Imprint in Time

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Chapter Thirty-Seven

I was in my last period class zoning in and out of what the teacher was talking about. Suddenly, the classroom door opened and Eric strolled in.

“Good morning teacher,” Eric said.

“Excuse me, who are you?” the teacher said.

“I’m Eric,” he said.

“And do you go to school here?” she asked him.

“Well, no, but it’ll just take a second,” he assured her.

She sighed. “Ok,” she said. “But make it fast,”

“Thank you. I’m here to see Hayden,” he said. He scanned the room for her and he spotted her. He went over to her and pulled out a bouquet of roses from behind his back. Hayden gasped.

“Are these for me?” she asked.

“No, they’re for my girlfriend,” he said seriously.

“Oh,” she said.

“Which, if you agree to go out with me, you can have,” he said. She nodded.

“Yes!” she said. They hugged and the whole classroom cheered for her.

“Now, would you mind leaving so we could get back to class?” the teacher asked him.

“Oh. Sorry. No problem,” he started walking out the door. “Don’t forget kids, stay in school! Learn!”

When he was gone, the teacher shook her head, and then continued with her lesson. When the final bell ring, I turned to Hayden and pulled on her arm before she could leave.

“What?” she asked me.

“Weren’t you and Eric already dating?” I asked her.

“No. We were just flirting and goofing around,” she told me.

“Right…” I said slowly. After we got through talking, I hurried outside to where John was waiting for me in the pickup. As soon as I got inside, I said “GO!”

“What’s the rush?” he asked me.

“I want to beat my mom home from work. Knowing what happened at the principal’s office, she’s going to be furious and I want to have some time to prepare my apology before she shows up. Now drive!” I shouted.

“Ok, ok,” he said. He put the car in drive and he speeded to my house. When we got there, I sighed.

“Thanks, John. You’re the be….” I stopped in midsentence because my mom was standing right on the porch with her arms crossed, looking at me. “Aww man!” I said.

“Good luck,” he said. I closed the door and he drove off. I slowly started making my way towards my mom.

“Hey, mom. How was your…”

“March,” she said and pointed to the door.

“Yes, ma’am,” I said. I went inside, sat down, and waited for the explosion to come. I was surprised when it didn’t.

“So, honey, I want to know the real reason why you haven’t been going to school,” she said as calmly as she could.

“It’s complicated,” I told her.

“If this is about a bully, then..”

“It’s not about a bully. I-I can’t tell you,” I said.

“Does this have something to do with John?” mom asked me.

“…..Partly,” I said.

“Ok. Well then, I have no choice. I forbid you to see John ever again,”

“What?!? You can’t do that!!!” I screamed.

“Yes, I can. I’m your mother and I’m in charge,” she said.

“No, you’re not! Stop pretending that you’re my mom, because you’re not! You never will be so just stop lying to yourself!”

“You will NOT talk to me like that, young lady!” mom said, her voice raising an octave. “The principal told me that if you had missed 2 more days, they would’ve had no choice, but to have the police come to the house and take you away from me,” she said quietly.

“Oh. I didn’t know they could do that,” I said honestly.

“Yes. They can. And if John is the cause of all this, then I really think this is for the best,” she said.

“What if I help you more around the house? I’ll help wash the car, do the dishes, take out the trash….you don’t even have to give me an allowance!” I said.

“I’m sorry,” mom said.

“That’s not fair!!!” I screeched.

“Did you even know that you were failing EVERYTHING?!?!” mom asked.

“What?” I said.

She sighed. “When the principal told you to leave, he brought out your report card. Since you haven’t been at school, the teachers haven’t been getting any assignments so they’ve been forced to fail you. In everything,” she said.

“Well, what if I raise all my grades to an A? An A+? THEN will you let me be with John?” I asked. She shook her head.

“I’m sorry. But I’m sticking with my statement,” she said, looking down.

“You don’t understand! John is the best thing that’s ever happened to me! He makes me feel better! And lately, he seems like the only person that’s been there for me!”

“That’s not true. I HAVE been there for you,” she said quietly.

“No, you haven’t! JOHN was the one who came up with the idea for a party. NOT YOU. You’d think that a MOM would do that instead of a boyfriend,”

“Sweetie, I thought it would be too much money,”

“Yea, but it would’ve made me happy. That’s the 1st thing that’s made me happy in years. And John is the one to make that happen. And you want to take that away from me? Yea, I was right before and I’ll say it again. You’re….not……my…..mom. You’re not even a friend. So just leave me the hell alone!” I screamed. I ran up to my room and slammed my door. I was trying really hard not to let the transformation overcome me, but it was impossible. Before I knew it, I was a werewolf. I looked toward the window, and jumped out of it as glass shattered everywhere. I figured my mom had heard that, but I didn’t care. All I knew was that I had to get out of my house. I didn’t even know where I was going. I just knew that I had to get away.