Labelled by Blood

      I woke up when my playlist ended. Around 3:00 AM. The night was still. My blankets were warm and cuddly. I stared at my ceiling. I thought about a lot of things. Why the Collector chose that day to reveal itself to us. Why it attacked on Wednesday. Why Jesus attacked me just the day before that. Why my parents were trying. Why I felt so confident.       One thought led to another, and they eventually swirled into a patchy slideshow that faded with black. The next time I woke up, it was time for school. I got out of bed. It was Friday. I loved Fridays because, duh. the weekend, but also because I had math and Mr. Steins never assigned homework on a Friday. I rolled out of bed feeling energized and ready to tackle on the day. I picked out something cutesy today: a short wool dress with thick leggings and sneakers. I let my hair be free of any pins and headed to the kitchen. Mom and Dad were eating breakfast and Mom motioned at a third plate laid out for me. There was a fat chocolate chip muffin with eggs and a side of bacon. Can't get any more classic that that. I thanked them and went to town. After I finished, I wiped my mouth and drank the glass of milk they also left out for me. They were watching me and my face flushed. I didn't think I ate too fast. Though when I caught Dad's eyes, I noticed they weren't shocked or in awe. They were smiling and almost sad.       "Was it good?" Mom asked.       "Best breakfast I've had yet," I said, getting over my embarrassment. "Thanks, you two."       "Right," Mom said; Dad hummed with her and they shared a secretive grin as they kept eating.       I grabbed my things and headed out the door. As I took my first step out, Mom called out. "Let's go out to eat for dinner tonight. Think of a restaurant you might want."       I called out in an instant, "I'm feeling Chinese."       I heard giggling and Dad whooping with a declaration that he knew. This put a smile on my face as I made my way to school. The walk there was cool and emptier than usual. I was a little surprised and I got the sense I was being followed or watched. But whenever I looked over my shoulder, no one was there. Even in spots where, if someone had been watching or walking, I should have seen them. Maybe I needed a therapist.       The rest of the walk was filled with even steps and a sun teeming with excitement to start the school day with me. I entered the building and was greeted with kids talking in the hallways. Some talked about a football game today, I wonder if Parker would wanted to go with me to cheer Jesse on. Others talked about projects coming up before the big break; looked like it wasn't just Ms. Rohd pushing big projects on us before then.       The faint smell of late breakfasts wafted in and I let it carry me to class. I got to Mr. Davis' class and took my seat. He was clacking away at his computer and saw me. He smiled and nodded. I waved.       "Morning, Alex," he said.       "Good morning, Mr. Davis."       "Any fun plans this weekend?"       I know he was making small talk, but I answered honestly. "Actually, yeah," I said, with a puffed out chest and sitting straight. "I just don't know what they are."       "Oh? A surprise?"       I shook my head. "No. More like life just opened up and I don't know what to do with myself."       He gave a toothy smile and kept working away. "Those are the best kinds of surprises."       "Right."       The conversation died there. Kids started to find their way in and class started shortly after. We moved on from poems and got into reviewing basic grammar principles. None of this was hard, so I zoned out. It wasn't until the bell rang when I realized I hadn't seen Ava. I turned and saw her fleeing to the hallway. She was a stoic and it made me shudder. I exited the classroom and took my usual route. I caught Evan and Ava in the hall and they looked frustrated, exhausted, but kept laughing. Evan nudged her and she stuck her tongue out. It made me laugh, even if they didn't see. I was happy they were happy.       I scurried my way to math and got to my seat in record time. I took out my journal and got ready for the day. Mr. Steins hurried in while mumbling about exponents and their significance. I got working on the bell work, which was pretty straightforward. The bell rung and we got into it. I raised my hands so many times that Mr. Steins gently asked I stopped so others could answer. When I responded with a beaming smile, he couldn't help but laugh it off. Unfortunately, he did assign homework but gave us some time to work on it in class. I got it knocked out right away and then class was dismissed.       Chem was just about the same as Wednesday and we took some notes before getting time to work on the project. I forgot about that and texted the others that we need to go back to the forest to grab some lichen samples. After the weekend, of course.       At the end of class, Ms. Rohd called me over and asked how I was doing. I told her that Wednesday was a wild night and she didn't seem surprised. I didn't specify what happened, but she left me with a simple "just watch yourself and don't be out alone."       I didn't dwell on her words because I knew what she meant. And, you didn't have to worry, Ms. Rohd, I had the best team I could ever ask for. Right now, I was headed to lunch. I got to the courtyard, for once the first one there. I followed in Parker's footsteps and got out my poetry journal. I looked at the last poem I worked on and decided to start a new one:       Labels. Love them or hate them, they capture a person's "essence."       Labels. Nerds. Jocks. Boys. Girls. Funny. Weirdo. Loser.       Labels. Take them in or reject them, they matter as our quintessence.       Before I could get much further, Jesse showed up. He asked what I was working on and I told him I might show him later. Then we talked about the football game and he mentioned "playoffs." I didn't know what that meant, but it sounded important and so I promised I'd be there. When Parker showed up, we nagged and dogged him until he finally caved and agreed to join me. Jesse promised we'd have ticket costs waived, which was a nice bonus. Then he handed both Parker and I a crisp twenty each for the heavily overpriced snacks and drinks. No wasn't an answer, so I didn't bother arguing.       Lunch was different today. There wasn't a definite looming threat, but the air was still full of tension. We laughed, we played. Parker started a dumb game of tag, and neither Jesse nor I could catch him.       "If I had strim," Jesse said between clenched teeth.       "You wouldn't stand a chance," I panted.       "Real shame, huh?" Parker laughed.       He had us beat on foot. We had him beat with vestiges and strims. Funny how that worked.       Lunch continued until it didn't and we had to go to our last class of the day. This one got me all worked up. But, like I told Jesse, I was going to wing it like last time. Except, it was going to be different. I made my way and sat in my seat. Ms. Burgess waltzed in and handed me a blank notecard.       "In case you need some notes for your redo," she smiled.       I thanked her but didn't use it. Bell rang and class started. Ms. Burgess began by announcing that she didn't do redos on speeches often, but that sometimes we have a bad or wild day that just gets in the way. Then she gestured for me to come up. I took in a deep breath and remembered that note Ava wrote me at the start of this week. I do something harder than this every day.       I stood and walked to the front of the room. All eyes were locked on me. No one else had a speech to distract them or anything to take their minds off me. No worrying about how they would do or anticipating who was next.       My body went numb. I forced it back awake. I took one last final breath in and began.       "A stapler," I said, unlooping mine from my beltloop. As I spoke, I saw a lot of the class glancing around confused. A few mouthed the word "again?"       "Its something unassuming. It sits really prettily on your desk until you need it. But when you need it, it does one of the most important jobs in our real world. It keeps things together in a vice grip that needs an entirely different thing to get rid of. Unlike a paperclip, that only pretends to do what a stapler can.       "On your team, I am the stapler that is ready when you need me. Except I don't just sit there all pretty when you don't. I don't run on staples, either. Try me. I'll go on until the job's done and you'll know when I've done my work. It takes a lot to undo it, but I get it right the first time. Whether you need me to mediate, be a fierce member of your support team, or hold down the fort while your off doing something else.       I. Am Alex. Alex Linet. Thank you."       The class broke out into decently enthused applause. Ms. Burgess, though, seemed a lot more impressed than last time. She scribbled some stuff down and handed me her notes with my grade: "Kept the stapler, but made it mean something. I'm proud, Alex Linet. A-."