I can say all fifty states in sixteen seconds.
That's probably the most useless talent ever.
Oh, but I can also make my stomach growl on command. Is it even called growl? Like, I can make my stomach make noises. I'm pretty sure you guys know what I'm talking about.
Those are two useless talents.
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I wait for Luke to pick me up in the morning, but when it's obvious he won't, I start the short walk to school.
As I pass Nyx's house, I feel a sharp pang of guilt. I haven't talked to her since the first day of school, which was only three days ago, but I still feel bad.
We don't have any classes together this year, so it's not like I have a lot of opportunities to talk to her, but we've walked to school together since we were fourteen and just starting Last School. I haven't told her that I've been getting rides from Luke. She may not even know who he is. Since we usually walk to school together, we leave our houses earlier, but for the past few days I've been waking up later than normal, because Luke can drive to school faster than I can walk.
I don't even see Nyx in the mornings.
I haven't gotten any texts from her, but she doesn't really text that much.
As I near the school, I see that people are still milling around outside, meaning that class hasn't started yet.
Once I get inside the school, I quickly make my way to my class.
Luke's desk is empty, making me frown a bit.
I sit down in my seat and look at my desk, my eyes following the patterns the wood makes in the flat desk.
When the bell rings, my eyes snap up to the door. The only person who walks into the room is Ms. Wington. I try not to look disappointed.
She starts writing stuff on the whiteboard, and I want to bang my head repeatedly against my desk.
"Okay, class, start the bell work while I take attendance," she says, walking over to her desk and sitting down in her chair.
As she calls out names, I start the bell work, which is just writing down all the states. It's pretty pointless, but it's easy, so I don't complain.
"Hemmings?" Ms. Wington asks. When there's no answer, she glances at his empty desk before typing a few keys on the keyboard in front of her. The bright light emitting from her computer seems to light up the entire room, and I don't understand how her eyes can stand it.
I hear the door open and turn my head to see Luke walking into the room.
"Hey, sorry," he says, making his way to his desk and giving me a small smile.
"Would you care to explain why you're late?" Ms. Wington asks, staring at him and swiveling side to side in her chair.
"Not really, but I will. I was just riding my motorcycle to a friends house this morning, and then I felt this bump and within a few minutes my back tire was flat. I had to get off of my motorcycle and walk it to a mechanics shop, and they guy who looked at it said I ran over some glass and that I can pick my bike up after school." He shrugs. "It's a pretty boring story."
She glares at him. "I don't need your attitude."
"I wasn't giving you an attitude."
"Don't talk back to me."
His mouth drops open, but he quickly closes it and turns towards the board to read the bell work assignment.
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