drew shoves his hands deeper into his pockets and forces a bigger smile. "i know it's embarrassing but just one more!" momma says, holding up her camera again. she takes three more then drew hops off the curb to hug momma goodbye. "have fun today sweetie!"
drew jogs through the tall front gates and up to the long line of tables with signs reading A-G, H-M, N-S, and T-Z. "get in the line of the first letter of your last name!" he hears a teacher yell over the crowd of chatty middle schoolers. drew stands in the H-M line behind a girl with purple streaks in her hair. "hey, i like you hair," drew taps her on the shoulder. the girl turns around and blushes, "thanks!"
"what's your name?" the short, old teacher asks from her plastic chair in front of drew. "a-andrew gowen, ma'mm." she scans the list, finds drew's name and crosses it off. "here's your class schedule, map of the school, and your planner," she hands him a small pile of papers and holds a hand up to signal the way for him to leave. drew follows her hand to find a bench to study the new documents.
Andrew Gowen
Periods ½ - English and History - Mrs. Velasquez
Periods ¾ - Maths and Science - Ms. Camille
Periods ⅚ - Band - Mr. Newton
Periods ⅞ - P.E. - Mr. Tahiti
ive never had a schedule before!! this is cool! this map is huge.... this school is huge.. how many kids go here? i wonder if clayton and abby got theirs yet!
just as he starts his way to where he thinks his first class is, he hears a high pitched, "drew! hey!" drew turns around to see abby running to him, her smile brighter as ever. "hey abby! did you get your schedule? have you seen clayton yet?" drew asks as they hug. abby's face shifts for a second, "y- he didnt tell you? oh my gosh... clayton moved, drew." drew's heart sinks and feels as his face does the same, "oh..."
but without clayton... who will always be with m-
abby nods slowly but turns it around to her schedule she got, "i did get my schedule and it looks really cool - four different teachers!" drew looks back at her face and smiles, "i know! it's so cool! who do you have?" drew takes the bright green slip and scans both his and her list of names but can't find a similar name. "oh... it looks like we have different classes." abby frowns "all classes?" drew nods and looks back down.
suddenly someone yells and grabs abby's shoulders, "abbs! hey babe!" drew sees alex as he puts his arm around her shoulder like he did at the pool a couple months ago. alex whispers something through abby's hair into her ear then stares at drew. "hi alex," drew offers when the awkward staring gets too awkward. alex nods his head, "'sup drew."
drew hands abby her schedule back, "so um, i'm going to try to find my class. abby are you riding the bus home?" abby nods, "yeah i'll meet you there after school!"
-----
"who told you you can choose your seating? i am the teacher," ms. carmille hisses at drew and points to the wall for him to go stand at. "sorry ma'am"
------
"hustle gentlemen! hustle! dang andrew, i thought you guys were supposed to be good at basketball." the gym snickers at the teacher's comment
-----
riiiiiiiiiiiiing riiiiiiiiiiiing riiiiiiiiiiiiing "and that class, means school is over. now get outta here and get a long night's sleep before tomorrow," mr. tahiti yells as he walks across the locker room and out the door. drew pulls his shirt over his sticky body and slams his locker shut. drew's backpack seems heavier than him as he slings it over his shoulder.
it's fine. now on the way home abby and i can share bad day stories. yeah, that'll be nice...
drew gets to the gated bus area but doesn't see abby yet. so he sets his backpack on the ground and slides down next to it. he sees seven buses lined up and his and abby's is the sixth. we have some time to wait for abby... it'll be fine.
five buses later drew is back on his feet and searching the crowd for his favorite redhead, but he can't see a strand of red in sight. drew sluggishly walks onto the bus and chooses a window seat in the back. drew throws himself on the bench and takes off his glasses. god do i have a headache.
my baby is starting 6th grade and the world of pain just starting buckle up children - it only goes downhill from here! :))))
YOU ARE READING
blurry nights
General Fiction"my skin is dark as night, but you're the one with constellations across yours"
