That Night

Chapter Eleven

On Monday morning, I dragged my feet down the hall towards my locker. I had slept barely an hour, as I refused to allow myself to dream about that night again.

My eyes were hardly open as I drudged past the locker I always looked at when I walked by. Juliet was busy packing her backpack for the day, but she glanced up when I saw her.

"Hey," I mumbled, lifting my hand for a weak wave as I continued walking and hoped my mom's suggestion would work.

I didn't catch the look on her face in response, but I guessed it was probably shocked by my lack of groveling. Hopefully she was at least happy to see the second completed poster in my hand.

After getting my History textbook from my locker, I slowly made my way to class. Luckily, the room was just down the hall. I felt a strong physical need to sit down.

When I entered the room, I went straight to my desk and collapsed in my chair, putting my head down on my folded arms. Everyone was being too damn loud that morning.

"Is that the poster?"

I squinted up and saw Juliet hovering above me. Normally, I would be thrilled if she initiated a conversation with me, but I was too out of it that morning to think twice about it.

"Yeah," I mumbled, handing it over to her. "Hope it looks okay."

"It looks nice, Dash," she told me. I hadn't heard her say my name that sweetly since October, and even in my exhaustion, I felt a warmness inside.

"Are you alright?" she asked after a moment.

I realized my eyes had closed again, so I forced them back open and raised my head upright.

"Just a little tired," I said. "Fine, though."

The crease between her eyebrows showed me that she wasn't convinced.

"Really," I went on. "I'm good."

"Alright," she said softly. "Are you ready to present today?"

"Of course," I assured her.

"Okay." She hesitated, still eyeing me with concern. But she didn't say anything else as she put the poster on my desk and went back to her own.

"Good morning, everyone," Mrs. Torres said as she entered the room. "Today we will finish up our presentations. Dash, Juliet, I believe you two are ready to go first today."

I nodded but quickly stopped, feeling like my head was spinning. I blinked a few times and stood up, forcing my body to push through the haze of fatigue. Juliet met me at the front of the room, where she took the poster from me and held it up so I could begin.

"Okay, so, the Industrial Revolution," I said, staring intensely at the poster. "Oh, my notes," I mumbled, hurrying back to my desk to retrieve my notecards. "Okay, I'm ready now."

"Alright, go ahead," Mrs. Torres urged in a tone that was both optimistic and doubtful.

I stumbled through my notecards, wishing I had written out a script instead of short talking points. Juliet cut in multiple times to correct me or fill in my missing information. Every time she spoke, I mentally kicked myself. I knew that, I thought in self-deprecation.

When we reached the end, I felt a rush of relief. I wasted no time handing Torres the poster and retreating to my desk. Not only was I ashamed of the presentation, but I felt like I couldn't stand any longer.

"Thank you, Juliet and Dash," Torres said. "Okay, who's next?"

I put my head back down on the desk and slept through the following presentations. The bell woke me up thankfully, and the quick nap made me feel marginally better.