Aythea

The History Project

Eidri

Sitting in geography, I'm half-focused on the assignment on hand, my thoughts are elsewhere, thinking about how things are going so far living here in Norcosta. Things are going well at home with Aunt Aria and Uncle Jensen, of course. I miss my parents dearly, but move on from that thought quickly. School is going surprisingly smooth as well. None of my classes are too mundane, and I really enjoy my English class and geography.
There is one slight downside to geography though. Jeremy. Or Jay, I suppose. He seems like a nice guy, but I'm not sure that I actually trust him. He acts weird, and always seems to find random reasons to talk to me. I don't get it, because he barely knows me. I usually tell him I'm busy so he'll leave me alone, but it doesn't always work. Maybe I'm being too harsh on him? He might just want to be friends.
My thoughts stop abruptly as I look down at my paper. I realize that I accidentally wrote Jay down as the answer. I facepalm, then quickly fix my mistake. I look beside me and breathe in a sigh of relief, as Jay is talking away with his friends sitting nearby. Who knows what he'd say if he'd seen it.
Okay, I tell myself. No more side thoughts. I just need to focus on this, that way I don't have to do any extra work once I'm home. I continue working on my paper but with all my focus towards it this time. Before I know it, I'm finishing up the last few questions and cleaning up my things then attempting to read for the remainder of class.
"Biiiiiiiiih," Jay stops mid sentence and waves at the teacher. "Ay! Mr. Timmons! How are you doing on this lovely day?"
Mr. Timmons gives Jay a serious look. "Do I need to send you outside?"
Jay waves off what he said. "Psh. Whaat? No, I was just gonna ask sweet little Eidri here a question." While saying that, he puts his arm around my shoulder and shakes me a little.
I give him a side-long glance, confused, and lightly grab his arm to take it off my shoulder, then continue my work.
He responds with an exasperated look, pointing down at the paper. "Here, look. Number ten. I got crackers. What'd you get?"
"Jeremy, none of the answers in this class have anything to do with crackers. I'd double check what you answered." Mr. Timmons responded.
His friends snickered at him once Mr. Timmons was out of earshot. Jay scoffed and told them to shut it.
The teacher paused, then added, "Hey Eidri."
I looked up, alert. "Yes Mr. Timmons?"
"Could you please help Jeremy here with his work?"
"Oh. Um... Yes, I can." I respond quietly, sinking into my seat a little. I glance up as the teacher walks away, then look over at Jay. He's looking at me, with a stupid grin on his face. I look away and shake my head. Closing my eyes and exhaling slowly, I laugh to myself about how ridiculous this is. I collect my thoughts, close my book and turn towards my strange desk mate. "Okay! So, which part do you need help with?"
"Hmm..." Jay looks down at his paper, then points to the map. "This part. How am I supposed to know the answer isn't crackers?"
I roll my eyes. "Okay, smart smouth. The textbook explains how to map how far apart the cities in this area are. Have you looked in there?"
Jay opens his mouth to say something, then stops. "Well... no."
I reach over and grab his textbook, and open it to the page he needs and begin to explain to him what he's supposed to do for the assignment. At first he just nods his head in response to what I'm saying, but after a while he starts asking me more in-depth questions. I also notice that his usual laid back demeanor is more serious and focused now. He soon starts to pick up what I'm telling him and eventually is able to finish the work on his own.

Pleased, I grab my book, smiling a bit to myself and continue reading.

*******

What seemed like minutes later, the end of class is near and Mr. Timmons starts to pass out papers to everyone and tells us about a project we need to do for an upcoming school event. He gives a short description about what the project is on, then starts pairing people up. People start moving around to sit with their partners and discuss what they're going to do. I anxiously wait to hear my name get called, and at last hear it.