The Animal Inside of Me

Chapter Four - The On-Coming Storm

I stared at the clock on the wall, counting down the seconds until that last bell rang. My math teacher droned on about numbers and angles and something called a square root…whatever the heck that was. Outside, dark clouds littered the sky, foretelling a future with rain and wetness. 

As I stared at the clock, I felt my mind begin to wonder. I found myself thinking about James and Hunter and this whole new mess I was in with Kathy. I couldn’t understand why James and Hunter hated each other. Or this whole “gang” scenario. Or why the guys had even seemed to take an interest in me. I got a bad feeling about the whole thing.

Absent-mindedly, I began gently rubbing my injured knee. After Ms. Clarance had bandaged my knee, I had limped over to my last class; Gym class was obviously no longer an option.

“Ms. Blank, would you like to tell us how you find “x” in the case of

“x + 3 = 4y – 9”?”  Mr. Carlton, my math teacher, asked. I quickly snapped back to reality, my vision of James and Hunter shattered. I stared at the problem on the board as if it were some foreign language. I scrambled through the files of my brain, trying to remember how to solve the problem. Mr. Carlton looked at me expectantly, waiting for my reply.

            “I…Um…You…oh…” I stuttered

            “Very good, Ms. Blank, you have successfully told me the vowels. Now how do you solve the math problem, or were you not paying attention?” Mr. Carlton asked. I heard a few snickers from my classmates. Frowning, I opened my mouth, about to attempt to save what was left of my dignity, when the clock finally hit 2:39 and the final bell rang.

            “Saved by the bell, Ms. Blank. OK, class. Remember. Problems one through thirty are due tomorrow. Do. Your. Homework.” Mr. Carlton announced as the class scrambled to escape the classroom. Sighing in relief, I began to gather my things. Standing, I tried to keep my weight off my injured knee as I limped towards the door.

            “Katharine. Could you stay behind for a moment?” Mr. Carlton’s voice stopped me just as I was inches from freedom. No! So close! Curses! Turning with a sigh, I hobbled over to Mr. Carlton’s desk.

            “Listen, Mr. Carlton, if this is about that square root of twenty-five thing again, I swear, the calculator said it was fifty-five.” I said hurriedly.

            “Katharine, a first grader knows that the square root of twenty-five is five, so there was no need for you to even consider consulting with a calculator, but that’s not what I wanted to talk to you about. Katharine, you seem distracted today. Is everything OK?” Mr. Carlton asked. A wave of relief washed over me.

            “Yeah, Mr. Carlton, I’ve just been having sort of a ruff day, that’s all.” I said, sub-consciously rubbing my knee. Mr. Carlton watched the gesture and leaned back in his chair.

            “Alright, Katharine. Just know that if you need anything, you can come to me.” He said. I gave a quick smile.

            “Thanks Mr. C. I really should be going now, I have to catch a bus.” I said. Mr. Carlton nodded. Taking this as a dismissal, I began limping towards the door. As I stepped out into the hallway, I heard Mr. Carlton shout from his desk, “Remember, Problems one through thirty!” I chuckled as I made my way to my locker.

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            I hiked the shoulder strap of my backpack higher up my shoulders and cursed silently to myself as I watched the buses pull away from the parking lot. I had missed the bus. Again. Mom was going to hate me for this. I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket and attempted to turn it on. The screen remained blank.