It Wasn’t Me

I remember ages ago reading about how some animals, if caught in a trap, will gnaw off the captured limb to attempt to escape. It stuck with me, because (1) it’s sort of awesome yet disgusting to imagine actually chewing off your own paw, and (2) I wondered if the animal would just die after, what with blood loss and infection and the fact it would now be totally slow and easy dinner for any predator hanging around. Is that really a good survival strategy? I’m skeptical.
But I think now I get why the animal might take a chance.
I’m trying to maintain some chill, but since the biggest, most dramatic act of vandalism in our school’s history happened to my photos and I’m spending vacation week at school, it seems like the kind of scenario where one might be compelled to gnaw off a limb and try to escape, bleeding and limping out the door.
My mom said I didn’t have to do this. That it was understandable if I was traumatized by it and needed time away from school to process. But I’m not traumatized. I refuse to be traumatized. That would imply that I care what these losers think about my photographs. I mean, yes, it was horrifying and embarrassing to have the entire school talking about what happened, whispering and pointing and repeating the garbage someone wrote all over the pictures. But I need to move on. None of these people will grow up to be art critics, I’m sure. The only thing I find traumatic is the amount of Axe body spray in this classroom.
As of right now, I have the five tweenbots who might have done it staring everywhere in the room but at me, like my face is some kind of anti-magnet to their eyes.
But Ms. Lewiston isn’t having it.
“Please move your chairs. Remember, this is a Justice Circle. Not a Justice Line, or a Justice Blob.” She smiles, but no one smiles back.
Poor Ms. Lewiston. It’s going to be a long week.
People shuffle their chairs around, and like one of those “Which Time Lord Are You?” Doctor Who quizzes online, I swear I can tell everything about these clowns by the way they get into position.