Question asked by Anonymous

Answer:

hooo. i got this last night but was too tired to do it, and then i had work all day. but here y’go. thanks for the ask anon ;) i liked this one. far less spoilers this time. like, minor ones? mostly about anna’s backstory.

(also ms tremain is totally nancy tremaine from enchanted, not the lady tremaine from cinderella. this is the nice one)

(and despite this anna actually had a pretty good teenagehood)

Taking a breath, you think you’re maybe already beginning to regret going back to school. You’ve got your backpack on the back of your chair, and you try to just think about your timetable and where your classes are. It helps – or so you tell yourself – to stave off the anxiety building in your chest.

Everyone won’t stop staring.

The news has passed around by now, obviously. The accident, your family. You. There are no familiar faces in the crowd. It’s been almost four months since the last time you were here, but everything seems to have changed.

It isn’t until you arrive at your first class that you see anyone you know. Ms Tremaine, the graphics and design teacher, smiles at you, and there’s a desk at the front without a chair that’s obviously designed for you.

You can feel the eyes of your classmates on you as you take your spot, and though there are hushed murmurs, no one speaks directly to you. Your ears burn and your chest feels like there’s a thousand-pound weight pressing down.

Luckily, you don’t get into trouble for lack of participation. Ms Tremaine likes calling on people, but she just lets you be. You’re actually concentrating so hard on appearing small that you almost miss when she calls out a name in particular. Meg.

She’s sitting at the back of the classroom, and when the bell rings, you stuff your books into your bag as fast as you can and race to catch up.

“Meg!” you shout, trying to get your voice heard above the multitude of students moving around. She pauses in her step before slowly turning around.



You didn’t realise how much you wanted to see a friendly face, and you wish you could hug her like you used to.

“Hey, Anna…” she says, but there’s something in her voice that’s off. You brush it aside. Whatever it is can wait.



“Hey,” you respond. “I, uh… how have you been?”



She nods quickly, not looking at you. “Yeah, yeah, fine. Hey listen, I have to go-”

You cut her off with a nod and a, “Yeah, sure! What class do you have – we can go together!” You quieten down for a moment while Meg still looks anywhere but at you, before you start speaking again. You don’t feel very good. “I, uh, I tried calling you over the holidays. Guess your mom kept forgetting to give you the messages I left…”

The last thing you want to do is sound needy, or desperate, but… well… you are. She’s pretty much your best friend and you haven’t seen her in months. You really want her to hug you, maybe ask if you’re up for a milkshake after school. Talk about the cheer trials and complain about class.

You don’t want to hear the, “Anna, I’m sorry about your parents and your legs. But, Adonis brought up this thing, and I kinda… agree…” You wait, heart in your throat for her next words. You pray that it will be good but you already know it won’t be. “And we – I – don’t… think we can be friends anymore… You understand, right?”

You nod, even as you fight a rising waving of grief and – what is this? Betrayal. Your throat closes up as tears spring to your eyes, and even though you know Meg can see them, she doesn’t say anything. You don’t want to hear her because you understand why she said it, but you also… don’t.

You weren’t like, popular or anything, but you had a few friends. At least one. You had Meg. For years, you’d been friends, and that was more than enough.

But you understand it because god, you were so stupid. Who’d want to be friends with a cripple?

You don’t understand it because why wouldn’t she want to stay friends with you?