brothers.

7~ High School

Knock. Knock. "Diana?"

"Come in, Susan."

She entered, smiling at me. I was curled up on my bed, reading one of the books she'd given me.

"I meant to talk to you," she said. "Um- do you mind helping me with the laundry? I don't mean to interrupt..."

"Of course not. I'll help," I obliged. I put my book down and got off my bed. I followed her into Kyle and Jack's room, a laundry basket on Kyle's bed.

Susan handed half the pile to me and we started folding. "So... the school year's starting in a couple weeks," she started. "From what I saw, you've been sort of... in and out of school?"

I glanced up at her. "Yeah, sort of," I said. "Sometimes I'd be in a homeschool program, or online. I've been online lately, especially after the pandemic."

"When was the last time you went to school? Face-to-face?"

"When I was 11. I was with the Thomas's. They made me go to this 'special' private school. They were nice to me, it's just that they wanted me to have friends and stuff. But then I got into a fight, they expelled me, and the rich fat cats running the school got me moved into a group home."

Susan gazed at me as she folded a shirt. "I... I'm sorry that happened to you."

I shook my head. "It was a long time ago."

She remained silent for a few moments. "Well... I wanted to ask you if... you would be okay with attending high school. Since you finished 9th Grade online, you could just enroll and go the first day."

At first, I couldn't answer. My mind short-circuited as my stomach churned at the thought.

"But if you're not comfortable, it's alright. They offer a virtual program

Going to school? All my life, I'd hated school. Every time I went, I was always tortured by everyone else. "Um... would I go with your sons?"

She hesitated. "Kyle and Jack are in college. Tommy's a senior in high school and Harry's a junior. They go to R. T. Summit High. Although, considering the tension between you and them, I don't know if you'd like to go with them. You could go to a different school, if you want. Lawson High is in our district."

If Tommy and Harry went there, they'd for sure make my life even more miserable. There was no way I'd go through that. scary.

"Um... I think I'd rather go online," I said.

"You do?"

"Yeah, I... school and I don't really get along." I piled up all the clothes I folded. Susan stared in surprise, probably wondering how I finished so many so quickly.

"I see..." she trailed off, her shoulders seeming to relax. "I understand, Diana. All you have to do is enroll. I'll lend you Davis's laptop later on, and you can take a look at the curriculum."

"Oh, yeah, sure," I said. "Thank you, Susan. I appreciate it."

~~~

I sat in the dining room with Davis's laptop, browsing R.T. Summit High's website. They had some pretty interesting electives. A shame the Cooking elective wasn't offered online; that sounded awesome.

I was going to enroll in a virtual high school, but I was curious about the boys' school. It seemed to have more, but most of the things I wanted were face-to-face.

The boys laughed as they came from the backyard, teasing Tommy about something. Kyle twirled his football in his hands and playfully bounced it off Tommy's head. He tried to punch him in response.