Preston Greens

23. Back to School

My alarm clock rang, and I woke up with a start. I was very happy, because tomorrow was Friday. Dad was picking me up today, so there were no worries. I finished getting ready and I ate my breakfast. Shortly after that, mom took me to school. Apparently the power came back on yesterday, so they were able to have school today. I went over to my locker, where Kendra was waiting for me. We exchanged our hello's and good morning's and went on with our lives. I came early today so I could go to the library. Charlie was there, waiting for me near the non-fiction section. The dance was next week, so Charlie was reading a lot of books about dances. I rolled my eyes, snatched the dancing book away from him, and gave him a Harry Potter book.

"Why don't you read something fun?" I asked him.

He looked at me and smiled. "I need to learn how to not step on your toes." He said.

I laughed. "Come on, let's go to class."

 I went over to go turn my book in and we walked into the busy middle school hall. Some people didn't realize that our interview was old news, so they were still talking about it. The moment we walked into the hallway, almost everyone stopped and started to whisper to each other. I shot some people looks and waved at others, but nobody stopped looking. I like attention, but this has gone a little too far. I was fine with this kind of attention for a week, but not two. I walked Charlie over to Mrs. Gomez's class and I went to go to my art class.

A few exciting and catching- up periods later, it was time for lunch. I stopped at my locker and got out my lunch box. I went into the cafeteria where Bobby, Belinda, Charlie, and Lisa were sitting. I sat down with a plop and started eating my sandwich.

"Hey stranger." Belinda said, turning her attention to me. 

"Hey, haven't seen you in a while. How was it being without power yesterday?" I asked her. 

"It was terrible, I couldn't charge my phone or watch TV!" She said. 

"I'm just glad it's over." Charlie said, scooting his chair closer to Belinda's. We nodded. 

"Charlie and I got in a fight with Bobby and Lisa yesterday, as well as practicing our dancing routines." I said. 

Belinda nodded. "Lisa has been acting really weird lately. I've tried calling her but she says she too busy practicing with Bobby." 

 Now it was her turn to roll her eyes. We watched Bobby and Lisa quietly, and it was really boring. They were just talking. Now I was really angry and I didn't feel like using sarcasm. Charlie could sense my anger, and patted my arm. "Calm down, we just need to leave them alone." He said softly. His voice was so sweet that I decided not to yell at him and make a scene. Instead, I shifted my focus toward Belinda's story about the night of the storm. I told them how Lisa's tree caught on fire and Charlie talked about how scary it was staying home alone when lightning could strike his house at any moment. 

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Lisa watching us. She had a sad face, wishing she were still "single" or whatever. It wasn't my fault she was putting herself out there for everyone to see, and then when somebody is interested in her they go and hog her. Nope, it wasn't my fault and I tried to pull her out of the situation. I think now she was really regretting not listening to me. I wasn't in the mood to be nice, so I went ahead and pretended I didn't see her. 

Belinda was very shocked about "The Verdict" and that I was very smart for thinking about that, no matter how unrealistic it seemed. I thanked her, blushing. Charlie beckoned me to look at Lisa, but I shook my head. "Not today" I mouthed. He nodded, looking a little worried. I sent a text to mom about dinner when Lisa scooted her chair next to mine. I kept playing with my phone. She tapped my shoulder and Belinda and Charlie stopped to look. 

"Hey, why don't you look at me?" Lisa asked me. 

I looked up at her, irked. "Look, I'm sorry. I can't lose my chance with Bobby and just for this time, I need to devote my time to him..." I didn't let her finish.

 "You think guys are more important than best friends? I'm not asking you to drop him so you can devote all your attention to me, but I don't want you ignoring me either. When Bobby was over on Wednesday I didn't like it, it was our time together. Charlie's mom was on her way home so he was going to leave shortly. I tried to tell you how I felt but you wouldn't listen." I said.

 She looked at me with a sympathetic face. The bell then rang and I grabbed my bag. Charlie and I walked out of the cafeteria with Belinda in tow leaving Lisa behind. She needed some time to think about what I said. I said bye to Belinda and Charlie and I went over to my locker. I didn't want to think about Vicky, so I thought about other things instead. "Man, I have a long day ahead of me." I muttered, closing my locker door.

What is the measurement of angle 3? I hated this math homework! I mumbled something and scribbled the answer on the paper. I was in my room working on homework on my built-in desk. It was really old, and the cabinets were creaky, but it still worked for me. I continued working on my work until mom came home. Dad was in the kitchen, making dinner. I smelled the chicken all the way from my room, and it smelled very yummy. 

I was on my last math problem when I heard a noise coming from my window. I jumped in my seat, startled. I slowly walked over to the window and opened the window. I found a package just below the window, so I went ahead and picked it up. I unwrapped the plastic wrap and found a paper wrapped around a rock. Lisa was lucky she didn't crack my window. I found that the paper was a note from Lisa. I wasn't surprised.

Dear Carla,

I'm sorry I acted like a jerk over the past couple of days. I promise to spend more time with you after the dance. I know you want my attention now, but I can't right now. Please understand and send me a text.

Sincerely,

Lisa.

I threw the note onto my bed and closed the window. I wanted to finish all my homework before dinner, so I went ahead and finished the last math problem, which was pretty tricky. I put the finished homework in my backpack and got my assigned reading book out. I read the chapters I needed to read and saved the rest for later tonight. "C, dinner is ready!" Dad called from the kitchen. I went over to the kitchen and we started eating dinner. I told mom and dad about what happened at school today and they said that middle school was full of drama and not to let that distract me from schoolwork. I had to explain that schoolwork was a totally other world and that social life was another. All they did was nod their heads. I could tell they weren't convinced. I did make straight A's and I got A's from all of my semester exams. After an uneventful evening, I went to bed with a clear mind.