The Philosophy of You

Chapter 3

After receiving that message, I was on cloud nine. I couldn't believe my luck, yes, he didn't even know me but I was hoping that being in the same club would help me get to know him. I was nervous, I didn't know what to expect. Alex and I had been in touch, trying to decide the date for the first meeting. Finally it was decided, our first meeting was to be held on October 3rd, 2018. And that day was today.

I realized that my attention was solely on him. Of course, I had my classes and assignments but he was on my mind. I didn't like that... I didn't want that. There as this growing feeling in my stomach every time I imagined what could come out of him being the supervisor for the club. Maybe he'll like my writing, or choose me as his helper for getting to know how to run things. Wait, no. I shouldn't have these thoughts. I haven't even met him. I've got essays due. Ava, get your shit together. 

I snapped out of my little daydream and found myself sitting in my World Issues class. The teacher, Ms. Kinsley, was talking about the ever-expanding population and it's effects on food and supplies. We were to make pairs and work with our partners on a new "mini" assignment. We were to be assigned a country where we had to research the effects, both positive and negative, of its population and find ways to ensure all citizens would receive food and necessary supplies. Of course I chose my best friend, Alisha, who was already working on a google doc to share. I leaned over looking at the screen of her laptop as she typed away noticing only one thing, "Alisha, where's my name?"

"Honey, it's there"

I squinted my eyes, as if that was going to help, trying to see it. Alas, I did. I commented, "It's small, don't ya think."

"That's what she said." Alisha responded whilst giving me a smirk. She was a fan of The Office so these types of comments were normal. "Ava, I've just shared it with you. The parts highlighted in orange are things you're going to do and the green is for me. Our topic is Bangladesh, just in case you weren't listening. Oh wait... you weren't."

"Jeez, I zoned out, trying to recall whether I hid the body or not" I responded. You see, Alisha and I were true crime fanatics. To be fair, Alisha got me interested in it, and in return, I converted her into a Marvel fan. We had this thing we did where we would randomly talk about a body we had got rid of. At times, it could last days, yes, days talking about an imaginary scenario. Our newest quarrel had begun and as soon as Alisha had heard the words come out of her mouth, her eyes lit up.

"Ava, you're telling me you didn't hid the body! You realize that's your last strike. You did the same with Tim's body, and the police nearly caught us. Do you at least remember where you left the body", and just like that, the game was on. Alisha was bringing her A-game and I wasn't going to let her win. 

"Oh my dear, I moved from the crime scene, but what I am trying to say is, the body hasn't left your car's trunk. Recall that grave we dug specifically for the body?" Alisha's eyes narrowed as she nodded in agreement. "The body didn't make it there"

"Oh you couldn't have", Alisha exclaimed with a horrified look on her face, "How dare you try to frame me when I'm the one who took you out of the circus. Yes, that's right. I saved you remember!" 

I froze. I didn't have enough time to think of a response when Alisha cut off my train of thought, "That's right! I got you good. Now let's work on this assignment." I smiled back at her as I started finding resources for our assignment.

~~~~

The day had gone by relatively quickly after that. My two lunches were the same as always. I was slowly getting through my novel and was loving it. I felt for Dr. Jekyll but loved his alter ego, Mr. Hyde.

Anthropology was amusing. We were watching a movie called Race that is a biopic on the great Jesse Owens' life and his accomplishments at the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games. Our assignment was to identify moments within the film where segregation was evident and to write an essay on its affects on a micro level as well as a macro level . I had enjoyed the film and was quite confident in what I was going to focus on for my essay.

But the time had finally come. I was heading down to the Digital Arts room where the meeting was to be held. Mia had joined me since she was also a member of the club too. We began conversing about the film we had just seen and before long, we arrived at our destination. By the time we got there, it was already 3:20 which meant that our meeting was just about to start. Former affiliates of the Tribune were already there as well as some new members. It was always great seeing new faces, because it was a good sign that the students of Terrance Hill were actually interested in the newspaper. Mia and I headed to the back of the class, there weren't any seats left so we decided to stand against the counter. Mr. Jones was already there conversing with Alex. Jones had been one of the supervising teachers since the very began. He had actually created this club.He typically was in charge of all the digital stuff like layout and photography while Shaw was going to be supervising the journalists and editors. 

Speaking of Shaw,  I scanned the room looking for the one face I was dying to see. I caught him standing at the back of the classroom. He seemed rather nervous, definitely not the way he had been the first time we met. Jones had given Shaw the cue to begin passing around the clipboard so that everyone could write their names down. While the clipboard was being passed around, Jones began talking about the logistics of the club. All of which were things I had already heard from the previous year. We began discussing the various roles of the club and how important each one was. The key thing about the newspaper club was that everyone HAD to do their fair share of work. Each article had to be accompanied with a photo and deadlines were never to be missed.

 As I was listening, the board had passed right by me, without me even noticing. I realized that towards the end and begun looking around for it, hoping that some student had it. But Shaw did. He was going over the names on the sheet and didn't seem aware of his surroundings at all. Just then, as if God had answered my very call for help, Jones had concluded his speech and asked if anyone didn't get a chance to write down their name and information on the board. I raised up my hand and Jones signalled to Shaw to bring me the clipboard. 

My heart dropped. This was it. Would he recognize me? Would he say something? God, I was so nervous but excited, yes, I was finally going to officially meet him. He walked over to me and handed me the clipboard. I locked eyes with him and felt my heart implode. He stood by waiting for me to finish writing. Once I did, I handed it over to him saying, "Thank you", with a smile. He said nothing back. Nothing. Sure, I was annoyed but there were going to be other chances right?

That wrapped up our meeting. I headed out of the school and walked home with Mia. I was bummed and Mia could tell. She tried asking as to what was wrong but I simply avoided her questions. What would she think of me if she knew what was going on in my head and why I was upset. I got home and began working on several assignments as well as my articles for the newspaper. I was working on an article focussed on self love as well as an article on upcoming films. I was trying my best to ignore how upset I was at how Shaw didn't do anything, not even a "You're welcome!!" But then reality hit me, I shouldn't even be having these feelings in the first place, let alone get upset when things don't go the way I wanted them to.

~~~~~

Thank you so much for reading this chapter and I hoped you enjoyed it

I am always open to any suggestions. Even  ideas for the upcoming chapters are cool too. Just comment or message through PM about any suggestions and I'll gladly take them up.

Cheers!

S.A.