Lucinda: Chapter Nine
Mire
Life was quiet for Lucinda, and all the other students at school over the next several weeks. Lucinda settled into her new class. She didn't much care for going online or checking her email, but she did like playing the games on the computers there. Every once in a while, Mrs. Walker would introduce a new game for Lucinda to play. Some were word games, some were geography games, some were critical thinking skills. Lucinda loved all the games. Lucinda felt productive and tranquil in the computer class. Lucinda had let down her guard.
Rachel decided to take advantage of Lucinda's ease. She approached the girl, talked to her, got to know her. Every ACE class day, Rachel would find a few minutes to talk to Lucinda. Say "hi" or "bye," maybe share a joke with Lucinda. The girls got along great. Libby was jealous.
Life at school kept continuing to go well all up until the middle of January. It was the end of the day, students were waiting to get on the bus to go home. None of the bus drivers had arrived, yet. Lucinda didn't know she had to wait for the bus driver to get there before could get on the bus and go home. She pushed her was past the other kids, got onto her bus, sat in her usual seat, and waited, patiently, until the driver arrived. No one else followed her. Instead of informing Lucinda that she had to wait, the other chose to laugh and tease her. Lucinda tuned them out, thinking they're being the jerks they had been since the start of the school year.
Libby, usually, caught a ride home with her father at the end of the day, but sometimes hung out in the parking lot. Watching the buses fill with children and go off to wherever they go to deposit their cargo. Today, Libby was hanging out in the parking lot. She saw Lucinda get on the bus. Libby also saw the crowd that was gathered. Libby decided to take advantage of the situation. As loud as she could, Libby shouted out, "Get Her!" This was all the provocation the other children needed to riot. Libby went back inside to hang out until her father was ready to take her home.
Meanwhile, outside, students began pounding on the bus. They were shouting and jeering. Lucinda became frightened. Immediately, she regretted ever having gotten on the bus, in the first place. Some kids were holding the sliding door closed, preventing Lucinda's escape. The more the student body yelled and pounded, the more Lucinda became afraid. Lucinda was beginning to panic.
Rebecca and Rachel exited the school. Upon seeing a terrified Lucinda, trapped on a bus, surrounded by a crazy mob of children. Rachel, being the faster of the two, ran back into the school to find Mr. C. and some other teachers to help. Mr. C., understanding dire need of the situation, went with Rachel to rescue Lucinda from the hoard.
The moment Mr. C. appeared a hush fell over the crowd. The sea of students parted, allowing the teacher through. Mr. C. could tell that Lucinda was extremely upset. Peering at her through the windows in the door, he called. "Lucinda, open the door!"
Lucinda nodded to the teacher. In her frazzled state, she tried the door lever, but the door wouldn't budge. "I can't! It won't move!"
Mr. C. attempted to soothe the scared girl. "Try again. It's okay."
Lucinda took a deep breath, got a firm grip on the handle, and pulled with all her might. Success! This time the door opened. Lucinda was so flustered by all that had happened, she didn't even look at Mr. C. Red-faced, Lucinda snatched up her bag, exploded off the bus, past Mr. C., running into the school. Rachel and Rebecca, dismayed and shocked by what they had seen, made no effort to stop her. Mr. C got on the bus
Lucinda streaked down the hallway of the school to the main office. There, in between pants, Lucinda burst into tears.. The receptionist, seeing Lucinda's distress, immediately, showed the girl into Mr. Chandler's office. All the while, Libby sat in a corner of the office, pretending to play a handheld video game. Libby wanted to watch Lucinda's meltdown.
A surprised Mr. Chandler looks up from his work to see the sobbing Lucinda, feeling an instant pang of concern for the girl. He instructs her to sit. "Lucinda? What's wrong? What happened? Why are you crying?"
"I want to go home. Call my mother, I can't ride the bus, anymore." Lucinda cried.
Mr. Chandler is promptly confused. "Why? What's wrong with the bus?"
Lucinda whimpers. "Well, I went out to my bus to go home. Mr. C wasn't there, yet. A bunch of kids were waiting. I just wanted to get home. I didn't know what to do, so I got on the bus. The next thing I know, kids are surrounding the bus, they're yelling and screaming and hitting the side of the bus. I'm stuck on the bus and scared and then Mr. C shows up and tells me to open the door and at first I couldn't do it and then I did it and then I ran off the bus and then I ran here." Lucinda buries her face in her hands, miserable. "I was stupid to get on that bus. I should be punished for it. I shouldn't be allowed back on the bus for a week, when school starts back up, again. I don't have issues on the morning bus, it's the afternoon bus, that I have problems with. I-I- I don't know what to do. I wish I had never come to this school. It's been nothing but misery and torture, since the day I got here."
Mr. Chandler listens to Lucinda's story, understanding. She didn't do any harm. She made a mistake, that's all. He frowns when he hears about the behavior of the other students. If it's anything Mr. Chandler can't stand, it's a group of students ganging up on one of their own.. Mr. Chandler, makes a mental note to have the teachers give lectures about bullying. This kind of thing has to stop. This girl's going to go crazy, get seriously hurt, or worse.
