Motherless

30

I jolted awake, my heart pounding in my chest as the sound of the bell echoed through the room. My eyes flew open, and for a split second, I had no idea where I was. Then, it hit me: the exam.

"Oh, shit," I muttered under my breath, sitting up too fast. The classroom erupted into quiet laughter around me, and I could feel my face burning with embarrassment. Great. Just what I needed—a public nap during a final exam.

"Miss Thompson," the teacher called, her voice dripping with irritation. She stood at the front of the room, arms crossed and already reaching for my exam paper. "Time's up."

I stared at the blank spaces on my paper, my stomach sinking. Barely half the questions were answered, and the ones I had written felt like half-hearted guesses. I was screwed.

"Can I—" I hesitated, my throat tightening as the other students started filing out of the room. "Can I have a little more time? Please?"

The teacher raised an eyebrow. "No, Talia. Time is up for everyone. You should've used the time you had."

"But I—" My words trailed off. I had no excuse that would change anything, nothing that would make sense to her. I'd barely been in school lately, and the days I was here, I was too tired to think straight. But that wasn't something she'd care about.

"Sorry," she said, not sounding sorry at all. "You'll have to accept the grade you earned." She walked away, leaving me standing there feeling helpless.

I grabbed my things, stuffing them into my bag as fast as I could and practically ran out of the room before anyone else could get another good laugh in at my expense. I felt like crying but swallowed the feeling down. What good would crying do?

As I headed toward my locker, I heard someone call my name.

"Talia!"

I turned to see Hector jogging down the hall to catch up to me. He was wearing his usual easy smile, the one that always seemed to make everything feel a little lighter, even on the worst days. I tried to force a smile back, but I was too tired.

"Hey," I said, managing a half-hearted wave.

"You okay?" he asked, falling into step beside me. His brow furrowed, and I could see the concern in his eyes. "You've been missing a lot of school lately, and... well, you look kinda exhausted."

I glanced over at him, feeling a mix of emotions. Part of me wanted to push him away, like I usually did with everyone else, but Hector wasn't like the others. He'd been the only one to actually notice me, the only one who ever bothered to ask how I was doing.

"Yeah, just tired," I said, trying to brush it off. "I've been working a lot. I need to save up some money."

"Working?" He raised an eyebrow. "What kind of job are you doing?"

I hesitated. I couldn't exactly tell him the truth. Not about Dagger. Not about the real reason I was so tired and missing school. I'd ruin everything if I did. So, I lied. Or, at least, I tried to keep it vague enough not to be a lie.

"It's a family job," I said, forcing a small smile. "Helping out with stuff. You know, nothing too exciting."

He looked at me for a second, like he was trying to figure out if I was being honest or not. "I was thinking about getting a job too, maybe for the summer," he said after a pause. "But, man, you've gotta be careful not to overwork yourself. You need to take care of yourself too."

There it was again—that softness in his voice. It made something warm flutter in my chest, but I quickly shoved the feeling down. I couldn't afford to get distracted. Not now.