Playing with Forever

Chapter 9: Field Trip

I started splitting my break and lunch periods between Sam and Mina's group. Sam hastily rejected my offer to sit with us all. He didn't like crowds, he said, and he feared he would ruin the group dynamic for everyone. I disagreed, but let it go. He obviously didn't want to, so I wouldn't push. He had accepted me, and that seemed like a real feat on his part.

Thursday, nearly a week since I sat with Sam that first time, Ms. Reynolds skipped into our fifth period Humanities class, and we all knew it was a bad sign. "Alright class, listen up!" she sang. "The next few days, we're going to be doing research papers!"

There were loud groans and shouts of protest throughout the room. "You didn't let me finish," Ms. Reynolds scolded. "They're going to be partner papers."

Everyone darted looks over to their friends, claiming their buddies as partners for the project none of us wanted to do. My desk vibrated when Sam nudged the bar of my chair to get my attention. I looked up. "Partner?" he mouthed.

I grinned back and nodded. Definitely. It was nice to be sought out by anyone, but especially him. Nothing to boost our blossoming friendship like a good old partner project.

"What are you researching, you ask?" Ms. Reynolds said, even though nobody had said anything. She smiled excitedly anyways. "You'll be assigned different exhibits of the Green Oak Museum of California History to explore!"

The class cheered. "Field trip!" someone shouted in victory.

Mrs. Reynolds shook her head. "No, this is something you will do outside of class."

The cheering immediately stopped. "What?" somebody yelled in outrage.

A girl named Rebecca groaned. "Mrs. Reynolds, Green Oak is like, an hour away," she complained.

"Don't exaggerate. It's no more than twenty minutes," our teacher corrected.

"Still!"

"Ms. Reynolds, some of us don't have time to go out to Green Oak," a guy on the football team pointed out. I nodded. With volleyball practice and watching Nate, I'd need to sit down with Birdie and we'd have to figure out something. Neither of us had the money for Nate to just tag along with me.

Aw, shoot, the money.

Mrs. Reynolds stood firm, though, and didn't give in to our demands. My heart sank. Money, time, it was all trouble. When our teacher came by to give me and Sam our assignment, I asked her nervously, "Will we get in free, since it's a school project?"

"The student rate is only eight dollars," she said.

Only? She obviously hadn't looked at my bank account before giving us the assignment. Hartford was a relatively affluent suburban town, so I imagined it wouldn't be a big deal for most students. "I'm sure you can give up one coffee for this assignment, Miss Shea," she condescended, then shouted for the whole class to hear, "I'll be checking ticket stubs, too, so don't think you can get away with not going! Take the museum in, soak up the culture! No regurgitating Yelp reviews!"

I tried to smile back while churning through my mind, trying to figure out how I'd work my budget for an extra eight dollars.

Mrs. Reynolds turned to Sam in surprise. "Mr. Durand! No argument today about partners?"

"No, ma'am," he replied politely. "I am working with Abigail."

"Really?" she asked in disbelief. "I don't think you've ever actually worked with a partner on a project before."

With a forced almost-smile on his face, he said, "There is a first time for everything."

"Well. We'll see how this works. You're a brave soul," she said, turning back to me.