Not knowing what else to do, Mr. Chandler gives in to Lucinda's request. "Okay, Lucinda, if it'll make you feel better, I'll call your mother and she can take you home. At least you have two weeks to take a break and relax before coming back to school. New Years is coming, I'm sure things will be better then. Try not to get discouraged."
Lucinda's tears drying, she sits like a lump. "If you say so."
Mr. Chandler ventures a smile. "I don't just say so, I know so. You'll see, things will get better. Go sit in the lobby, while I call your mother. Stay here, in my office, I'm going to use the phone in the outer office to call her."
Lucinda obeys. She just wanted to go home. She didn't care how it happened. Just that she got home and didn't have to ride that awful bus with those terrible kids, anymore.
Mr. Chandler gave Lucinda a box of tissues. Then closing the door behind him, he exits his office to give instructions to the school secretary to call Mrs. Rayne to come pick up Lucinda at the main office of school.
Libby saw her chance to do some meddling. Putting her game away, Libby saunters up to her father. "Daddy…"
Mr. Chandler, distracted with something. "Not now, princess, daddy's working. School business."
Libby looks at the door to her father's office. "She deserved it. You know."
Upon hearing that, Mr. Chandler put down his paperwork. "Libby, if you're involved or if you know anything. I would appreciate it if you let me know."
Libby crossed her arms, turning away from her father. "I didn't do anything. I didn't see anything. All I said was, 'she deserved it.'" Libby goes over to her chair and sits.
Mr. Chandler goes over to where his daughter is sitting. He squats in front of her, looking at her in a serious manner. "Libby, nobody deserves to be tortured everyday of their life."
Libby pouts. "So? She needs to suffer."
Mr. Chandler remains calm. "Libby, do you like it when you're hurting and upset?"
Libby thinks a moment, but still remains defiant. "No. But she deserves it."
Mr. Chandler spoke in measured tones. "Why does she deserve it, Libby? What horrible thing did she do to you that would make you think that she needs to suffer the amount of pain she's in?"
Setting her lip into a pucker, Libby responds. "Because of her, I lost my friends."
Mr. Chandler cocks his head to the side. "What? How did she make you lose your friends?"
Libby blinks back tears. "Rachel and Rebecca won't talk to me, anymore. It's all her fault."
Mr. Chandler is not sure what to say. "Did they give a specific reason?"
Libby doesn't want to admit the truth to her father. "They said it was because of her. She must have lied to them, convinced them to hate me. Now, they won't talk to me."
Mr. Chandler is visibly confused. "Libby, that doesn't sound very much like Lucinda."
Libby leaned forward in her chair. "She's different around you and everyone else. She's bad, daddy." She throws her arms around her father, crying into his chest.
Mr. Chandler tries to give Libby as much comfort as he can. "Libby, you've had it pretty lucky, haven't you. You've been able to live in the same area all your life. Your father is the principal of the school you go to. You have tons of people around you, that love and care for you. Lucinda isn't nearly as lucky as you. It's her first time, at a new school, meeting new people, trying to adjust to a new life. It's hard for Lucinda, she doesn't need someone making her life more difficult. Just because Rachel and Rebecca talk to her, doesn't mean that they've stopped being your friends. They love you, your mom loves you, your older brother loves you, your little brother loves you, and I love you."
Libby feels a little better after her father's encouragement, she leans back in her chair. "I still don't like Lucinda."
Mr. Chandler nods, letting Libby go. "I know. I understand. You're not going to like everyone that enters your life. You don't have to like all the people you come into contact with, just get along with them. Put yourself in Lucinda's shoes, then walk a mile. Libby, how would you feel if you had to endure what she was going through?"
Libby didn't answer her father's last question. She sat thinking. She never really thought of it like that before. All the pain she's been inflicting upon Lucinda, what if situations were reversed. What if Lucinda was the social queen and Libby was the one having tolerate all the lies, rumors, and gossip being spread about her? In a way, Rachel and Rebecca standing up to her was giving Libby a taste of her own medicine. Because of Libby's actions, Lucinda was an outcast. A misfit trying to get along in life. Since the blowup, for a little while, Libby was the social pariah.
"Have you ever tried to talk to Lucinda on a human level, instead of seeing her as an enemy?" Mr. Chandler broke into Libby's musings.
"No! Why would I do a thing like that?" Libby was astounded at the suggestion.
Mr. Chandler shrugged. "I don't know. I just figured if you got to know Lucinda, maybe, you wouldn't think of her as such a bad person." He shook his head. "Never mind me, I'm just entertaining a fantasy." He stands up and prepares go back to work.
Libby takes her game out of her pocket. "We won't become friends, daddy. I hate her." She's confident in her statement.
"Oh, I know that, princess." Mr. Chandler signs a few papers. "A father can dream, can't he."
Mrs. Rayne comes to pick up Lucinda. For the next week, Lucinda only took the school bus in the morning. In the afternoons, she waited at the school until her mother got off work and came to pick her up. At the end of the week, Lucinda worked up the courage to return to the bus. There was no further incident, involving buses