No Strings Attached

5

Two weeks later, I was sitting in my last class of the day, praying to be released to the weekend. It was Friday, and the seconds had seemed to tick on endlessly as two day freedom approached. I yawned and shuffled around in my seat, trying to make myself wake up. This class always made me drowsy.

Finally, the bell let out its normal and shrill ringing sound, signaling the end of seventh period. I let out a sigh of relief and stood up, stretching, and not caring to listen to my pre-calculus teacher, Mr. Branson, drone on any longer about analytic trigonometry. I gathered up my books and slid them easily and quickly into my backpack. I slung it over my shoulder and walked out of the classroom, eager to get outside and back home again.

I walked down the halls of the school again, navigating the corridors that had now become somewhat familiar to me. I was slowly growing more familiar with the school and its population now. I had been sitting with Naomi's group at lunch, and though I never really contributed to the conversations as much as the rest of them did, I felt like I had somewhat of a place there. Things were coming alone pretty smoothly at home as well. We had unpacked as much as we normally did every move, and I had settled in well enough.

Snapping out of my thoughts, I rounded the corner and came to my locker, slowing down and stopping in front of it. I spun the lock quickly, flicking through the combination and then attempting to open it. It didn't budge, and I cursed to myself. I was terrible at opening the lock myself, and trying to open it was a large endeavor every single time. It served as the reason why I only went to my locker at the end of the day.

Fifteen or so attempts later, the locker finally swung open, and I let out a sigh of relief, dropping my heavy backpack on the floor and starting to switch out my books as quickly as possible. I didn't want to miss the bus home.

A couple minutes later, I zipped up my backpack and threw it back over my shoulders. I checked my watch. "Shit," I mumbled to myself under my breath, before starting to sprint down the hall and out to the front of the school. The bus was probably leaving right now. My backpack thumped against my back as I weaved in and out of kids going the opposite direction, and I hoped that when I arrived outside, I would still be greeted by Lenard and the bus.

I burst through the doors, and sprinted down the steps, only to be greeted by the bus beginning to roll away. "Shit, I-" I said, slightly out of breath before starting to run again. "Hey! Wait!" I called after the bus, feeling slightly embarrassed to be doing this in front of all the kids in front of the school. Still, I continued. It was my only ride home, since my dad would be working until late.

Seconds later, though, the bus stopped, and the doors opened. "Thank god," I mumbled to myself as I slowed to a light jog and then climbed the stairs to enter the bus. I took a deep breath of air once I got on before turning to the driver. "Thanks, Lenard," I said, trying to control my breathing.

Lenard, who I had started to talk to more frequently while on the bus rides, simply raised his eyebrows. "Don't thank me, I didn't even know you were there," he stated.

"What?" I asked, confused. In response, he gestured toward the back of the bus. I craned my neck, peering into the back until my eyes connected with a familiar pair of green ones. Naomi. "Oh," I said simply, as I turned back to Lenard, who was starting to drive away.

"You're friend protested quite bit," he chuckled a little, glancing at me before returning his eyes to the road.

"She's not exactly my friend," I responded immediately, and he just raised his eyebrows, not asking any questions. I sighed again. "But thanks, again."

"No problem, kid," he responded, and I walked to the back of the bus, where I knew Naomi was anticipating me.

"Hey!" She said, smiling as she patted the seat next to her.