I hugged my knees and tried to think hard about how I was going to survive this day. I thought about running home to get my schedule, but my mom was sure to be there-I couldn’t let her see me out of class. I thought about running to the high school to find Jess-he would know what to do-but my day had been humiliating enough without running through a hall full of high schoolers looking for Jess. I came to the conclusion that I had no choice but to sit against the brick wall by the smelly dumpster all day-or at least until lunch.
The sun was hot as it beat down on my scalp, and the tears that I had eventually cried left a sticky white film on my cheeks. I wiped at my eyes and squinted through the sunlight to look at my watch. It was almost eleven thirty a.m. I had sat against the wall for over two and a half hours. Lunch would be starting in five minutes. I hoisted myself off the pavement. My muscles were sore from sitting in one position for so long. I swatted at my pants as small little pebbles that had stuck to them fell to the ground. I was starving and could practically taste the pepperoni pizza in my mouth. I walked to the door and grasped the handle. As soon as I tugged on the door, I realized to my detriment that it was locked. Of course it was. All of the doors-except for the front doors right by the principal’s office-were always locked from the outside. I sighed and bent my head back to scowl at the sky. Could this day get any worse? I slithered back down into my seat against the brick wall. The pavement was still cool from me shading it from the sun all morning long. I squeezed my knees tight toward my chest and buried my head between them and my body and tried to imagine what it would feel like to be eating my pepperoni pizza.
I heard the final bell ring and hundreds of kids running toward their buses and carpools. When the sounds wound down, I felt safe to climb the fence behind the dumpster and walk slowly to the front of the school. I watched my surroundings carefully, making sure that no teachers or parents saw me coming around the back corner of the school. When I could see that it was clear, I walked casually in front of the school, down the main road leading from town, over the wooded path, across the old soccer field, through the hole in the fence, passed the cement walls, and down the street to my house. I was about fifty yards from my front door when I noticed Jess sitting on the front step. I felt the familiar salt building up behind my eyes, but I willed the tears away.
“Hey, Jess,” I spoke as though I had expected him to be there.
He looked up suddenly from the textbook he was reading on his lap. “Hey! There’s the new ninth grader! You look older,” he teased. “How was the first day?”
When I reached my yard, I dropped my still practically empty backpack on the grass and melted onto the ground next to it. I laid out flat-as though I was going to do a snow angel on the lawn, closed my eyes, and moaned at the sky.
Jess grimaced. “That good, huh?”
Words came out of my mouth, but I was barely moving my lips. “You don’t want to know.”
“Okay.” Jess shrugged. “You want to hear about my day?”
I nodded awkwardly as the back of my head dug deeper into the grass.
“I only have five classes now, instead of seven. They’re longer, though. But I think I’ll like my chemistry teacher.”
I rolled over to my side so I could look at him while he was talking. I envied his attitude toward school. It wasn’t a punishment to Jess. It was an opportunity.
“I have two elective classes and three that are required.” He stopped and looked at me lying on the ground. “Man, something must really be wrong for you to let me go on this long. What happened today?”
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” I mumbled into the arm that I was supporting my head on.
Jess got up from the porch step and crawled over to where I was lying on the grass. “What happened?”
I
The sun was hot as it beat down on my scalp, and the tears that I had eventually cried left a sticky white film on my cheeks. I wiped at my eyes and squinted through the sunlight to look at my watch. It was almost eleven thirty a.m. I had sat against the wall for over two and a half hours. Lunch would be starting in five minutes. I hoisted myself off the pavement. My muscles were sore from sitting in one position for so long. I swatted at my pants as small little pebbles that had stuck to them fell to the ground. I was starving and could practically taste the pepperoni pizza in my mouth. I walked to the door and grasped the handle. As soon as I tugged on the door, I realized to my detriment that it was locked. Of course it was. All of the doors-except for the front doors right by the principal’s office-were always locked from the outside. I sighed and bent my head back to scowl at the sky. Could this day get any worse? I slithered back down into my seat against the brick wall. The pavement was still cool from me shading it from the sun all morning long. I squeezed my knees tight toward my chest and buried my head between them and my body and tried to imagine what it would feel like to be eating my pepperoni pizza.
I heard the final bell ring and hundreds of kids running toward their buses and carpools. When the sounds wound down, I felt safe to climb the fence behind the dumpster and walk slowly to the front of the school. I watched my surroundings carefully, making sure that no teachers or parents saw me coming around the back corner of the school. When I could see that it was clear, I walked casually in front of the school, down the main road leading from town, over the wooded path, across the old soccer field, through the hole in the fence, passed the cement walls, and down the street to my house. I was about fifty yards from my front door when I noticed Jess sitting on the front step. I felt the familiar salt building up behind my eyes, but I willed the tears away.
“Hey, Jess,” I spoke as though I had expected him to be there.
He looked up suddenly from the textbook he was reading on his lap. “Hey! There’s the new ninth grader! You look older,” he teased. “How was the first day?”
When I reached my yard, I dropped my still practically empty backpack on the grass and melted onto the ground next to it. I laid out flat-as though I was going to do a snow angel on the lawn, closed my eyes, and moaned at the sky.
Jess grimaced. “That good, huh?”
Words came out of my mouth, but I was barely moving my lips. “You don’t want to know.”
“Okay.” Jess shrugged. “You want to hear about my day?”
I nodded awkwardly as the back of my head dug deeper into the grass.
“I only have five classes now, instead of seven. They’re longer, though. But I think I’ll like my chemistry teacher.”
I rolled over to my side so I could look at him while he was talking. I envied his attitude toward school. It wasn’t a punishment to Jess. It was an opportunity.
“I have two elective classes and three that are required.” He stopped and looked at me lying on the ground. “Man, something must really be wrong for you to let me go on this long. What happened today?”
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” I mumbled into the arm that I was supporting my head on.
Jess got up from the porch step and crawled over to where I was lying on the grass. “What happened?”
I
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