Today is Monday

Chapter 9: Neo

November 14, 1996

Class had three more minutes until it started and that girl wouldn't stop pestering me.

"What a coincidence that we see each other again!" She smiled.

"Yeah... If you have any questions I guess I'm the person you're supposed to ask," I said, getting my stuff out.

"Cool, but like for this class" She pressed her pointer finger on the desk, "Or like all of them?"

"Just this one." Then I said in my head, I hope. She nodded her head and looked at the stuff I got out. "What?" I asked.

"Oh, I was just seeing what I needed." She looked at my desk then went in her bag and got stuff out. She got out a highlighter, notebook, and a pencil. Just what I had out. Except she kept looking over at my side. "Is that a book I get or is it in class?"

"What book?" I asked, looking at my stuff. She pointed at my journal, which I forgot to put away. "Oh no, that's nothing." I quickly stuffed it back in my bag.

"Oh, okay." She replied and turned to face the teacher. The bell rang and class started.

This class was English and we were reading a short story. I rather enjoyed english and I didn't know why. This short story was very interesting, but most of the people in this class took AP English to pass, not to learn and be engaged. I read it and even took notes for my future writing skills. The teacher started to ask questions and before I could answer that girl, which I noticed I didn't know her first name, answered them before me. She seemed as engaged as I was. She was answering left and right that I was even taking notes of what she was saying.

"Does anyone have an idea on why this passage was written? What do you think was the hidden message?" Mr. Garrison asked the class.

"I think the reason the author wrote this was to show that you don't have to be trapped by society's expectations. You see how through the story the mouse doesn't try to leave the cage. It's like when a person doesn't want to change who society places them to be, but when the mouse starts to..." She continued her explanation.

Class ended fast and what she thought about the story really intrigued me because I thought it was meant to teach us that life needs to change, not be the same old thing everyday. Just like how that mouse thought there was more to life so it tried to escape. Her idea would have never crossed my mind. As I left the class I got really hungry for lunch. I didn't focus on the girl after that thought and went to go get my lunch. I would usually sit with Chris and his friends, out of muscle, but when I saw him he glared at me and I remember that he didn't want to talk to me anymore. So I backed away and looked for another place to sit. I looked for an empty seat not really wanting to sit by anyone else. It took me a while and when I found one, I sat there not really caring about where it was until I actually sat down. It was by the corner of cafetera near the back, it was the fairest of the exit. I didn't complain so I ate my lunch. I got my journal out thinking this would be the best time to write.

November 14, 1996

Today is Thursday and something I was not expecting happened today. My parents have left for another trip. They usually leave for about four to six months, but instead this time it's a short one. They will be gone for a week. I'm happy to get another break from them, but I still have to be careful not to mess up my freedom. I also thought that school was going to be horrible after Chris spread his rumors, but what I didn't expect was that someone new would come to our school. She seems nice, but I still need to be careful just in case she is just using me. In english -

"What are you writing?" I looked up, placing my hand over my journal to cover it. It was that girl again. She sat down across from me and waited for my answer.