What It Seems | Wattys 2023

Chapter 43

The days of tutoring Derek got simpler to deal with; although, I would still count the awkward moments of those days. We weren't friends, just acquaintances. He's doing better in physics, actually. About two weeks after I began tutoring Derek, we had to take a physics test. He passed, showing me the test packet that had a big circle around the number seventy-six. He didn't exceed, but he's bringing his average score up. To say at the least, I'm proud of him for how far he's came in class.

I was walking to my locker to put my physics book in it. I opened my locker with the graved combination that was in the back of my mind and sat my physics book on the shelf I put in there a while back.

I felt a presence behind me. I closed my locker and turned to see a curious Derek.

"Is 3:45 okay? I have a five o'clock shift."

I nodded, "Yeah, that's fine."

He bobbed his head as a thank you.

It's gotten easier ever since we settled the anger and the tension. He shared some memories that happened between the two of us, but he hasn't said anything about us becoming friends again.

Derek walked off with two books and a binder at his side, his hand glueing them to his side. His unbuttoned flannel flew gently behind him as he breezed by some people.

My second class of the day was algebra, a class I have with Jo, thankfully. I sat beside her and laid my homework, a pencil, and my algebra book on my desk. The unwanted books for this class was placed on the floor.

"What time do you have to go to Derek's today?" Jo asked, turning in her seat to face me. I propped my foot under my leg as I sat on my limb, my leg poking out of the connected desk so I could face Jo a bit better.

"3:45. He has a five o'clock shift."

Her lips formed an 'o' shape.

"That's, like, right after school." She raised her eyebrows, not quite surprisingly, but shocked by the time I tutor Derek.

"Well it'll only be an hour or less, that way he can get on to work early enough so I won't be in his hair," I chuckled.

My math teacher walked in and announced to get out our homework. We turned in our desks and carried on with the class.

In English, my third class before lunch, I had to write my journal entries on a sheet of paper as the teacher instructed to do so. My pencil hurriedly but nearly scurried across the college-ruled five star sheet of paper. I was done after the eighth entry, and just before I slid the paper in my binder, I doodled on the top of the due date.

Now that the entries were written down, I was to start on my first one.

Name a country you've never visited and have desired to visit. Explain with details of why you'd like to stop by and tour the country.

I have two countries in my mind that I've always wanted to visit because of my father's nationalities: Ireland and France. Of course that'd be the reason why because those countries are apart of my father.

My phone vibrated in my pocket as I wrote the second reason of visiting the country/countries.

Baylor: wanna be my lunch date? ;)

Me: why not? ;)

Just as I sent the message, locked my phone and laid it on my thigh, and picked up my pencil to write the letter 'b', my phone vibrated.

Baylor: meet me in the parking lot?

Me: will do :)

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