Counting Down

Chapter 1 - The Watch

Many children were extremely excited to start school. Their mothers or fathers would spend the entire month before giving advice, planning outfits, and mentally preparing their children for the changes they were about to encounter. I however wasn't one of those kids. When it was time for me to enter kindergarten, my mother spent the entire morning attempting to remove me from the plush, safe covers of my bed. I groaned and spoke some words that the majority of five year olds didn't say. I was rightfully punished, but it didn't stop me from putting up a fight. Eventually, my tired mother got my messy blonde beach waves into a low pony tail and my favorite black, dull skirt with my dark purple t-shirt. She walked me downstairs, shoved some food in my face, and waited for my younger brother's cries to call for her. My chubby fingers wrapped around the spoon of my cereal and I forced whatever food I could into me before smoothing my skirt and waiting by the door. Soon enough, my mother joined me yet again with my brother on her hip. Her open hand held mine and she walked us out the door to the end of our driveway.

"Are you nervous, Jackie?" she asked me in a voice I can still remember being as shaky as my knees that day.

"I'm okay, mommy," I answered back in an attempt to look brave. We stood in silence before the rickety, dull-yellow bus came squealing around the corner and came to a stop directly in front of me. The doors swung open to reveal a woman in her fifties and easily three pounds of make up caked on to her pug like face with jowls like a blood hound. My mother gave my hand one final squeeze before shoving me towards the bus.

"Take a seat, kid," the woman growled while snorting obnoxiously. I cringed and took the only empty seat I could find. Out the window, my mother gave me a reassuring smile, but it only made me stomach churn even more. This was a big day for many reasons, and right now my mother was the least of my worries.

The bus was soon crowded with rowdy children ranging from age five to age eleven. All the older kids were seated in the back and new, young children were in the front, like me. The bus ride droned on for roughly twenty minutes before I could see us nearing the new building. It was easily three stories tall with large, glass panels opening up to stairwells leading to the different floors. The towering brick walls reminded me of my house, but the school simply dwarfed any building I had seen in person. The bus screeched to yet another halt and we unloaded. The kids took no yield to my petrified yelps and stampeded out the doors to catch up with friends and socialize. I gladly took my spot on a bench and waited for the crowd to thin before walking in through the gargantuan front doors.

Upon walking in, I noticed a main office where a few secretaries greeted us with warm smiles and waves. Some teachers were holding signs with homeroom numbers and grade numbers as well. I finally found my homeroom to lie in the care of a woman who look like she was in her early sixties. Her brilliant white and curly hair stood out like a sore thumb and her excessive use of blush was evident. I walked up to her and gave a shy wave. She locked her eyes on me and asked loudly, "Are you Jacklyn Meyers?"

I winced at the volume of her voice but answered back, "Um yes, miss. I like Jackie though."

"It's lovely to meet you, Jackie," she said slowly to make sure I understood what she was saying. I obviously knew what the words meant because I was reading long before kindergarten, but didn't take to mind her poor judgment. Instead I smiled and hid behind her, waiting for the rest of my class to arrive. Before long, more and more children poured into the school. I took a glance around and noticed in every class besides the kindergarten class the children had fluorescent watches. The peculiar thing about these watches was that they had numbers counting down. Each one was different. I pulled on the lavender sleeve of my teacher's jacket and asked, "What are those watches for?"

She looked down and smiled as well as she could. "We'll explain them when everyone gets here. You will be getting your very own watch. Just you see."