Beyond the Streetlights- Karson's Story

Chapter Two- Street

Present Day

The heat swats at her head as the sun moves across the sky.  Small beads of sweat trickle down her forehead, yet remain unnoticed.  Picking up a sharpened pencil, she carefully measures the structure, placing her final piece on her project.  She analyses the objects, observing how the rubbers and pens balance on each other in a satisfying fort. 

"Alice Street!" A stern voice shrieks from the front.  She shakes from the sudden yell and yelps as she accidentally topples the pencil tower, scattering the pens and equipment onto the ground. 

"I-" Just as she is about to speak, her final piece, the sharpener, bounces off the desk and hits the ground, causing it to open with a click and scatter the pencil waste all over.  It is an utter chaos and as it finally grows quiet, the silence is disturbed by roaring laughter as fingers point and eyes stare.  Alice can feel her cheeks stain red as she tries saving her face with a strained smile.

"Ms. Street," the teacher repeats in an unamused tone.  She sighs as Alice chuckles lightly, bringing her hand to the back of her head.  Just play this smoothly.

"Sorry, Mrs. Sigworth!  It was not my intention-"

"Alice, I don't want to hear your excuses today.  Stop getting distracted and stay focused in class!"

"But-"

"I said no excuses!  Now clean that up and stay behind."  As she finishes her sentence, the bell rings.  The class is filled with movement as chairs screech against the floor and people gather their heavy books, shuffling out of the classroom in one large wave.  Steps are heard as a boy approaches Alice.  His grin is obvious from a distance as he closes in.

"Hey, Street-rat," he spits out.  Sighing, Alice tilts her head in annoyance, staring back at him.  Oh boy...

"Tony," she says back, equally rude.  He begins to sniff as he stops before her desk. 

"I thought I smelled something gross,"

"Really?  That's funny, I was about to say the same thing to you.  Everyone can tell when you walk into the room," she replies strongly.  His grin disappears as his eyebrows furrow into a deep scowl.

"Watch yourself, Street." He edges closer as he grasps the edge of the desk.  However, that only encourages the girl as she lifts herself off from her own seat and leans into his space, her face only hairs away from his.

"Or else?" She is the one grinning now.  An abrupt groan is heard from him as he kicks the the scattered waste around as they fly and land on desks around them.  He looks at her as she glares back.

As she watches him finally prowl out of the room, Alice sighs and gets down on her knees, one by one picking up her belongings.  A shadow appears before her as she grabs her rubber.

"Teenagers, am I right?"

"Well I'm also a teenager, Mrs. Sigworth..."

"Exactly my point," the woman replies as she gives about a youthful laugh.  Bending down alongside Alice, she too begins to pick at the scattered pieces of broken pencils and scrapped papers.  The young girl lifts her face to catch a glimpse of her teacher's shoulder-lengthed blonde hair and blue eyes.  The same fierceness Alice has is on the woman's face.

Soon enough, the two in silence had begun to produce a large pile of waste and begin to clear up the desks after the boy's tantrum.

As Alice finishes with her desk, she moves along to the one in front, dusting its surface with her palm, sliding the remains into her cupped hand.  She begins to read the words pasted onto the front edge of the desk: