I fumbled with the lock on my locker, cursing under my breath until it finally opened. The bell had rung a few minutes ago, and in my rush to be on time, I had once again forgotten the combination, forcing myself to be late for class yet again.
I tossed my dance bag into my locker and quickly slammed the door shut, resulting in a very disapproving look from the teacher supervising down the hall. I smiled apologetically and started walking down the hall towards my first period class.
For the past few weeks, the dance teacher had allowed me to use the studio in the mornings so I could practice. My audition at Juilliard was coming up and the last thing I wanted to do was screw it up. But that also meant that my new practice time was ultimately causing my late attendance.
My stomach began twisting in knots as the door to my classroom came into view. This was the 7th time I'd been late in the past two weeks, my English teacher was sure to throw a fit. Sooner than I knew, or wanted to be, I was standing in front of the door to my class. I hesitated for a moment, thinking about the option of just skipping, but decided against it and grabbed the handle.
I pushed the door open, lingering in the doorway for a moment, observing the faces turned towards my direction. From across the room Mrs. Welsh, my English teacher, sat at her desk reading something in front of her. I stepped into the room, shutting the door behind me and quietly making my way to my seat at the back of the room.
"Late again miss Tosca," Mrs. Welsh said, her eyes never leaving the sheet of paper in front of her as her voice rang through the silent classroom.
I slid into my seat, dropping my bag to the floor, trying not to make eye contact with the many gazes focused on me.
"This is becoming a bit of a bad habit of yours," she said as I pulled the novel we were studying in class out of my tiny jansport backpack.
"I'll make sure it doesn't happen again," I replied, opening the book in front of me and beginning to read.
"See to it that you do, I wouldn't want to have to keep you after class to make up the wasted time."
I sunk back in my seat and held the book in front of my face, blocking the snickers and stares from the other students in the class. Ignoring their childish behavior I began to read. By the time class had ended I had managed to finish two thirds of the book, finding it quite an easy read.
With only two minutes left, Mrs. Welsh stood up from her desk and walked to the front of the room. She informed us that she would be away tomorrow, smiles and high fives following her words. I relaxed in my seat as relief washed over me, knowing that having a supply meant that showing up late, or even at all for that matter would not be an issue.
The bell rang, the room emptying almost immediately despite the fact that Mrs. Welsh was still talking. I stepped out into the hall, squeezing through the massive crowds of people towards my next class. My school's tiny hallways had always been a problem at this time of the day, the small space never wide enough to accommodate the number of students travelling through them.
I got to my vocals class just as the bell rang and took the last empty seat next to my friend Andi, adjusting the short burgundy skirt I was wearing. The weather today was oddly cold compared to the typical New Jersey June weather we had been having, but a simple white wool sweater had been the best fix, paired with some black nylon knee high socks and a black sleeveless crop top.
When everyone was seated our teacher explained that the final performance that we had been working on for the last few days would be due on Monday. I looked at Andi only to find that we shared the same panicked expression. This performance was worth 10% of our final mark and I had only just found my song. I picked up my stuff and dragged Andi into one of the practice rooms, quickly closing the door behind us.
