Sector City

Chapter 6 ~David~

       I am almost finished with the test when there is a quiet knock on the door to the room. Math is easy and I'm the only one close to finished. I look up and watch Julie and Blair walk into the room. The teacher eyes them with suspicion until they hand him their excuse slips. When Julie starts looking for a seat, I turn back to my test I don't want her to think I was watching her. A few seconds later someone slides into the empty seat next to me. I glance over. It's Blair, not Julie so I go back to work.
       Once I finish the last problem I sit up and raise my hand. It takes a while for the teacher to look up and notice me but finally he does and walks over.
      "Yes, Mr. Jones?" He never calls us by our first names.
      "I finished the test." I hand him my papers, "So, can I go?"
       He looks at me incredulously and says,"Already done? Really?"
       I shrug my shoulders, "Math's easy for me."
      "I suppose you could go, but I don't know where. Why don't you just stay here, alright?"
      I grimace and my eyes flick to the right where Blair is. "Ok. I guess," I say keeping my voice as level as possible.
He walks back to his desk, and I pull out my history book. I might as well study if I'm stuck here.
                        ~
       By the time everyone else is finished I have re-learned all about the sector system and begun to understand the different divisions a little more.
      Julie and Blair are still working. I put my book away when the teacher walks toward the front of the class.
      "Seeing as most of you are done, and the time limit is up, you will now turn in your tests. If you are not quite done with them you may finish them after your last class." The bell rings, but no one gets up yet. He keeps talking, "All the uncompleted tests will be put in one of the class rooms at the end of the day. Your classroom will be assigned at the assembly this afternoon." While he is talking we pass our tests to the front of the room.
      Once he dismisses us I hop up, grab my bag, and head to the door eager to be rid of Blair. I open the door as the bell rings and go into the hallway. I turn right toward the lockers.
     "Wait up!" I hear Joe call from behind me and slow my progress. "I don't know how you did it without her crying, flinching, or even moving, but I think a Blair has a black eye!"
     I laugh, "It wasn't me man," we start walking to the next class, "It was Julie. She punched Blair after the second period class. That must be why they were late."
      I glance behind me and see Julie and Lilly walking our way laughing. Behind them I see Blair and one of her friends glaring at their backs. Joe punches me in the arm, and I quickly turn back rubbing where he hit me.
       "Ooh! Somebody's got a cru-" I slap my hand over his mouth and put him in a headlock before he can say anymore.
       "No," I say laughing a little, "Don't even think it 'cause it's not true." I say trying to keep my voice down.
Joe licks my hand.

 "YUCK!" I jump back wiping my hand on his shirt. "That's low man, real low."

        "You're in phase one, dude," Joe says grinning, "Denial."
       I shake my head and laugh, until I hear feminine laughter again and my head whips around. Jenny Kay has joined Lilly and Julie and they are all looking at me. That wasn't the exactly best display of manliness, and I still owe Julie a payback.
               Now it's two.
                       ~
      History. I hate history. Especially this year seeing as all we learned about is trees.
       I am sitting in the history classroom. Julie is in front of me. That's the only good thing great scenery in this class. I try to think of something I could do to her during class that would get back at her, but everything I come up with would be too obvious.
       So, instead, I take my test. The first few questions are easy.
       "How many sectors are there in your sector city?" 5. "How many divisions are in most sectors?" 5. "Which sector has the least divisions, how many does it have?" Industrial, 4.  "Which has the most, how many does it have?" Scientific, 6.
The next question stops me for a second, but it too is simple. "How many sector cities are there?" 15.
"What is the largest sector city called?" The City. I think that's right but, I don't remember for sure.
       "What is one main reason for transfer?" I don't answer it. I didn't even know you could transfer. I probably fell asleep during that lecture. I bet Julie didn't.
         The rest of the questions are simple, and I finish in a few minutes. When I look up there are a few other people done. Joe is too and is making some kind of weapon out of his scrap paper across the room, but Julie isn't done yet, at least it doesn't look like she is. I glance over her shoulder when the teacher has his back turned to us and see that she isn't working on the test. She's drawing. It looks like a body or something, but I'm not sure what. She sits back to look at it and her shoulder hits my chin. I grunt in surprise and jolt back to sit up straight. Trying to cover it with a cough. She turns around halfway and glares daggers at me with her eyes. Her shoulder is just far enough out of the way that I can see the drawing. It's of a boy sitting under an apple tree with a girl who looks suspiciously like Julie wrapped in his arms. I would say he's either mad or madly in love the way he's holding her. I notice his face is left blank, but ready to be there. Her pencil was on the other side of the page though so she hadn't been about to draw it in.
      "What?" She hisses at me.
      "Nothing!"  I say a little too loudly.  I realize I was grinning like an ape.  "I just like your picture."
       The teacher hears and looks up at me. I sink back down into my seat, and feel like a cowering three-year-old. He goes back to whatever he's doing and I sit up straight again. I pull out a sheet of blank paper, and start writing. I don't know what, the words just flow from my hand.
                           ~
      I stop writing when the teacher taps my shoulder. I look up and realize I'm the only student left in the room. The teacher sees my paper. I tense up waiting for the anger to appear on his face and in his tone.
       All he say though is, "You misspelled 'extremes'." And then he walks back to the front of the class.
      I jump up, shove my things into my backpack, leaving the test on the desk, and run out of the room.
                          ~
       I reach the cafeteria and get my tray from the lunch line. When I'm done I look around and find the Scientific Sector tables. There isn't any room at the guys table because Jenny Kay is sitting with her 'guy friend', Henry. Matt is sitting with the girls, at Autumn's request no doubt, he would do anything for her. He waves me over, and I go sit by him. Lilly sits between Julie and Blair, who is on my left. I eat quickly, listening to the clatter of the room. Lilly tries to keep up a conversation with Julie, but it fails, miserably.
      "So Julie what do you think I should wear to the graduation?"
       Julie glances up at her and mumbles, "Clothes." She then returns to her food.
      "Ha-ha-ha very funny." Lilly says sarcastically, "What kind though? Should I wear like a dress or a pair of jeans or the uniform or what?"
      Julie doesn't even look up this time, "It doesn't really matter." 
      "What?" Lilly stops with her fork halfway to her mouth, "Of course it does!"
       Julie takes a sip of her drink then stares at Lilly with a deadly serious expression and says, "No, it doesn't. Clothes are worn to please others not ourselves. So, it really doesn't matter whether you wear a t-shirt and jeans or a ball gown." With that she stands, picks up her tray, and walks away. We all just stare at her back for a minute.
      All attempts at conversation end when she leaves the room. I don't see her until the assembly that afternoon, and I don't talk to her again that day.