Loving Raven

7. Second First Impressions

I pilfered with the contents in my locker making out as if I was looking for a set of notes for our next class, Jackson peering down my neck throughout the entire process. I didn't want to tell him that I was avoiding going to class that day, the same way I had avoided every class I had together with Raven since the day she overheard the conversation between Jackson and I. A conversation that was taken out of context, and had destroyed mine and Raven's friendship. Things hadn't been the same between the two of us, however I had hoped us being assigned to work together for last science project of the year would help turn things around. She avoided every bit that had to do with talking to me; she would take the notes by herself, map out the project, and hand me everything at the end of the period on her end for me to go over. After that, it was the complete cold shoulder. 

"If you haven't found your notes by now, they're long gone my friend," Jackson closed my locker door almost catching my fingers in the process, me continuing the act of looking for notes that I knew were securely tucked away in the contents of my binder. He adjusted his backpack that was slung over one of his shoulders, "Let's go before we're late. The bell is supposed to ring in maybe a minute." 

I followed his lead to Ms. Phillips' classroom, taking my strides as slow as heavenly possible. The frustration escaping from Jackson's grunts signaled his intuition of my stalling, each grunt growing increasingly more annoyed than the last. "Did you and Malachi figure out what you're going to do for the science project? Raven's mostly done all of the planning for ours, we're taking a crack at plants growing in different environments. Playing it safe. She has this whole idea about making plants grow in different liquids; milk, water, soda, stuff like that. Then altering their habitual situations; planting them all in fertilized soil, but only allowing for partial sets to have access to sunlight and the others staying cooped up in a closer or something. Pretty neat," I rambled in an attempt to make conversations. 

"We're playing it safe too," I watched him shrug his shoulders out of the corner of my eyes, "He wants to do a volcano. Simple, easy as pie, and quick to throw together on a weekend's notice." We made our arrival into Ms. Phillips' classroom seating ourselves in our normal seats; mine in the corner of the classroom and Jackson beside me as usual. I couldn't help but take into note that Raven wasn't in her normal seat, the seat she had made her own after our falling out. I slightly missed her having to turn sideways to face my textbook, this act becoming a habit every day following despite her now having her own textbook to look at.

Ms. Phillips' walked into the classroom being her normal and cheery self, making her way directly to her desk to begin marking attendance, "Good morning everyone! I will not be sitting with you guys today, I have a very important board meeting in the office this morning that demands my attention. Mr. Hall will be checking in on you guys throughout the period. You already know the drill, get with your partners and start back on your projects, remember the map of your projects and rough drafts are due no later than the end of the period on Friday." She began filling her arms with a few vanilla folders filled with paperwork, "Cullen, Raven is out sick today. Unfortunately this means you'll be working by yourself, but if you can please make additional copies of any notes you may take and have them delivered to her this afternoon." 

Before I could make a reply she was out of the classroom, however I had no reason to object her commands. Jackson gently slapped one of my shoulders before retreating from his desk to join Malachi across the room, "See you on the flip side, bro."

Malachi and Jackson were the perfect mashup when it came to picking out lab partners. If you wanted a pair of slackers who would rather sleep all day during class, rather than buckling down and eager to get their work done, you had your pair of men. They spent a majority of the class being the total class clowns they were destined to be, all the while both maintaining a better than average GPA.