.
“Yes.” Vanessa replied innocently. Then, she opened her eyes wide and stared at him. Mike laughed and they made their way out the main doors and, almost immediately, they located Mike’s Mom.
“How was your day back?”
Vanessa, knowing from the previous lunch conversation, knew that, at first it hadn’t gone to good, so she kept silent.
“Mom, can we talk about it later?”
“Sure.”
When they got home, Vanessa stayed for a glass of juice and she and Mike went out on the patio; where they could watch Sparky chasing squirrels. At first, no one talked and all they could hear was Sparky’s barking and the chattering of the angry squirrels. Then, Mike turned towards Vanessa,
“Vanessa, can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“I know, and I think that you know, that I should be all right in about two weeks.”
“Yes.”
“But there is something else going on in about two and a half weeks. The Snowflake Ball.”
Vanessa looked at Mike with wide eyes. She was almost positive of what Mike was going to say next.
“Yes.”
“Vanessa. . .I was wondering. . .would you like to go with me?”
Vanessa thought that she had heard Mike wrong,
“Pardon?” Mike had to repeat it again; and then again, before Vanessa was able to realize what Mike was saying,
“Yes, Mike. I would absolutely love to go with you.” They turned back in silence. But they were both secretly in shock. Mostly Mike, because he had just asked the prettiest girl in school and she had said yes.
The next week was kind of awkward for Mike and Vanessa. Mike was getting better and that brought peace to Vanessa’s heart. But one day, Vanessa walked up to Mike during lunch.
“Mike, you don’t have to give me a ride home today. My Dad is coming to pick me up.” Mike nodded,
“All right.”
That afternoon, after Mike had left, Vanessa went to the corner and waited. Pretty soon, the city bus pulled up and she boarded. After a while, it stopped near the mall. Vanessa got off and went into the mall. She felt bad about not telling Mike that she was actually going to the mall to look for a dress. But she had to get a dress because the dance was a week away. She walked into Dillard’s and to the petite section. Then, she saw it. It was a beautiful magenta dress with silver sparkles. It was a V-cut halter. She looked at the price; sixty dollars. She tried it on and let down her hair that flowed down her back. She loved it. However, just for the heck of it, she wanted to look at others. She asked the lady to keep it for her and she went to look for others. But none captured her interest and she kept on thinking about the magenta dress. Finally, she went back and bought it.
Back at home, Vanessa showed her Dad. He loved it as much as she did. But as she was looking at it, she took a magazine and looked a hairstyle that she loved. It was shorter that the one she had now, but she really liked it. She talked to her Dad about it. As Mike was riding home that same day, he was thinking of what he would have done if Vanessa hadn’t approached him that one day. He had bought the dance tickets that day and he was looking at them. He still couldn’t believe that Vanessa had said that she would go with him and not Chad. She had been his inner strength and renewed his self-confidence that he had lost the year before.
“Mike?” Mrs. Fowler asked, “Why so quiet?”
“Just thinking, Mom.”
“Well, you do know that we are going to the doctor tomorrow?”
Mike’s head snapped up, “Already?”
Mrs. Fowler smiled,
“Yes. But I talked to your doctor yesterday. He said that he would check if you could put any weight on your leg. If you can’t put all your weight on it.”
“Will I have to keep on the using the wheel-”
“No, maybe a walker. He doesn’t know yet. Can you put any weight on it yet?”
“Some, but definitely not all.” Mike replied.
“Well, we will just see what he thinks tomorrow.”
Mike nodded and went back to thinking about Vanessa.

The next morning, Mike went to the doctor and tried, for the first time since the cafeteria accident, to put even the slightest bit of weight on his leg. But, for some reason, that day, he couldn't. Even though he had said that he could, he was startled when he almost fell over when he stood up. He looked at the doctor and he wore a worried look on his face.
“What? What's the matter?” Mrs. Fowler asked franticly, worried that the damage would be worse than expected. She was right.
“Sometimes there can be a complication when an old injury can grow worse. Mike, you did say that you could put some weight on it, right?”
Mike nodded.
“Then,” the doctor said, taking a cane/walker out of the closet, “You will probably need this.” He handed it to Mike.
“How long?” Mike asked, trying to imagine taking Vanessa to the dance with that thing.
“Perhaps forever.” the doctor said.
Mike closed his eyes and exhaled. He could already see Vanessa hearing what the doctor had just said and deciding that she wouldn’t go to the dance with Mike anymore. The next day, Vanessa came over to Mike’s house, wondering how the doctor’s appointment had gone. Embarrassed, Mike told her about what the doctor had said. Vanessa, however, didn’t seem to care.
“Mike. It doesn’t matter to me.”
“I-I just thought that you wouldn’t want to...”
“To go to the dance with you?” Vanessa finished his sentence for him and Mike nodded. “Oh, come on.” She said exasperatedly. “I wouldn’t ditch you just for that! Going to the dance with you is going to be great. I have seen what you have gone through. You don’t have to worry about anything.”
“Oh. I just thought that you would be embarrassed to be seen with me.” Vanessa rolled her eyes.
“Yeah, right. Me; embarrassed by being seen with you. You can’t help it. Your leg, I mean. Just because you have a hard time walking doesn’t mean my life will be over if I am seen with you. Sure, we might not be able to dance together, but just going with you will be great.”
Mike smiled and Vanessa smiled back. Then, she added the most interesting comment, quietly. Almost in a whisper. “Actually, just having you in my life has been a blessing in itself.”