Something like Fire [REWRITING]

Chapter Four

     I was late for school on Friday morning, which wasn't abnormal in any way. I had accidentally set my alarm as PM instead of AM, something I did way more than I should even admit. Usually, that wouldn't have been a problem. Violet was fairly good at waking me up whenever I slept in too late. This morning, however, she failed in her duties as being my secondary alarm clock and as a result, I woke up an hour after school had even started. After getting ready faster than a speeding comet, I finally made it to school.

      Rushing past the front desk to avoid any biting comments from Mrs McGuire, I reached my locker and hastily unlocked it, throwing my bag inside and collecting everything I needed. Slamming my locker door shut, I sprinted down the empty hallway to catch the tail end of my English class.

      It was impossible to enter a class late without every single person turning to look at you, especially when I had the grace of a baby elephant. I tripped over the leg of a desk as I came in. Keeping my eyes down in embarrassment, I weaved my way through the desks until I found an empty seat that happened to be smack-bang in the middle of the room. Mrs Leva, my English teacher, eyed me warily but didn't stop speaking.

      I begged the ceiling to collapse on top of me. Unsurprisingly, it ignored me.

      "I'm going to come around and just check that you've done the homework," Mrs Leva said, moving away from her desk and starting in the front row.

      I sighed and tugged a hand through my dark, perpetually tangled hair. It was way more tangled than usual today since getting ready this morning had consisted of dressing and running to school. I undoubtedly looked tragic. What was even more tragic was that I definitely hadn't done the homework. I hadn't even thought about it since my last class. Asking Violet for help wasn't something I could do anymore, either, since she was in a much higher level of English class than I was and did completely different tasks to me.

      Mrs Leva arrived at my desk far too soon. "Please, Miss Anderson, surprise me by showing me you actually did the homework."

      I winced slightly, which was answer enough for her. I made a promise to my uncle and myself that I was going to attend all my classes. I never said I'd do homework. That was asking a bit too much to ask, in all honesty.

      She exhaled, her look of disappointment one I was well-accustomed to. "Right. No surprises today, then. I'm going to need you to put in a little more effort this year. The homework tasks are important as we always go through everything during class. You're marked on participation as well so having something to bring to class is vital. Do you think you can manage that for next week?"

      "Absolutely," I lied as sincerely as I could.

      The look on Mrs Leva's face told me she didn't believe me, but she moved onto the next person without another word.

      Slumping lower in my chair, I rested my head in my hand and sighed. I mindlessly twirled my pen around, wondering why I even bothered showing up to school today if all I was going to do was disappoint my teachers. Coming to class was hard enough, let alone doing boring work that was a complete waste of time. Homework was something I avoided doing at all costs and I didn't see that changing anytime soon.

      "You're in Year 12 now. I expect all of you to start taking this seriously if you want to get a good ATAR," Mrs Leva's voice broke through my thoughts. She was back standing at the front, her eyes sweeping the room. Clearly, I wasn't the only one who hadn't done the homework. "If you don't take Year 12 seriously and you fail, I hate to tell you this, but there won't be much of a future for you after school."

      Her words slammed into me, causing my chest to tighten. I was dangerously close to failing everything and knew that if I didn't actually attempt to work harder this year, I was going to get a terrible ATAR that wouldn't lead me anywhere. I knew all of this, but hearing Mrs Leva voice it aloud was like a slap in the face. One I probably deserved, if I was being honest.