Learning to Fly

Chapter 5: A Flight of Fancy

Disclaimer: I am not Stephenie Meyer. Sorry

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I jogged lightly up the steps, leaving my mom time to compose herself in the car. I had missed this place for almost a week now.

            A week that had changed my life in too many ways.

I realized that no matter what I said about it, I actually did love school. But now I was being forced to leave this place. After everything changed, I guess I assumed the one constant in my life would stay the same. And I guess the learning part would. But it just wouldn’t be at this place.

It had taken me almost three years to build a life in this hell. School had always been the one place where I could pretend that I fit in, or pretend that I had friends and that those friends knew my deepest, darkest secrets.

Looking up at the brick façade of the main entrance, I realized how fake that life had been. I was only coming today to sign papers for my transfer to Forks High School. I shuddered at the thought.

Kate and I would be moving into the small two bedroom house my mom and Steve owned in that tiny town. I would have to share a room with my nine-year old sister, and a bathroom with my horrible almost-stepdad and pregnant mom. It wasn’t fair.

But I suppose it was the getting away thing I had always longed for. It would be a new start, in a new place. It was something my dad could never do….

I sighed. I might have hated my dad during the past year, but I missed him more than I was letting on. And I couldn’t deny that I was mystified by his death. His body was burned –along with our house, which was just great –and his blood was totally gone. No blood drops anywhere. It seemed impossible.

I snapped my attention back to school. I opened the familiar, weather-worn door. I knew this door well. It had kept out rain, hail, and snow; but it had held in anxiety and sorrow. I had plenty of sorrow now.

I sighed again. It would be the last time I walked through those doors to enter the school.

I stopped at my locker on the way to the office. I remembered how last year, Bree’s locker and my locker had been right next to each other. Kacie, who was my other good friend, had had her locker right beside Bree’s. I remembered how she had moved lockers once Bree disappeared.

Kacie was the only person here I would actually be sorry to say goodbye to. I was such a coward though. I couldn’t even face her without breaking into tears. But ever since Bree had died, I promised myself I wouldn’t be caught crying by anyone, even my sister. Tears were just a sign of weakness….

I pushed myself away from my locker. I wandered down the hall a ways until I came to what I knew to be Kacie’s locker. I pulled a folded envelope from my back pocket, and shoved it into the little slot at the top. I prayed that she hadn’t moved lockers in the past week. Although it was very unlikely, it had happened once before.

I continued down the hall and finally came to the office. I pushed open the clear glass door. I waited a few more minutes before my mom came in.

“Hey Mom, can we hurry up and get this over with? We still have to stop by Kate’s school.” I really didn’t care about Kate’s school so much. I just didn’t want to run into any of the students during passing period. If we hurried, we would be done before the bell rang.

“In here, Ms. Jepson,” the principal said. At first, I didn’t realize who he meant. When my mom got up and walked into his office, I felt dumb. Of course, she hasn’t been Mrs. Quinn for nearly a year….In fact, soon she’s gonna be Mrs. Wellington….

I followed her in.

Once we were finished, I hurried out, leaving my mom behind to talk. Of course she would. However, I could still beat the bell if I hurried.

When I got outside, I was relieved. Of course, I hadn’t prepared for any ditchers.

I was especially not prepared for Kevin, my ex-boyfriend.

When I saw him climbing the steps, I almost turned around and walked back into the school. Sadly, he saw me before I could accomplish this.

“Quinn!” he yelled out my last name, “Hey, I haven’t seen you in years.”

“It’s been a week, Kevin,” I said, despising his use of my last name. It only reminded me of my father.

“Still, a week is a long time for perfectionists like you,” he said, completely oblivious to how furious I was.

I decided to break it to him. “I’m moving.” Okay, so no one said I would do it nicely.

He obviously wasn’t expecting that, and he almost fell down the steps. “What?”

“I’m moving. Just signed my transferring papers. It’s official. I’m no longer attending this school.”

“But –but, what about me?”

Did he honestly think I cared one bit about him? “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but it’s not like we’re dating anymore or anything. I really didn’t think you’d care all that much.”

“Why wouldn’t I care? I’m not the one who broke it off, remember?”

That’s true. I had. And for good reason. “Kevin, it doesn’t matter what you say anyway. I’m moving in with my mom and nothing can change that.”

He exaggerated a sigh, then turned up the charm. “Nothing?” he said, looking up at me from under his lashes. I had the urge to flip him off.

How had I ever found that attractive? I thought disgustedly. There are better guys out there, like Embry, for one….

I stopped that thought cold. Where the hell had it come from?

“Look, Kevin, you’re a popular guy. But that’s only here. Once you get out in the real world, you’ll realize how foolish what you just said sounds. You don’t have the power to change my situation. No one does.

 “You’re a nice guy, but you have to realize that it’s over and it will never ever be again. Goodbye, Kevin.”

With that, I walked down the remaining steps and down the street. I sent a text to my mom to pick me up at Starbucks.