Class is Now in Session

I woke up the next morning around 6 o'clock. I didn't feel like getting up yet, so I just laid in bed and let my mind wander. I was having a rather good time, just lying there and being lost in thought. Then there was a knock at my door. I was immediately jolted out of my thoughts. I sat up in my bed and looked at the door.
"Who is it?" I called.
"Room service," came Tre's voice through the door.
I laughed and shook my head. "Come in, Tre'."
Tre' opened the door and came in, carrying a tray. He set it down in my lap. The tray carried a plate of pancakes, syrup, and a glass of orange juice.
"And what's all this for?" I asked, smiling at him.
"Just a little thank you for letting the guys and me stay with you," he said, ruffling my already crazy hair.
"Oh, you didn't have to do this, Tre'," I said.
"But I wanted to," he said, giving me a sweet smile. He then leaned over and gave me a small kiss on the cheek.
"And why weren't we invited to this little breakfast party?"
Tre' and I both looked over and saw Billie and Mike standing in the doorway.
"'Cause you're not special enough," I said a retarded voice.
"I bet I'm specialer than you," Billie said, coming over and sitting on the edge of my bed.
"I don't doubt that," I replied.
"Oh, that was a burn, man," Mike said, pointing at Billie.
Once I had finished the breakfast Tre' had brought me, he took the tray away so I could get ready for work. I got in the shower and stood there for a second, just letting the water wash over me. Then there was a knock at the door.
"Who is it?" I called over the rushing water.
"It's Tre'. Can I come in? I have to piss like you wouldn't believe," Tre' called.
"Yeah, sure. Too much information there," I said, turning back to my shower.
"When have you ever known me to be discreet?"
"Good point."
A few seconds passed and I was shampooing my hair when Tre' said, "Hey, do think the kids had fun yesterday?"
"There's not a doubt in my mind that they didn't," I said. "Shit!"
"What is it?" Tre' asked.
"Nothing. I just got shampoo in my eye. That's all," I said, trying to flush my eyes with the water.
"Oh, do you need me to come in there and help you?" Tre' joked...I think.
"Back off, dude. If this curtain moves, I'll have you arrested for sexual assault," I warned him.
"Just an offer. Don't get all bitchy," he said.
"Sorry," I apologized.
"Well, I'm done. See ya downstairs, Carrie," he said. Then the water got hot. I tried to get out of the way of the scorching hot water.
"Tre'!" I yelled, but I he had already closed the door and I could hear him laughing all the way down the hall.

I arrived at work at about 8 o'clock. I sat down at my desk and took out a book I had brought along. Then there was a soft knock at the door. I closed my book, got up from my desk, and went over to open the door. Cynthia was standing in the doorway.
"Cynthia, what are you doing here so early?" I asked.
"Um, I was just wondering...are your friends here again today?" she asked very quietly.
"No, sorry. They're not here today," I said in my nicest voice.
"Oh, well...could you give this to the bass player?" she asked, holding out a small sealed envelope. I tried to refrain from saying "Awwww! How cute!"
"Sure, no problem," I said, taking the envelope from her outstretched hand and placing it in my purse.
"Thanks, Ms. Ericson," she said and turned and walked away.
"Wow," I thought, "I think Mike just got a love letter...or a fan letter."
I sat back down at my desk and picked up my book again. I was sitting there for only about five minutes before the door opened again. This time it was Mr. Kessler in the doorway. He had a weird look on his face and I didn't like it.
"Oh, Carolyn, so glad you're here," he said quietly, stepping into the classroom and closing the door quietly behind him. A chill went down my spine.
"Can I help you, Mr. Kessler?" I asked cautiously, marking my page and setting my book down. I got out of my chair and sat on the edge of my desk.
"As a matter of fact, you can," he said. His eyes were really shiny and they had an animalistic glare. He started walking towards me. I was really getting freaked out now. I knew that this situation wasn't going to end well.
