High School War Zone

5. The Land of Fat People

The alignment of the stars caused Evelyn, Abigail, and Drew to all have the same Literature class. That usually would've been great, but that only gave her reasons to fret over her friends' well-being.

That was because her newfound two friends actually seemed excited for this class.

Right? It's just so...worrying.

The teacher was going over the syllabus and the books they were going to read this unit. He was emphasizing a lot and not a soul was taking in his words.

Even Abigail and Evelyn were simply reading the reading list themselves.

Abby poured over the list, "Wow, we're going to read Julius Caesar!"

Drew wrinkled her nose, "Ew."

Evelyn made a hmm sound, "Shakespeare is a good writer. Too bad I already read it."

"I know!" Abby agreed. "I mean, I haven't read Julius Caesar, but I read Macbeth in school and that one was surprisingly cool. Once you get past all the icky old speak, the metaphors and puns he uses are actually amazing."

Drew blew hair out of her face, thoroughly unmoved, "Yeah. Right."

They heard a small snore, and the girls looked over to see Ben passed out on his desk.

"Does that idiot always sleep in class?" Drew asked in disgust.

"No," Evelyn said, "sometimes he sleeps at home."

Abby rolled her eyes, "You can be really sarcastic sometimes, Evie."

Evelyn looked peeved, "Don't call me that."

"Why not?"

"It's the name of a Pokémon, and I hate Pokémon."

Drew snorted, "Eevee? The squirrel thing?"

Evelyn flipped a page in her book like she was slapping someone, "Yes."

"Do you have other friends? What do they call you?" Abigail asked Evelyn, completely flipping the subject around.

Evelyn didn't look up from her almanac, "They're both at a different school now." That was when she locked eyes with Abigail. "And they called me Evelyn."

Abigail looked disappointed. Then she reached out to lift Evelyn's book, "The World Almanac 2016," she read. She sat back down, "I like fantasy books better than nonfiction."

"Well yippy skippee for you," Evelyn said.

Abigail failed to notice Evelyn uncaring tone, "You know what book I read this summer I really really really liked? It's called A Palace of Thorns and Roses. It's about this girl named Faery—" Abigail eagerly recounted her book.

Drew was saved by David raising his hand to ask the teacher a question. "What if I've already read some of the books on the list?"

Mr. Garrula looked delighted, "Which ones have you read?"

David glanced over the paper, "All of them except Julius Caesar."

"Well then, you might find this class easier than most."

"I hate Lizowski," Evelyn murmured suddenly.

Drew assumed that Lizowski was David's last name.

"Any reason in particular?" Abby questioned, eyes curious.

Evelyn's response was a glare.

Mr. Garrula suddenly clapped his hands. "So since this class is all about literature and books, why don't you guys tell me how many books you've read over the summer?"