Stay Alive

Homeschool

Alyssa sat on the couch and looked out the window, watching the freeway go by. They were on their way to Jackson, Mississippi. It was a 16 hour drive from Tampa, Florida, which was were Tyler and Josh had performed the night before. Tyler took a seat next to his sister. He had a cardboard box sitting on his lap.

Alyssa looked over at him. "What's in the box?" She asked.

Tyler invited her to open it. Alyssa lifted the cardboard flaps and looked inside. A couple of textbooks, notebooks, and writing utensils were inside. "School is starting and I don't want you to be behind. So, I'll be helping you while we're on the road," Tyler explained.

Alyssa started taking the books out of the box and moving them to the table. "Thanks, Tyler," She said as she lifted an Algebra book onto the table.

They sat at the table for a while and worked on Algebra. It was a lot different then being in a classroom. Usually, Alyssa never asked questions, volunteered to read out loud, or go up to the board and do a problem. But since it was just her and Tyler, she was comfortable with admitting that she wasn't the greatest when it came to Algebra. Alyssa had always felt that her classmates would judge her for getting the answer wrong, or giving an opinion. Tyler never judged her.

They went through each problem on the page slowly, then, Alyssa started solving them quicker. With each question, she got better and better. "See? You got it. It just takes time and practice," Tyler cheered.

He gave Alyssa a high-five and they worked a little longer before Josh walked in. Josh took a seat and watched Alyssa work. "You don't need help! From what I've seen, you're getting them all right!" He said.

Alyssa smiled. Maybe all she needed was just some confidence. After finishing Algebra, Tyler helped her with science until the bus stopped at a restaurant for dinner. It was about 7 in the evening. Jenna had been resting in the other room. She fixed up her hair and joined Alyssa and the boys.

It was a Chinese restaurant and Alyssa didn't eat Chinese food very often, so she was excited to sit down and eat. They were seated in a booth. Jenna and Tyler sat across from Josh and Alyssa. After they ordered their drinks and food, Tyler said, "So Alyssa, when we get home, you'll have to start going to school. There's 2 high schools by the house. One is about 10 minutes away and I believe the other one is 5 minutes away. We can visit them and you can choose which one you want to go to."

Alyssa nodded. However, she was worried. Would she make real friends? Or would they turn out to be fake? Would she make any friends at all? As if he read her thoughts, Josh said, "If anyone ever gave you a hard time, you know I'd take care of them right?"

Everyone laughed as Josh punched the empty air. He grinned with pride as if he took down a professional boxer. Alyssa felt a little better about school. But she would prefer to be homeschooled. Tyler was smart and he was a good teacher. I guess I'll have to try regular school when the time comes. Alyssa thought. She did go to a school before, but she had bad memories.

But this would be a completely new school and Alyssa had a real family now. It'd HAVE to be better. It just had too! Josh changed the subject and they talked about other things until their food arrived. They ate quickly so they could get back on the road.

Alyssa changed into her pajamas and lay on her bed. She scrolled through her Instagram and noticed that there were some comments on her newest post, asking her if she had a Twitter. She hadn't made one yet. "Hey Tyler! Can I get a Twitter?" She asked.

"Fine by me," He answered.

Alyssa downloaded the app and made her account. She followed Jenna, Josh, Tyler, the band's account, everyone from Panic! A the Disco, and then took a screenshot of her account. She posted the screenshot to Instagram and told her followers that she finally had a Twitter.

Alyssa's first Tweet said, Oh hey there Twitter. How's it going? She got under the covers and was about to turn off her phone when she got an idea. Alyssa opened Twitter and made another Tweet: How many of you guys are homeschooled and how many of you go to a regular school? Which do you like more and why? After posting it, she read some comments. Most said that they went to a regular school and liked it because they had lots of friends.

But what if I don't make friends? Alyssa thought as she turned off her phone. Nah, I'll make at least one friend. There'll have to be one nice person at the school I go to. She decided as she fell asleep.