"Mr. Kessler, what are you doing?" I asked.
"Carolyn, how many times must I tell you? Call me George," he replied, laying a hand on my leg. I thought I was about to cry.
"What are you doing?" I asked again, trying not to sound afraid.
"You're a beautiful girl, you know that?" he said, leaning in closer. He was about two inches away from my face. I could smell his breath and his expensive cologne.
I was screaming in my mind. I wanted to scream in real life, but my throat felt like it had closed. My breath caught in my chest. Then it happened.
Mr. Kessler pressed his lips against mine. I tried to push him away, but he was too strong. He pinned me down on my desk. I was struggling, trying to push him off of me, but I wasn't having any luck. I tried to scream, but my voice was muffled against his lips. I felt one of his hands snaking under my shirt. I was crying at this point. I could barely move. I felt like I was going to pass out from fear when...
"Get the fuck off her!"
Mr. Kessler was lifted up and thrown off of me. I was still laying there, partially paralyzed with fear. I heard frantic feet running into the classroom. Then I heard the sound of a fist connecting with a skull. A few seconds went by, filled with the sounds of punches, kicks, and screams of pain. Mustering all the strength I had, I looked up and saw Tre' and Billie standing over a bleeding Mr. Kessler. Tre' had a fat lip and Billie's nose was bleeding.
I started to sob. Mike ran over and took me in his arms. He kissed me on my head and whispered, "It's alright. Everything's gonna be fine." I sat there for what felt like hours and just cried my eyes out into Mike's chest. He gently rocked me back and forth like a child, trying to calm me down.
After a while, I heard the sounds of sirens and cars outside. Somebody must have called the cops. I was more grateful than you could ever imagine.
Suddenly, Mike said, "Come on, let's get you out of here." I stood up and tried to walk. My legs felt like jell-o. I was still crying.
Mike helped me down the stairs and outside. He took me over to an ambulance and sat me on the edge of the inside.
"Where's Billie and Tre'?" I managed to choke out.
"They're fine. They're just getting checked to make sure they weren't hurt too bad," he replied, handing me a plastic cup filled water. I took a sip and wiped my streaming eyes with my sleeve. I was still in shock.
Soon, there were EMTs all fussing over me. They took my temperature, checked my blood pressure, and asked me if anything hurt.
"No, nothing hurts...physically, at least," I told them.
"Okay, well, we're still going to have to take you in for testing. Just to make sure everything is in order."
"Okay," I replied.
Billie and Tre' soon came over. Billie's nose was pretty swollen, but he the bleeding had stopped, and Tre's lip had stitches in it. I started crying again when I saw them.
"Hey, hey, hey. Don't cry, Carrie. We're fine," Billie said, sitting down and putting his arms around me.
"Yeah, you should see the other guy. Me and Billie fucked him up pretty bad," Tre' said.
"Where is the bastard?" I asked.
"The police took him away a little while ago. We told them what happened," Billie said.
"Thanks guys. For...everything," I said. I managed a small smile. "If you hadn't showed up...I don't even want to think about how far it would have gone."
"Don't mention it. It's been a while since we were in any good fights," Tre' said, giving me a hug. I managed a small laugh and took anther sip of water.

The testing took about two hours. First, there was the ride to the hospital, which took about an hour. The guys stayed with me the entire time. I was grateful, I didn't want to be by myself.
When we arrived at the hospital, a nurse took me into a room so that they could do some x-rays, DNA samples, and other "routine procedures." They took my clothes from me and gave me a green hospital gown. When I tried asking why I couldn't have my clothes, I was ignored, which I'm still pretty pissed about.
They told the guys that they had to wait outside. I could tell they didn't want to leave me alone, but they left quietly and without complaint.
After all the testing was done, they took me to a hospital room and laid me in a bed. They told me I had to stay over night for observation.
"We just want to make sure you're okay," the doctor told me.
The guys came in shortly after the doctor left. They stayed by my side the entire day, talking to me and trying to get my mind off of what had happened.
