Monday has come and gone.

Mom actually had to drag me out of the house today. In hindsight, I have to admit it was probably a good thing because I'd very likely still be in bed if it hadn't been for her.

I had spent the weekend locked up in my room.

I think I left it only to take multiple showers and continue my attempts to get rid of the words on my butt cheeks. By Sunday night, I finally had them removed.

When I arrived at school in the morning, nothing out of the ordinary occured. I don't know what I expected, but I surely didn't expect this. It was as if nothing had happened.

I seriously asked myself if all of this could have been a product of my imagination.

On my way to my first class, I passed a couple of students who had been talking in hushed voices and staring at me, but I'm used to all of this right now.

I sleepwalked through the first half of my classes.

Only when I arrived at the cafeteria for lunch and Mark pulled me into a tight embrace was I reminded that all of this was indeed reality. My friends did their best to make me comfortable, but I could tell they had no clue how to behave around me. Which I can totally understand, because I have no clue how to deal with it myself.

After school, I ran into Mark again. He asked me how I was doing and I just looked at him. We started walking, neither of us speaking a single word.

We went to his house and sat down in the living room.

I just sat there and stared down at my hands. He sat down on the sofa next to me and waited.

After maybe half an hour, I managed to lock eyes with him. He looked back at me and just said, "I'm so sorry."

I told him not to be. I thanked him for helping me when no one else did, and told him that I'd be forever grateful for that.

He just took my hand, shrugged and said, "That's what friends are for."

That was all it took for me to fall apart in front of him. Again. I cried and cried and cried while he just sat there and held my hand.

After I had calmed down, I finally managed to lock eyes with him. I felt so pathetic that I couldn't help myself and started laughing. Gosh, I'm such a mess.

He just grinned at me, pulled me up from the sofa and said, "Come on, I'd like you to meet someone."

And that's how I met John.

To be continued.

I need to get some sleep.