Monstrato

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  Makayla didn't come back to school until Thursday. Everyone stared when she walked down the hallway before homeroom and went to her locker. She looked as if she was about to cry. I went up to her and said hi, and asked her how she was doing and how was Bobby. She answered my questions, each one with a whisper, and that's all she said. She didn't want to talk to anyone—I could see that—and she didn't for the next couple of days. She wouldn't even look at people, wouldn't go near them as if she was afraid they might say something to her. She just walked around school with this glazed look over her eyes like she was in some sort of trance.

  On the day she came back, she walked into Algebra 2 with her books held tight to her chest, staring at the floor. She moved slowly towards the back of the room like she was being pulled along by an invisible leash and took a seat next to me and Hope. Then she sat there motionless, looking down at the table in front of her, probably asking herself why she was even there at all. It seemed like everyone in the room could feel her presence, but they were all trying to behave as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening. Trent, Kyle, and Russ, and some other guys who helped beat up Bobby were in there smiling and acting like everything was cool. It almost seemed like they started goofing around more when Makayla came in. I watched them for a while as they made faces at each other and smirked and giggled. Then I looked over at Lori and Chelsea and saw that they were watching those guys, too, scowling at them. I remember thinking to myself, So this is how it's gonna be. We're just going to carry on like nothing happened—and I felt ashamed. I caught Lori's eye, and she looked at me and just shook her head.