A+ Anxiety

I had to walk to school today, but normally, my mom would have dropped me off at school. My mum said to me, “Kiara, get into the car,” but I bluntly refused. I walked down the street, singing and jogging at the same time. It was quite unusual for me because I am someone who usually hates singing. As I walked down the aisle, I noticed a little crowd of people shouting and making noise. I checked my wristwatch and realized I had forty-seven more minutes to get to school. So, I decided to take a look and find out what was wrong. Silly me, right? When I got there, I stood behind an old woman who was trying to settle the dispute. After listening to what the problem was, I was highly disappointed. This was exactly what had happened: Woman One had gossiped about Woman Two, and Woman Two was angry with her. Can you imagine? I shook my head, and a thought came to me: Why not settle this matter amicably? I walked into the middle of the crowd and started talking. “With all due respect, ladies and gentlemen, what exactly are we doing here?” The crowd suddenly became quiet. Even the old woman who had been trying to settle the argument looked at me with surprise. I looked from Woman One to Woman Two. “Woman One, you said something about Woman Two behind her back, and you expected her not to find out?” Woman One folded her arms. “I was only telling the truth.” I raised an eyebrow. “Even if it was true, did she give you permission to discuss her business with other people?” She opened her mouth but said nothing. I turned to Woman Two. “And you, I understand that you're angry, but shouting at her and causing a scene isn't going to solve anything either.” Woman Two sighed and looked away. “Look,” I continued, “we all make mistakes. We say things we shouldn't say, and sometimes we hurt people without thinking. But standing here and shouting at each other isn't going to undo what happened.” Someone in the crowd nodded. I took a deep breath. “Woman One, if you really are sorry, then apologize. Not because someone is forcing you to, but because you understand that what you did was wrong.” Woman One looked at Woman Two for a few seconds before finally speaking. “I'm sorry. I shouldn't have talked about you behind your back. I honestly didn't think it would get back to you.” Woman Two remained silent for a moment. Then she sighed. “I'm still angry, but... I accept your apology.” A few people in the crowd clapped. I smiled. “See? Was that so difficult?” The old woman laughed softly. “Young lady, you should become a lawyer.” The crowd burst into laughter, and even Woman One and Woman Two smiled. I stepped back, feeling rather proud of myself. Then I checked my wristwatch. Thirty-two minutes. My smile disappeared. “Oh no.” I had completely forgotten about school. I turned around and started jogging down the street. As I ran, I could already imagine my teacher standing at the classroom door with that disappointed look on her face. And suddenly, I wished I had listened to my mum and gotten into the car. By the time I got to school, I was already out of breath. I pushed open the classroom door, hoping, just hoping, that the teacher hadn't arrived yet. Unfortunately, luck wasn't on my side. The moment I stepped into the classroom, everyone turned to look at me. Then the laughter began. “Look who finally decided to show up!” “Kiara, what happened to you?” I rolled my eyes and walked straight to my seat. Before I could even put my bag down, a Sofia stood up. “Kiara,” she called, grinning. “Have you checked your French test?” I froze. “What about it?” “You failed.” The whole class erupted in laughter. I stared at her for a few seconds before reaching into my bag and pulling out my laptop. I quickly checked my result. There it was. FAIL. For a moment, I just stared at the screen. I could hear the whispers around me. “She'll cry.” “Just watch.” “She always acts like she's so smart.” But I didn't cry. Instead, I opened my notebook and started writing down the questions I had gotten wrong. One by one, I went through them. A girl sitting beside me looked at me suspiciously. “Wait... you're actually studying the questions you got wrong?” I nodded. “So you're not even scared of failing?” I looked up from my notebook. “Of course I'm not happy about failing,” I said. “But I'm not the kind of person who lets failure get the very best of me. If I failed something, then there's something I need to change. So I'll change it.” For a few seconds, the classroom was unusually quiet. Then— “FIGHT!” I looked up. Two boys at the back of the classroom had started arguing. Within seconds, the argument became louder. “Give me my book!” “I told you I'm not giving it back!” “You better give it to me!” I sighed. Seriously? I got up and tried to get between them, but neither of them was listening. I had no choice. I walked out of the classroom and headed straight for the laboratory. A few minutes later, I returned with a whistle. I stood in the middle of the classroom. PEEEEEEEP! The entire room went silent. I blinked. Wow. It actually worked. I looked at the whistle in my hand, then at the silent classroom. “So... that's all it takes?” The class burst into laughter. I laughed too. “Okay, okay. Everyone calm down.” I pointed at the two boys. “You two. Sit down. During prep, you'll both explain what happened and settle this properly.” They looked at each other. Then one of them hissed. “How can a dull person like you settle anything?” A few students laughed. I felt the words sting, but I didn't respond. I simply walked back to my seat. I opened my French textbook and continued studying the questions I had failed. I had barely finished half a page when someone walked over to me. It was the same girl who had told everyone about my result. The girl walked back to her seat, picked up my French textbook and dropped it carelessly on the floor. “It’s not as if reading will make you intelligent,” she said with a smirk. I stared at her for a moment. Then I laughed. “You're shameless,” I said, shaking my head. Her smile disappeared. Before I could say anything else, she slapped me. The entire classroom went silent. I stood there, completely still. My face felt hot, but I refused to react. For a split second, I wanted to slap her back. But then I had another idea. I slowly placed a hand on my forehead and pretended to feel dizzy. Before anyone could understand what was happening, I sank to the floor. The girl's face immediately changed. “Kiara?” No response. “Kiara! I didn't mean to do that!” She looked around the classroom, suddenly terrified. Nobody moved. She hurried to her seat, grabbed a bottle of water and rushed back to me. She gently splashed some water on my face. “Please, Kiara. Wake up!” she kissed me on the cheek I remained completely still. She leaned closer, checking to see if I was breathing. I held my breath for a few seconds. That was when I realized she was genuinely frightened. Tears began rolling down her cheeks. “Please forgive me,” she whispered. “I didn't mean to hurt you.” She paused, wiping her tears. “You're not dull. You're better than me. I'm the dumbest person in this whole class for doing this!” I couldn't hold it anymore. I burst out laughing and jumped to my feet. The entire classroom erupted in laughter. The girl stood there, completely speechless. I dusted myself off and looked at her. “I might be dull,” I said with a grin, “but I know how to deal with people like you.” The class laughed even harder. I picked up my French textbook and tucked it under my arm. “Well, thank you for the kiss.” I smiled and walked out of the classroom, leaving her standing there with the most confused expression I'd ever seen.