She walks into my history class. She looks around, her brown eyes finding the seating chart with a look of disgust. What teacher makes a seating chart on the first day of school? Ms. Frazier, that's who. An unmarried unbelievably dull looking and acting woman with a knack for sending students to detention. I hate her already. My attention shifts back the the girl I've had an embarrassing crush on for a whole year. Her name is Lexi Rivera, she has long, silly, smooth, beautiful brown-black hair that she normally wears down, beautiful and often annoyed brown eyes, pretty, full lips and freckles. Her nose is cute and so is her smile, but she doesn't smile as much as the other girls I know. She's wearing a white cami with little red flowers printed on and flattering blue jeans with tears at the knees. She has a headphone in and she rolls her eyes as she finds her seat.
Ms. Frazier comes in and clasps her hands together. "Alright everyone," she says in her high trill of a voice, "I want you all to say hi to the person next to you because they will be your partner for the rest of the semester." What kind of cruel heartless creature makes a seating chart on the first day for the whole semester? I scored though, Tyler is my partner and we've know each other since 6th grade math class. He's funny and has wavy ginger hair. He plays baseball for the school and does club. He laughs and jokes "hey what's your name? Mines Tyler." I roll my eyes and laugh.
"Wow great to meet you, mines Adam."
"Wow you look familiar, have I met you somewh-" he gets interrupted by Ms. Frazier. "Okay that's enough. For your first assignment you will be-" wow an assignment? Today? What an asshole. "-writing down one thing abiut yourself and one thing about your partner, yes this is for a grade. I look at Tyler. He seems to also think this is the stupidest class. "Next-" Next!? "- you will be writing a paragraph about your favorite event in world history." Are you kidding? When she finally stops talking Tyler and I start working. I get distracted imagining what animal she would be. What one makes such a horrid sound whenever it speaks. I settle on an old barn owl who smokes 29 packs a day. I tell Tyler this and he laughs, doing an impression.
A few desks over I hear Lexi talk. "I mean, you could put that in do soccer? This is bullshit-" her partner Amaya nods, "I know right? Who the hell does she think she is?" Lexi groans and puts her head on the desk. She is so beautiful, and I am so hopeless. Tyler must have been trying to talk to me because he nudges my shoulder, "you alive?"
"Oh shit- yea." His eyes follow mine and he rolls his eyes.
"Dude really? Still? I thought you were going to get over her this summer, you know date around and shit."
I sigh and reply, "yea well it's not that easy, look at her."
"She looks like every other girl here dude, really you could have your pick of anyone.
"I know. I want her." I roll my eyes.
"She doesn't like you man, plus you never talk to her." He has a point there.
"I talk to her at lunch man, shut up."
"Sure you do."
I huff at him and finish my paragraph. It's only three sentences but Ms. Frezier will have to get over it. I wrote about the Cold War. I never pay attention in history. It says, 'The Cold War was between the us and Russia. No one actually fought. Space race.' It seems like good enough work, at least to my standards which aren't very high.
My parents got onto me about my grades in the past, but I think they realized that a C is good enough. C's get degrees and whatever. I've always struggled in school. I try to pay attention but it's hard and whatever I learn I just forget. I got diagnosed with ADHD in 2nd grade, after I almost had to redo the whole year. My teachers have always expressed concern, but my parents thought I was fine. I had plenty of friends and never mentioned struggling and never needed help with homework (because I always forgot I had homework) but when I was diagnosed it made sense.
They try their best to support me with everything, but sometimes they're overbearing. After every parent teacher conference it's the same talk. I'm very sick of it. Last year, I had to go to tutoring after school almost every day. It was horrible and boring. It didn't even help that much.
I have a form thing that lets me have notes on tests and extra days to do stuff but, shocker, I forget to use it. Ms. Frazier yells at Lexi to pick her head up, which she does, but with a clear hatred.
The rest of my day is okay. I have two classes with Lexi, history and chemistry. Ironic. I have a good spread of friends in my classes and so far my teachers seem okay, outsize of Ms. Frazier. I go home and collapse in my bed. I hate school. My mom comes home from her shift at the hospital and knocks on my door. She's a nurse and a total badass. I let her come in and hound me with questions until I start to get hangry and get up to get a snack. When I walk into the kitchen I see a three bags of McDonald's. I hug her and thank her before eating. I notice the lack of my little sister Abby and ask my mom about it, to which she tells me that she is having a sleepover at her friends house and that I knew about it. I finish my dinner and get ready for bed.
