Rusty's Secret

37. Summer

Rusty wakes up to the annoying beeping of his alarm on his phone. He rubbed his eyes as he sat up. He opened up his phone. The sudden artificial light stung his eyes as he checked the date. Friday, June twelth. His eyes widened as he realized what day it was. He blinked slowly as he looked around his room.

"Rusty, get up! You don't want to be late! It's your last day!" His mum shouts from the kitchen. He jumped out his bed.

He ran into the kitchen. Dusty sits at the table with her head down. Her eyes were sparkling with tears. "Oh, come on, Dusty, cheer up. You'll get to see your friends over the summer" Her mum said comfortingly. "But what if we fall out of touch over the summer! What if they're too busy to see me! What if we're not in the same class next year! I'll just be a lonely nobody with no friends again!" Dusty shouted, trying not to cry. "Dusty, don't say those kinds of things! Of course you'll see your friends again. Don't worry" Her mum said nicley.

Rusty sat down next to Dusty with a smile, happy that after today, he was free from school. As their mum sets breakfast on the table, the bus arrives outside. "Oh! Mum! My bus is here. I gotta go!" Rusty yelled as he hopped out of his seat. "Oh, alright. But what about breakfast?" She asked as he got closer to the door. "I'll just eat a snack at school! Love you, bye!" He scrambled out of the door, his backpack almost falling off his back.

Rusty steps onto his bus in front of his house. He ran towards the back, where he always sat. "Hey Jack!" He said excitedly as he sat down next to him. "Hey Rusty!" Jack replied as he schooched over to give Rusty room to sit. "Are you excited for summer?" Jack asked as the bus started to move. "Yeah, I can't wait for this hellish year to be over" Rusty sighed. "Yeah, but I enjoyed it a little" Jack said as he stared out the window. "Really? Why?" Rusty questioned. "Well, mostly because you were there with me....I guess...." Jack answered shyly as he blushed. Rusty smiled as Jack rested his head on his shoulder. "What are you doing over the summer?" Rusty asked him, trying to create a conversation. "Uh, nothing much. I guess I'll just sleep in every day" Jack laughed. "That sounds nice" Rusty chuckled.

Mackenzie, Jean-luc, and Bluey onto the bus together. Mackenzie and Bluey sit down next to each other. Jean-luc stands there as Bluey looks up at him. "Oh, I'm sorry, Jean-luc, there's only room for two" Bluey sighed. "Oh...that's okay..." Jean-luc said silently as he slowly walked away. Jean-luc sits in the seat in the back of them as he stares out the window.

Judo, Indy, and Pretzel hop onto the bus together. They say hello to all their friends. "Hey Bluey!" Indy said as she walked by. "I can't believe it's the last day!" Judo exclaimed. "Yeah, me too. I wonder what eight grade will be like..." Pretzel wondered. "I hope it's better than this year" Judo said hopefully as the bus began to move again.

The bus stops at the school. Rusty stares at the school through the window before getting off the bus. He grabs onto Jack's hand before they walk into the school. "Alright, here we go" Rusty said with a smile as they entered the crowded hallway.

Jean-luc follows Mackenzie to math class. Jean-luc stares down at his moving feet and sighs. "What's wrong?" Mackenzie asked curiously. "I-I uh....I'm just tired of...tired of being a third wheel" Jean-luc sighed. "What? Third wheel? How are you a third wheel?" Mackenzie questioned. Jean-luc stopped walking. "Listen. I know you and Bluey have been friends for a long time. And I know she's your girlfriend, but she's my friend too. Even though you've been friends for years and I've only been friends with her for a couple of days. But those days on the camping trip were the best days of my life. It felt like real, real friendship. I just want some acknowledgment from either of you, please...." Jean-luc confessed. "O-Oh....I didn't know you felt that way, Jean-luc....sorry....." Mackenzie apologized with a smile. "It's alright" Jean-luc said happily as they started walking again.