one enormous bruise

Bella arrives to gym early, having gotten directions to it well in advance - over lunch with a helpful Jessica. Jessica is helpful in many ways, and is also able to provide what might well be an exhaustive list of people Delaney has goaded, what sports teams they are on, and how hunky each one is in Jessica's personal estimation. "The teachers never see any of it," she said. "And they'd assume Delaney was getting bullied, anyway, wouldn't they? But you saw. Something's wrong with him, but it's only the things he does that get him hurt."

Bella has a note from her old gym teacher, who let her exhaust herself on an exercise bike in the back instead of doing something hazardous any time the classroom activity would have otherwise placed Bella near a ball or another human being. Bella also has the copay receipts from all of her doctor's visits over the past year, and has written on each one what sent her to the clinic, ranging from two instances of "had to check for concussion" to one of "chipped molar" to one of "two broken toes, also carpet rash". And just because of gym teachers' reputation for not being interested in excuses, she has thrown in drugstore receipts too, each with massive purchases of disinfectants, bandaids, and other first aid items suitable in quantity for only an extremely accident-prone individual. Bella has these things because Renée is not really equipped to reliably run basic errands before they become emergencies, and Bella's had a checking account to handle such things since she was not quite fifteen.

She finds the gym, and looks around for the teacher.

but you like an audience

Bella arrives early to her next gym class, too. Delaney's not there yet, which is annoying, because he knows how to solve a puzzle.

Charlie knows a few things about Delaney and his family. The most interesting thing is this: Delaney appeared in the hospital with broken ribs, once. He did not do this crowing about how much fun it was to be stomped on/thrown down the stairs/whatever. He did this with no explanation at all. Charlie doesn't need victim cooperation to press charges for battery - but he does need someone to press charges against.

And no one at school saw a thing.

Audiences, indeed.

i drive better than i walk

Bella leaves school that afternoon not having had any notable conversation with Delaney before or after gym. She's just making a beeline for the blue station wagon her dad found her, cheap and functional if not very loveable. She's got homework to pick through and an email to Renée to write. She might go to a movie with Jessica later.

it's not that there's nothing to do, it's that all of those things are boring

Bella rolls over onto her back. She's been doing leg lifts. Now her legs hurt. She's going to lie there for a while, and then she's going to drive home, and then she's going to write about a paragraph of Government essay before expiring from boredom. Jessica is sick. Angela is babysitting. They're still doing stuff she's covered in Bio and books she's read in English; it would take better teachers than she has to make Spanish and Trig interesting. A trip to Port Angeles to do something is the work of an entire day, not a school afternoon. She really needs to save up and buy more books. Or take up - quilting, or something.

Sigh.