Spring Won't Come

Three: Kayla

"Some might go as far as to say that Atticus Finch is the greatest man to have never lived. The way he raises his children, the way he interacts with his community, the way he deals with the dark realities of the human condition; these all point to him being a man of the highest quality."

Mrs. Bobak's voice echoed inside of Kayla's head as her eyelids grew to the weight of steel anvils. Her chin slid off her palm and nearly smacked into her desk, sending a shock of surprise through her bones. Her eyes flew open and she looked around to see if anyone else had noticed.

Kayla glanced down at her spiral to check her notes. She had dated and titled today's page but hadn't written anything else down. She sighed and rubbed her eyes, careful not to smear her makeup. Her jaw and temples ached from gritting her teeth in an effort to stay awake, and her arm had fallen asleep from supporting her head for so long.

She let out a discreet yawn and stretched behind her cramped desk. She didn't want to sleep during class; Mrs. Bobak was one of the best teachers that Kayla had this semester and any kid who got an A in the class was placed in honors the next year.

Of course, most kids didn't have their parents fighting in the middle of the night, preventing them from getting any sleep. On top of that, her folks had resumed the argument once they had gotten up in the morning.

Kayla rushed to get ready this morning so that she could escape the chaos, skipping breakfast and leaving with makeup that was not quite up to her standards. Blake had been waiting outside and had quickly recognized that something was up. He might act super macho at school but when he was with her he was someone different; sympathetic and caring. She smiled, it also helped that he was a good kisser too.

Mrs. Bobak continued her analysis of Harper Lee's beloved protagonist and began writing key character traits on the chalkboard. Kayla picked up her pencil and quickly jotted down notes in an immaculate script that flowed onto the page.

She wondered where Manny was. He hadn't been at the bus stop and he hadn't shown up to class. If he was planning on ditching school he would have told her. How he was in the class was a mystery to her, school was not Manny's forte, and even he thought his score on the placement test had been a fluke. Kayla, however, was on the opposite side of the spectrum.

She currently had a 98% in class and had only failed to get a perfect grade because of her parents. In the third week of school her dad had come home drunk and was upset to find the fridge devoid of beer. He blamed his wife and Mrs. Romee hadn't taken kindly to that. Kayla had cried herself to sleep that night and had forgotten to pack her bag, an act that was part of her nightly routine. This had caused her to forget her homework in her room, a discovery that horrified her when she opened her folder in class.

The character analysis continued, as did class, and Manny never showed up. The bell rang to end the period, the class cleared out, and Manny didn't show up. Kayla went through the rest of her schedule and Manny still didn't show up.

She looked for Isaiah during lunch. When she found him, he was examining the contents of a vending machine. Kayla tapped him on the shoulder and he spun around, nearly knocking her over.

"Jeez, you scared the crap out of me!" His eyes were wide and searching. It took him a moment to register who she was and then his demeanor shifted. He was once again the funny, friendly guy that Kayla had known these past few years.

"You okay, Isaiah?" Kayla adjusted her purse on her shoulder uncomfortably. Isaiah was jumpy but he usually kept it together.

"I'm fine," Isaiah said. "Just didn't sleep well." He began to wring his fingers and crack his knuckles. "Have you seen Manny?"