streaks. It was all shaggy, and the ends flipped up every which way. It really complemented her oval face, and the highlights made her amber eyes sparkle.
“Thank you for noticing,” Katie gushed as she ran her fingers through her hair and shook it playfully.
What a diva! Katie was always “in vogue”— from head to toe. I was too comfortable and set in my ways to ever try a daring, new look. I really admired my best friend’s courage when it came to changing up her style. Everything she tried looked great on her — without fail — whether it was trendy or classic (or even an eclectic mix of both). Katie was undeniably a “fashionista”, unlike me, who she affectionately referred to as “ponytail”.
T he first period bell rang before long, kicking off yet another normal school day. Mrs. Thompson, our Statistics teacher, gave us only one problem for our daily assignment. The calculations, regrettably, took up the entire forty-five minutes and only a few of us finished.
During second period Literature, we discussed Hamlet , which most of the class still hadn’t read. Mr. Jackson didn’t seem that upset about it. What he actually appeared to be was “fidgety” or possibly borderline “distracted”.
I suppose if the mine shuts down, a lot of our teachers will lose their jobs, too — particularly if half the school’s student body is forced to relocate .
We had a pop-quiz in third period Government. I didn’t see that one coming, but I did pretty well. The substitute who was sitting in for our regular teacher, Mr. Connors, gave us the rest of the period, so I got a chance to review for my Geology exam. I didn’t need much prep, mainly a speedy skim of the last two chapters on rocks and minerals. I had to admit that learning about all the earth’s wonders was fascinating — with the notable exception of coal . I couldn’t care less if I ever saw another hunk of the dirty black stuff for the rest of my life. Coal was the only thing keeping this town afloat, but when you’ve grown up in a coalmining community your entire life, all you want is to get away from it — as soon as possible . There was a big, clean coal-less world out there, and I wanted to experience as much of it as I could.
I didn’t want to be held prisoner here forever, like Katie. She’s probably right. She’ll go off to college only to be ordered home by her parents after she graduates, inevitably to run their jewelry store. At least she’ll be stuck here with a decent job . I found it equally upsetting that Charlotte’s grand plan for Chloe was marrying her off to Mike Riverside (the sooner the better). I can see it now — a wedding band on her finger, her high school diploma in one hand, and a baby diaper in the other. That vision caused a chill to run down my spine.
By the time fourth period arrived, I felt a growing sense of angst starting to churn. It wasn’t stemming from my pending Geology exam. Not hardly. I was bothered by the irksome fact that Mike Riverside’s assigned desk was right beside mine. That alone made my normal gait to class slow to a reluctant creep. Ugh! And he was standing near the door talking to Kara Leighton too. What a pair. “Class Ass” with “Easy Piece of Ass”.
Fitting .
I paused in the doorway to hone my stare. Unlike most of the school’s general population trapped under her charming “faux-angelic” spell, I didn’t see what was so fascinating about our school’s resident “mean girl”. She wore entirely too much make-up, and all her clothes were at least one size too small (especially her uniform at the Drive-In). My eyes rolled as I thought about the limits of her “mental capacity”. How Kara even maintained a C average to stay on the cheerleading squad was beyond me. There wasn’t room to fill her head with any knowledge — that vacuous space was already taken up by air . She wasn’t what
“Thank you for noticing,” Katie gushed as she ran her fingers through her hair and shook it playfully.
What a diva! Katie was always “in vogue”— from head to toe. I was too comfortable and set in my ways to ever try a daring, new look. I really admired my best friend’s courage when it came to changing up her style. Everything she tried looked great on her — without fail — whether it was trendy or classic (or even an eclectic mix of both). Katie was undeniably a “fashionista”, unlike me, who she affectionately referred to as “ponytail”.
T he first period bell rang before long, kicking off yet another normal school day. Mrs. Thompson, our Statistics teacher, gave us only one problem for our daily assignment. The calculations, regrettably, took up the entire forty-five minutes and only a few of us finished.
During second period Literature, we discussed Hamlet , which most of the class still hadn’t read. Mr. Jackson didn’t seem that upset about it. What he actually appeared to be was “fidgety” or possibly borderline “distracted”.
I suppose if the mine shuts down, a lot of our teachers will lose their jobs, too — particularly if half the school’s student body is forced to relocate .
We had a pop-quiz in third period Government. I didn’t see that one coming, but I did pretty well. The substitute who was sitting in for our regular teacher, Mr. Connors, gave us the rest of the period, so I got a chance to review for my Geology exam. I didn’t need much prep, mainly a speedy skim of the last two chapters on rocks and minerals. I had to admit that learning about all the earth’s wonders was fascinating — with the notable exception of coal . I couldn’t care less if I ever saw another hunk of the dirty black stuff for the rest of my life. Coal was the only thing keeping this town afloat, but when you’ve grown up in a coalmining community your entire life, all you want is to get away from it — as soon as possible . There was a big, clean coal-less world out there, and I wanted to experience as much of it as I could.
I didn’t want to be held prisoner here forever, like Katie. She’s probably right. She’ll go off to college only to be ordered home by her parents after she graduates, inevitably to run their jewelry store. At least she’ll be stuck here with a decent job . I found it equally upsetting that Charlotte’s grand plan for Chloe was marrying her off to Mike Riverside (the sooner the better). I can see it now — a wedding band on her finger, her high school diploma in one hand, and a baby diaper in the other. That vision caused a chill to run down my spine.
By the time fourth period arrived, I felt a growing sense of angst starting to churn. It wasn’t stemming from my pending Geology exam. Not hardly. I was bothered by the irksome fact that Mike Riverside’s assigned desk was right beside mine. That alone made my normal gait to class slow to a reluctant creep. Ugh! And he was standing near the door talking to Kara Leighton too. What a pair. “Class Ass” with “Easy Piece of Ass”.
Fitting .
I paused in the doorway to hone my stare. Unlike most of the school’s general population trapped under her charming “faux-angelic” spell, I didn’t see what was so fascinating about our school’s resident “mean girl”. She wore entirely too much make-up, and all her clothes were at least one size too small (especially her uniform at the Drive-In). My eyes rolled as I thought about the limits of her “mental capacity”. How Kara even maintained a C average to stay on the cheerleading squad was beyond me. There wasn’t room to fill her head with any knowledge — that vacuous space was already taken up by air . She wasn’t what
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