Wish it'd be Different

As the rain is dripping outside the grimly classroom, Mrs. Sandra reminds us, "Our end of freshman year project is due next Monday. We worked on it for the past two months and it counts as a major summative grade," the bell rings but she continues over the racket made by books and chairs being pushed. "Also, don't forget to submit your report on your topic which is due on Monday. Have a great day!"

I dash off the room to my locker to pack up.

"Hey Sherrie," hollers Zach from the other end of the hallway.

"Hey Zach," I reply casually.

He has been my best friend since kindergarten when we met at the swimming pool. "Are you coming today to watch my basketball game?" asks Zach. "It'll be very fun. And I bet our team will win."

Zach says this confidently that no one would doubt that his team would lose.

I notice his height is as an average ninth grader like me. He has brown hair, blue eyes, and his cheeks are red as a cherry. Unlike him, I have green eyes and blonde hair that reach till my shoulder.

"Hmm.... sorry I can't come today. My parents are leaving tomorrow for their business trip, so I would love to spend time with them instead. Good Luck for your game," I reply in a low voice feeling extremely bad to miss his basketball game.

"Thanks. That's fine. Then, I'll see you at eight at my house. Bye."

"Bye"

As I amble down the hallway to my bus, I consider doing fun, family activities with my parents before they leave for their business trip. My parents own their own tea company named "Coleman's Coffee." They travel frequently to different countries due to business matters. They also answer bunch of different calls every day.

Although my parents are very engaged with their work, they do take off some time from their work to enjoy with me during weekends. During weekends, we create crazy games to play with each other. My parents always joke about themselves and their clients. At night, we make dinner together usually making a mess of our kitchen. It takes us about an hour to clean our kitchen because we work slow, chatter and crack jokes very much. I finally decide that we could play "Life," and prepare roasted chicken for dinner.

As I board our bus, the bus driver chirps breaking my thoughts, "How was your day Sherrie? I got you chips. Do you have anything for me?"

"Oh hey Ms. Barkins. My day was ok. I brought you chocolate chip cookies," I answer.

"Great."

I grab the chips and give her the cookies. Our bus driver is very interesting. She once narrated her story about how she escaped being bitten by a shark, and how she escaped a cheetah attacking her car when she visited a national park in South Africa. With her gorgeous outfit, she appears as a runaway model. She dyed her hair red and is wearing a mini white dress with long black boots that reach till her knees. She puts on heavy makeup and anyone who does not know her can mistake her as an actress ready to shoot for her film.

I trudge down the aisle to find my seat next to Kelsey and I jabber with her all the way till the bus arrives at my house.

When I step inside my house, no one is there. So I make my way to the room, and I see my mom disappointed. She has strawberry blonde hair and green eyes as me, but her face is very cheerful and lit up unlike today. I glance in her direction and I cannot believe what I am seeing. My end of freshman year project is broken into pieces and soaked with water. It was an electrical diorama displaying the ecosystem.

My mom nervously states, "Sorry, I accidentally broke your project."

It takes me a few seconds to register this in my mind.