When dinner time rolled around, I suddenly realized something.
"Oh shit. Mugsy has to eat!" I said, slapping a hand to my forehead.
"I'll go home and take care of his food, Carrie," Mike said, standing up and grabbing his jacket off of the coatrack. "I'll be back as soon as I can."
"Thanks Mike. I owe you one," I told him as he headed out the door.
"I'll hold ya to that," he said, pointing at me and giving a smile. I laughed as he closed the door.
I let out a sigh and laid back on my pillow. I was so exhausted after everything that had happened. I just wanted to make all the hurt go away.
"Hey Carrie, you want me to put the tv on so you can have something to watch?" Tre' asked, standing up from his chair and walking across the room, over to the tv set.
"Sure, why not?" I said.
I heard the tv fizzle on, but I didn't watch it. I rested my head on my warm, soft pillows and closed my eyes. I wanted to fall asleep and escape from the real world, if only for a little while. I felt somebody brush a piece of hair out of my face. That was the last thing I remembered before I slipped off to dream land.

I woke up the next morning in a somewhat confused state. I was wondering why I was in a hospital bed, but then I remembered the horrible day before. I felt so violated. Then I heard a muffled yawn coming from my right. I looked over and saw Tre' hunched over onto my bed. His entire top half was sprawled out on the covers while the rest of him remained seated in the chair. Billie was on my left, except he was leaning back in his chair, with his head lolling onto his shoulder. Mike was nowhere to be found.
"Tre'. Tre', wake up," I whispered, gently shaking him awake.
"Huh? What happened?" he asked, squinting up at me.
"We're still in the hospital. You guys must have slept here," I told him as he sat up and rubbed his eyes.
"Oh shit. I forgot," he said. "How're you feeling?"
"As good as anyone in my situation can be, I guess," I said, shrugging my shoulders.
"Huh...no Adrienne, I didn't steal your eyeliner..."
"Billie. Billie, wake up, you're dreaming," I said, reaching over and tapping his leg.
"Huh? Oh, hey Carrie. What's goin' on?" he said, putting on a sleepy smile.
"Well, you were dreaming that Adrienne had accused you of stealing her eyeliner," I laughed.
"Was I? Oh, okay, well, whatever," he said, stretching his arms above his head and yawning.
"Hey, did Mike ever come back?" I asked.
"Yeah, he came back a little while after you fell asleep. Why?" Billie said, standing up and moving toward the bathroom.
"Well, he's not here right now. I was just wondering if he ever came back," I said.
"Maybe he went out to get some coffee?" Tre' laughed.
"I wouldn't doubt that," I replied with a smile.
A couple minutes passed before the door to my room opened and Mike walked in, carrying coffee(surprise, surprise) a duffle bag, and a box from Dunkin' Donuts. He set the coffee down on the side table next to the bed and laid the box of donuts in my lap.
"There, I got you breakfast. Well, technically, it's breakfast for everyone, but I was thinkin' of you when I bought it," he said with a smile as he gave me a peck on the cheek. He pulled up a chair and sat down next to Billie, who had just come out of the bathroom.
"How long have you been up?" I asked, opening the box revealing a dozen chocolate iced donuts. My favorite.
"Well, considering it's about 8:30 now, I'd say I've been up for a good hour and a half," he said.
"Jesus," I said as I took a bite out of a donut. They were still warm.
For the rest of the morning, we just talked and watched tv. Daytime television can really make your brain feel like it's melting. It's just talk show after talk show after talk show.
Around 11:30, a doctor came in and asked me how I was feeling.
"Fine. Better than yesterday, at least," I told him.
"Good, good. Well, I think that you can probably go home in a bit. I just want to clear some stuff up first and then I'll send a nurse in to come collect you," he said, picking my chart that was hanging on the bedpost.
"Thank you, doctor," I said as he walked out of the room.
After the doctor had left, I looked over at Tre'.
