TWELVE
May 1993
Charity breathed a sigh of relief as she exited the school building with her group of friends. Exams and the end of the school year were coming up, so classes were filled with revision sessions. Even at home, she revised more than she did homework.
As she exited through the school gates, Kevin was there as always. She waved in his direction but didn’t head toward him. After telling him so many times she’d lost count that she preferred to walk with her friends, it was a waste of time to repeat herself. She’d even tried to discourage him from stopping by the school, but he didn’t listen and kept coming.
“Why is he still coming?” Matt asked from beside her. “You don’t even go with him anymore.”
She shrugged. “I told him not to, but he still comes.”
Jake added his two cents. “Kevin never listens.”
“Want to come over to my house today?” Matt asked, swiftly changing the subject.
Charity sighed and shook her head. “I can’t. I have to stay home and study until after exams.”
Matt shrugged. “I guess I’ll come over and study with you guys, then.”
On their arrival to the house, after everyone had a snack in the kitchen—peanut butter and jam or cheese and baloney sandwiches—they gathered in the den where David was doing his own studying. They sprawled out on the floor together and pored over their textbooks, studying the pages they’d been told to revise by their teachers. Then they took turns quizzing each other.
The four of them stuck to it for a few hours until Charity was sure her brain couldn’t take anymore and put away her books. Jake immediately followed suit.
“Done?” Missy asked.
Charity nodded.
“Me, too,” Matt said, putting away his books.
“Let’s watch TV,” Jake suggested.
Agreed, they lined up their bags against the wall by the entrance of the room and Jake turned on the TV. Then they sprawled out to watch the chosen program.
For the next two weeks, Charity and her friends kept up the routine of studying after school. On most days, Matt accompanied them to Charity’s house, and on some days, Trisha came, too. The days passed slowly for Charity as she meticulously prepared for the exams.
“I hate math,” she mumbled to her father as she worked at the dining table solving practice questions he’d written down for her.
He chuckled beside her. “Most kids do.”
“Did you?” she asked.
He smiled. “Yes.”
“Do you still hate it?”
“I stopped hating it when I got better at it.”
Charity wondered if the same would hold true for her. She doubted she could ever truly come to like math, but she could hope.
🌺
May came to an end and June began, and so did the dreaded exams. For the duration of the exam period, Charity—and her friends—studied and revised more than ever. Finally, the last exam was over and they were released home early.
“It’s over,” Jake said happily as they exited the school building.
“Finally,” Missy seconded with a sigh.
YOU ARE READING
Elm Creek: A Readymade Family, Volume 2
General Fiction[PG-15] When love isn't enough to guarantee happily ever after... Trigger warning: Contains descriptions of the grooming of a minor, stalking, and non-explicit sexual references. Note: Story is told exclusively from the point of view of a non-Muslim...
