An Olive Green Sweater

The Replacement

     I woke up with my mom asking,"Benny, are you not keeping well?"
I said,"I am okay, but why are you asking all of a sudden?"
She said,"Because it is 8:15 and your classes begin at 8:30".
Shit! I have English and this is going to be the third time....no chance!The FIFTH time I am late to Mrs.Smith's class. I quickly jumped out of bed, went and took a shower, wore my uniform and rushed from home without having breakfast. I ran to school, went up to the third floor through those old wooden stairs and went to the class and asked,"Good morning Mrs.Smith. So sorry I am late, can I come in?"
Mrs.Smith looked at me from head to toe like she wanted to find some fault to scold me and she said,"You are already in the class and why are you asking if you can come in? And why is your tie just hanging around your neck and is not fastened properly?Anyway, get in and take a seat next to Jessica in the first bench".
My heartbeat started to pick up when she asked me to sit next to Jessica. I walked to the first bench and she moved her bag so that I could sit. I sat over there and wore my tie properly. My blood is boiling right now with pressure as I am NOT able to sit next to her as it is getting awkward. I needed to talk to her at least today as I cannot forever stare at her and be happy. So, I started the conversation by saying,"Umm...hey! So what is she going to do in today's class?"
She said,"She told us that she is going to be having a quiz based on general knowledge. She has made a few teams and our bench and Ashley's bench are one team".
There was awkward silence while
Mrs.Smith told us the rules. So the quiz started and Mrs.Smith started asking the questions to all the teams and I didn't answer any of the questions that came to our team. She asked the last question to our team,"Where  was William Shakespeare baptised?Mention the name of the church". Everyone in our team had answered other than me. So, even though Jessica knew the answer, she wasn't allowed to tell it. So Jessica said,"Chris, stand up. I know the answer but you have to tell it as my chance is over and it is okay for a team member to teach the other". So, I stood up and Jessica said,"Repeat whatever I say. William Shakespeare was baptised..."
"William Shakespeare was baptised..."
"On the 26th of April..."
"On the 26th of April..."
"In the Holy Trinity Church".
"In the Holy Trinity Church".
Mrs.Smith said that the quiz went on really well and was impressed that everyone gave right answers. The bell rang and Mrs.Smith walked out of the class. I went and spoke to Alex and asked him if he spoke to Ashley and the reply was,"Yeah, I spoke to her and both of us know each other now. I will ask her out some time soon...."
He also said,"Chris, that girl Natasha from our play has caught flu and she will not come to school for the rest of the week and the play is day after tomorrow. I asked Ashley if she wants to replace her but she said she had to help the teachers. She told me that Jessica might be okay to join the play. She will speak to Jessica about it and I have given the script to Ashley and she will give it to Jessica and convince her to play the role".
My ears nearly burst when I heard all this and I said,"Seriously Alex? Out of all the people at school, you only had to pick Jessica? Bro! How am I going to even participate in a play at her side when I couldn't even sit next to her for an hour without getting embarrassed...?"

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What play are Alex and Chris talking about and do you think Jessica is going to agree to play the role?
Wait for the next chapter to find out and until then....❤️❤️
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