"How's your lip?" I asked, nodding at him.
"Not bad. It could have been worse, I guess," he replied, shrugging his shoulder and leaning back in his chair.
"How many stitches did you get, anyway?" I asked.
"Um, three or four, I think," he said, looking up at the ceiling. "But who the hell's countin', ya know?"
"How's your nose, Billie?" I asked, turning to my left to look at him.
"Okay. A little sore, but that's about it," he said. "I'm just happy it wasn't broken."
"Yeah, that would have been bad," I said with a small laugh.
"Yes, yes it would," he said, smiling warmly.
The door opened a nurse walked in.
"Ms. Carolyn Ericson?" she asked, looking at me.
"That's me," I replied.
"Doctor Carter says that you're free to go anytime you wish," she said. "Do you have a spare change of clothes to put on?"
"Uh...,"
"Yes, she does. Thank you," Mike cut in.
"Wait, why can't I have my other clothes back?" I asked, sitting up a little straighter.
"Well, when dealing with sexual assault, the victim's clothing is always kept until after the trial since they may contain DNA that could be used as evidence," she replied folding her hands in front of her.
"Oh, okay then," I said and I slumped back down.
"You'll just need to sign yourself out in the main entrance before you go," the nurse told me before turning and heading out the door.
"So you brought me a change of clothes along with breakfast, huh?" I asked, looking over at Mike.
"Yeah, I just thought you'd need them," he said picking up the duffle bag that had been pushed aside while we had breakfast. He laid it on my lap and I took it and began to get up. Then I remembered that hospital gowns have no back.
"When I get up, you guys have to close your eyes, okay?" I said, trying to be discreet.
"Don't worry, there won't be much to see anyway," Billie said as he covered his eyes. I gave him a playful slap on the head as I walked past him, towards the bathroom.
Once I had closed the bathroom door, I turned around and stared at myself in the mirror. My make-up had smudged a little and I had bags under my eyes, but other than that, I looked pretty normal. I laid the bag on the floor and took the hospital gown off. I bent down and unzipped the bag. I put everything on that Mike had brought for me. I folded the hospital gown and opened the door.
Billie and Mike were watching tv and Tre' was feeling his stitched-up lip.
"Okay, we can go now," I said, flipping off the light in the bathroom. I walked over to the bed and grabbed my purse that somebody had brought from St. Luke's. I slung it over my shoulder and walked out the door with the guys following behind. Then I remembered something.
"Oh, Mike, I almost forgot," I said, reaching into my bag and pulling out the envelope that Cynthia had given me. "It's from the girl Cynthia, the one who played the bass at the show."
Mike took it from me and put it in his pocket. "Thanks. I'll have to read it later, when everything isn't so hectic."
After checking myself out of the hospital, I suddenly realized that I didn't know where my car was.
"Shit, is my car still at school?" I asked, turning around to look at my friends.
"No, it's here," Billie said. "We called a tow truck to bring it over."
"Thanks," I said and gave him a hug. I would have been really pissed if my car had been left at that school.
We walked out into the parking lot and Billie led me over to where my car was. I took the keys out of my purse and unlocked the doors. I started to get into the driver's side when Mike stopped me from opening the door all the way.
"Carrie, you need to relax. Go sit in the backseat and I'll drive," he said, taking my keys from me.
"I guess you're right," I said as I climbed through the back door that Tre' had opened for me.
I spent the drive home quietly crying as I rested my head on Tre's shoulder as he stroked my hair. I was still pretty shook up. I thought that I might need therapy to help deal with everything.

When we pulled into my driveway, Billie opened my door and Tre' helped me out as Mike went to unlock the front door. Tre' helped me up my front walk as Billie carried my stuff.
Once I had gotten through the door, Mike closed it behind me. I just stood there for a second, staring at my friends. Then the weight of everything that had happened hit me harder than ever before and I just pulled them all into a hug and sobbed. If it weren't for them...I don't know what would have happened to me.