Anything For You [Creek]

Ch. 5 - A Test of History and Love

A wave of anxiety hit me when I woke up Monday morning. There was so much riding on today's test, and although I was confident I would ace it, I couldn't help but be nervous about it. I quickly got dressed, grabbed my vape, and made my way outside.

I felt a strange mix of emotions as I walked along the sidewalk, compulsively taking hits from the vape in an attempt to calm myself down. Before I knew it, I was standing at the front doors of the school. I took a deep breath and went inside, going directly to my history classroom, which was my first class of the day. Mr. Harris wasted no time in handing out the tests after the bell rang.

"Keep your eyes on your own paper and do your best. Good luck."

I looked down at the test that would play a major role in determining the future status of my relationship with Tweek. Which of these three countries made up the Axis Powers during WWII? So far so good. I remember reviewing this question with Tweek. I circled the correct answers. Where did the Allied forces land during the D-Day invasion? I knew this from playing Call of Duty yesterday. I wrote in my answer; Normandy. Damn, I just might pull this off. I read and answered the next question, and then the next. My confidence continued to grow as I reached the final question. Who's your favorite history teacher? What a jackass. I wrote Mr. Harris' name before walking up to the front of the room to hand in my test. I returned to my seat with a smile on my face, completely confident that I got every answer right.

"Alright, everyone," Mr. Harris announced when class ended. "You'll get your grades back tomorrow, but if you're really dying to know how you did, you can come see me at the end of the day. I'll have them graded by then."

The rest of the day went on as usual. I was sitting in Biology class when the final bell rang, signaling the end of the school day. I went to my locker to meet up with Tweek.

"S-So how'd you do?" he asked, sounding both hopeful and nervous.

"About to find out right now," I said confidently. "But I know I got 'em all right. Just need to go confirm it."

We walked to Mr. Harris' room together. I walked inside while Tweek waited just outside the door.

"Hey, Mr. Harris. You have my test graded?"

"Ah, Craig! I must say I'm quite impressed. You got the highest grade in the whole class! You've made quite the turnaround."

"Awesome! Can I see it?"

He searched through the pile of papers on his desk and pulled out my test. I was sure that I would see 100 written on the top.

But I didn't.

98

My face dropped. "98? That can't be right... What did I get wrong?"

"Question 27. Truman was president in 1948, not Eisenhower. But you should be very proud. A 98 is nothing to be ashamed of!"

"Mr. Harris, you don't understand. It's very important that I get a 100 on this test. Is there any way you could give me a couple bonus points or something?"

"I'm sorry, Craig, but all grades are final. Besides, a couple points doesn't really matter. This is still a near perfect score."

Not perfect enough.

"Are you sure there's nothing I can do to get a 100. I'll do anything at all."

He thought for a moment. "Alright, Craig, if it's really that important to you, I'll boost your grade if you do a project. A five-page paper on any subject you want; but something relevant to what we've covered in class, of course."

I slowly nodded my head. "Fair enough. Thanks, Mr. Harris. I won't let you down."

"I'm proud of you, Craig. You're really turning yourself around. Now you get running home. I'm sure you have a lot of work to do."

I smiled and thanked him again before leaving the classroom.

"So...," Tweek said, smiling. "How'd you do?"

"Well..."

I handed him the test. The smile fell from his face when he looked at it. "Craig..."

"It's ok, Tweek. Mr. Harris said he'll raise the grade to a 100 if I write a paper. I'm gonna get home so I can work on it. I promise I'll do my absolute best and tomorrow we'll get to show the grade to your dad."

His face lit back up. "Well I know you can do it, Craig! W-What are you gonna do the report on?"

"Not sure yet. Did you have any ideas?"

"Y-You're asking me?"

I nodded.

He thought for a moment. "You should do it about aliens!

"Aliens?"

"Yeah! Roswell! A UFO crashed there in 1947 and they found aliens and dissected them! It's some crazy government cover up shit, man!"

"I think he's looking for something more...not crazy conspiracy theory type stuff. I was thinking of writing about the Russians in World War II. A lot of people criticized Call of Duty for not going into that, so it got me thinking about learning more about it."

"W-Well, I still like the alien idea, but I think that's really cool too! And...you talking about wanting to learn..."

"What?" I grinned.

"It's cute."

I playfully punched his arm and began walking toward the exit. We walked out the back door; not that we had much of a reason to, I guess it was just a habit. Needing a nicotine fix after this crazy day, I pulled out my vape. As usual, the goth kids were smoking nearby.

"Fucking conformist," the tallest one yelled in our direction. "Take your douche stick and get out of our space. This spot is only for non-conformists who smoke real cigarettes."

I had about enough of them. "You have a fuckin' problem, dude?" I blurted out, turning to face him. "Why don't you stay out of other people's business?"

I gave him the middle finger. I know I was supposed to stop doing that, but he clearly deserved it, so I made an exception.

He glanced at his friends before walking towards me. "Why don't you do something about it, pussy?"

I clenched my fists.

"Craig..."

I turned to look at Tweek, who had a pleading look in his eyes. "Come on," he said softly. "Let's just go."

I turned my attention back to the goth kid, who was now only a few feet away from me.

"Hit me. I fucking dare you."

Normally, I would've decked him by now, but there was something inside me that forced me to hold myself back. I stared him down for a long moment before abruptly turning around.

"Let's go, Tweek. I have a paper to write."

"Conformist!" he called out as we walked away.

Once we were out of their line of sight, Tweek suddenly stopped in his tracks. Before I could react, he leaned in and locked his lips with mine.

"I'm so proud of you, Craig," he said bashfully. "Y-You're really...you're amazing."

He kissed me again. "I'm gonna go home now so you can get that paper done. And then tomorrow we'll show my dad and we can finally be open about...us."

He smiled as he turned to walk down the street toward his house. I stood there and watched him until he disappeared down the hill. I love that boy.

I smiled the entire walk home. I went straight to my room once I got to my house and opened up my laptop. I spent the rest of the day and night researching Russia's involvement in World War II and writing about my findings. As strange as it might seem, I kind of enjoyed it. Who knew learning could be so...fun.

By the time I printed the paper out, I was exhausted. I slipped out of my clothes and got into my pajamas. I knew Mr. Harris would be impressed, he had to be. I collapsed on my bed and fell asleep within minutes. Tomorrow was the big day.