The Girl With The Converse

Chapter 14

"Persephone, what is the answer to question 8?" My math teacher asked me, but I was not paying any attention. 

All I could do was stare at the clock, counting down the minutes until I could leave. That is until Georgie nudged me, bringing me to my senses. That was when I noticed the whole class and Mrs. Q staring at me.

"Pardon me?" I questioned.

"Ms. Johnson, next time you zone out I will have to ask you to leave my classroom. We were on question 8" 

My face burned red as I told her the answer. I tried my best after that to pay attention, but it was almost impossible. I didn't even realize I was tapping my pen, quite loudly actually, with the tic toc of the clock. That is until Mrs. Q got mad and kicked me out of the class.  Now I stood in the hallway, pacing. 

Only 10 more minutes. Almost there. 9 more. I could barely wait. All I wanted to do was run out the front doors all the way to the base. 8 more minutes. Could this time go any slower. I went to my locker and got my bag. 7 minutes. I paced up and down the hallway. 6 more minutes. I got out my phone, but no messages since all my friends were still stuck in class. 5 minutes. I sat on the bench, but only lasted a few seconds before I had to move again. 4 minutes. A smile invaded my face and I couldn't help it. 3 minutes. I started bouncing on my heels in anticipation. 2 minutes. I started for the door. 1 minute. It was happening. 30 seconds. Almost here. 20 seconds. Kids started nearing the doors, preparing to leave the confined rooms. 10 seconds. 9. 8. 7. 6. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1. The loud bell and I pretty much sprinted out the door, until I realized that Eros had the keys and had to wait for him.

I waited by his truck for about 2 minutes and 37 seconds before I saw him rushing out.

"Eros! Where have you been? We need to go!"I practically yelled at him.

"I know, I know. Mr. G wanted to talk to me about the upcoming game and barely got out of there." 

We both jumped into his truck and rushed out of the student parking lot. This was happening. But it didn't feel like it. I still couldn't believe that my dad was coming home. I didn't care about how long he was here for. I just couldn't wait to see him, it had been so long. All I wanted was one of his bear hugs where I could barely breathe and he wouldn't let me go despite me trying to escape. I couldn't wait. I could tell Eros was excited because he kept tapping his fingers on his steering wheel and had the biggest smile on his face that I'd seen in a long time. 

Neither of us said anything during the 15 minute drive. I think we were both too excited to form words. But when we pulled into the base public parking, neither of us made any move to get out. 

"I can't believe this is happening." Eros whispered after a few seconds of just sitting there.

"I know. I feel like this is a dream. We should go, I see mom's car already."

We both jumped out and followed the all-too-familiar path to the deployment area. We saw our mom standing near the front, surrounded by wives and husbands and children, all waiting to see their loved ones. Many were so young they couldn't register what was happening, but had smiles on their faces from all the excitement. 

"Mom!" Eros called out.

She whipped her head around and smiled brightly at us. It's been a while since I had seen my mom that happy.

"Eros! Pers! I thought you guys were never going to make it!" 

We hugged her quickly and then waited like the rest of the crowd. Soon their was an announcement, stating that group from Afghanistan has arrived. The excitement increased greatly as it became more real. A huge smile covered my face as I watched the gate, knowing that my dad would soon be walking through them.