My Mother and Ava Summerfield

Two

I watch my sneakers as I round the corner. Was that creepy or cute. Cute, it was really cute. No, it wasn't. That was creepy, definitely creepy, but...

"Watch where you're going." A deep voice says when I feel a slab of meat hit my shoulder.

"Sorry," I say moving past a group a large football players. I take a seat next to a tall, lanky boy with dark skin and a mess of blonde curls. He is folding a piece of paper. I watch, mesmerized as his fingers crease the paper and fold it into shape. The bell rings and he puts the unfinished origami in his bag, but as he does so he sees my eyes on him. He gives a slight nod and faces the front.

An elderly woman in a long brown skirt walks in, shutting the door behind her. Her hair is a graying brown and her pursed lips say that she is not going to take anything. "My name is Mrs. Hancock."

A burst of giggles from the other side of the room and one of them says, "Mrs. Hand-Cock." I can only roll my eyes. The rest of the class is deadly silent as Mrs. Hancock clicks the heels of against the floor and gives the group the death stare. All of their smiles vanish and some even sink a little lower in their chair. A small smile comes to be lips.

She turns back to the entire class. "As I was saying, I am your freshmen English literature and essay writing teacher. This class is easy as long as you listen when you are supposed to listen, read what you are supposed to read, and turn in your work when it is due. Is everyone clear?" She asks with a smug smile. The whole class nods 'yes' and some even say "Yes ma'am"

"Good. Please come get your textbook when I call your name. Sawyer Ainsworth." One of the boys who laughed earlier almost fell out of his seat as he tried to get up and walk across the room.

The list went on and I just waited for her to get to the second half of the alphabet. The boy who was making origami at the beginning of class got up when the name Holden Mathewson was called. Finally, I hear "Jayden Thaddeus." I stand up carefully. I watch my step to make sure I don't trip over any backpacks. The teacher hands me a dark, forest green textbook. I make it back to my seat in one piece. I sign my name in the front of the book.

"Is that everyone?" Mrs. Hancock asks handing another book to Eldo Whitaker. No one responds. "Good."

My watch reads that it is 8:26. When do we leave this class? I sneak a look at my schedule. This class is another nineteen minutes long. "Take one and pass it back." The teacher says dropping a small stack of papers on the front desk of each row. "This is the reading list for this year. I have enough copies for everyone, but I suggest that you buy your own to make notes in the margins. Romeo and Juliet, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Odyssey.

Another paper is handed back to me. This one is a rubric for an essay. I sigh. This is mind numbing. I look over at Holden. He has pulled the paper he was working on back out and is hiding behind the girl in front of him. It's not working very well. Mrs. Hancock looks in our direction and her uses the handout sheets to cover up his hands.

After a forever long amount of time of a boring old lady, in boring old clothes, talking in a boring old voice the bell rings. I stand up so quickly I almost hit my knees on the desk. Holden stands beside me in the mass of students trying to push their way out the door like salmon in a river.

"Do you do origami?" He asks. When he speaks I can see that he has bright orange braces strapped across his teeth. I look up at him. "I saw you watching me," he explained.

"Oh, no, I was just fascinated."

He acknowledges my response with another nod. After we make it into the hallway he leans down bringing us closer to eye level. "You wouldn't happen to know where Mr. Harman's class is would you?"

I laugh a little and pull out my schedule. "No, but he is my next class too."

Holden and I get lost on our way to biology and finally have to ask one on the upper classmen wearing and blue and white shirt asking, NEED HELP?

We make it to class on time, but just by the hair of our chinny chin chins. The only seats left are the two in the front beside the teachers desk. Mr. Harman is a short middle aged man that talks with the slightest hint of an Irish accent. This class is just like the last. We get textbooks and handout sheets. Except this time, the teacher had us play a name game. It would have been fine if some people participated instead of all playing the same game on their phones.

"What is your next class?" Holden asks when the bell sounds.

"Spanish." Next period is Spanish with Ava I remember.

"Oh, well mine is art history."

"When is your lunch?"

"12:10"

"Mine too. Would you want to each lunch together. I don't know anyone else here."

"Me either," he says walking away down a side hall.

I stop at my locker. The same couple is blocking it. "Excuse me, please," I say hitting the beginning of each word with an unnecessary amount of force. The guy rolls his eyes at me, but they move. I discard two classes worth of books and nearly throw my bag across the hall, it seems so light.

I manage to find my Spanish class alright but know that I am in the right spot when I see Ava's red hair. She turned around with a smile and waved me over to where she was sitting with a group of other sophomore girls.

Cute or creepy, cute or creepy? I can't make a decision

"Jayden, this is Ashley, Bree, and Tanya," she says pointing to each of the girls.

"Hi," I say ducking my head slightly. I hear one of them giggle.

"How has your day been? Have you found all your classes?" Ava asks. Her voice always sounds so happy and bubbly.

"Good, fine," I say.

"That's good," Ava says.

She grabs my phone from the side pocket of my bag. "Hey, what are you doing?"

"Hold on," she says punching in numbers on the keypad. She hands me back my phone. "If you ever need anything, text me."

"Okay, thanks." Was she flirting?

A woman walks into the room as the bell rings. "Hola clase. Mi llamo sra. Perry." A few brave students reply with an 'Hola', but most stay quiet.

Spanish class goes by in the same way as English and Biology. We even get an assignment to study for an upcoming quiz.

Fourth period is gym and fifth period is world history and the pattern continues.

At lunch, I see Holden. He is eating his pizza at a round table in the corner of the cafeteria. The rest of the day blurs into one long class period of just waiting for the final bell to ring and release me from math.