May 14th
My eyes wandered around the classroom as Mr. Murray lectured the class on another formula that I didn't understand. Whatever we were learning, it wouldn't help me on finals that were in two weeks. At this point, I don't think anything could. Math was not my strong-suit, and never has been. Then again, you could say I'm not very good at school in general. I was never straight-A student. My brain doesn't function that way. Distractions always stop my homework from getting finished. I never really understood how smart straight-A students work. Do they really have a life or if they only study? I wish they could tell me their secret.
I wasn't aware of how much noise I was making by boucing my pencil on my desk. The only thing going through my head was the pattern of sound the pencil was making. It was somewhat calming to an extent. My ears focus on the taps, and it brought the sickening pale-yellow walls out of view.
"Laken, can you please tell us how I found X?" I snapped my head up to see everyone's eyes turned in my direction. The walls came back into view, almost giving me a headache. I opened my mouth but all that came out were a few stutters. Blood rushed up to my pale face, making me look like a rose. Luckily the life-saving bell rang to my advantage, signaling everyone to leave class. I hurriedly picked up my things and left the classroom, feeling semi-traumatized. I tried keeping my head up so people couldn't tell that I was extremely embarrassed . Relief flooded over me when my locker and two friends, Eloise and Avi, come into view. Once I arrived, a distressed groan slipped from my mouth as I rested her head on the cold steel locker, letting it cool me down. Avi and Eloise didn't notice me as they conversed about some civil war going on that I was not aware of.
"I need it to be summer."
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After Avi was finished ranting about how politically incorrect his literature teacher was, he dropped Eloise and I off at my house. My mothers mini van was parked in the drive way, indicating she was home early. We walked into the town-home and before going downstairs to my bedroom, I gave her mom a peck on the cheek. That had become my usual greeting and was now a habit between the us. Eloise greeted my mom with a quick hello and we both trotted down the stairs. Our tired bodies plopped on to my bed as Eloise turned on some Sylvan Esso as background noise.
We both sat in a comfortable silence for a few moments, pondering if doing homework would be possible due to our stress.
"I had a nightmare last night... Well not really a nightmare, but it was odd." Elo broke in. I turned her head over, queuing her to speak up.
She sat up in preparation for her story. "Well, school had ended. You, Avi, Jen, and Asher were all there." A smile appeared on my face at the mention of our best friends.
"We were running out of school, and immediately when we left, all of the papers we were given this year in school were thrown into the air. They were swirling and swirling. All we could see was a fog of papers around us. It was quite beautiful, actually." I rested my head on the palm of my hand, anticipating the rest of the dream.
"We were all so happy and expecting an amazing summer. But then everybody just drove home. I was still happy, but weird feeling settled inside me-"
"Like what?" I interrupted.
"I'm not sure. It was just... unsettling. But I ignored it and kept driving. When I got home I sat down next to my phone, waiting for a call from one of you guys. I waited, and waited, and waited. Although so much time passed, it only felt like a minute. Finally I realized I didn't want to wait anymore, but I looked at the calendar and saw that it was September 8th, the first day of school."
"That's fucked up, man."
"Yeah, I guess it is."
Another silenced settled among us, but this time it was sad and uncomfortable. We had both realized that this coming summer had a possibility of being completely wasted on being by ourselves. The thought gave me chills. I didn't want to imagine my last summer before senior year without my closest friends. Thinking back to the boring summer after sophomore year brought an ache to my gut. I don't know why I take summer so seriously, but it's important to me.
"We're not going to let last summer happen again." I muttered.
"But how? We can't predict that." Elo, being the realist she is, sighed and combed her long blonde hair into a pony tail. A new song came on, causing both of us to hum. I started thinking of all of the typical summer movies I had seen or books I read, and became jealous of how easily the characters had fun, and how they fell in love.
Asher soon came into my mind. The memories made me feel flustered. Guilt crawled through my spine, causing me to shiver yet again.
"You okay?" Eloise looked concerned. I nodded my head in response hoping to hide the memories that are only shared between Asher and I.
"Yeah I'm fine... Just stressed." I smiled and opened up my school laptop.
Fine. Always fine.
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YOU ARE READING
Speed Limit
Random'The rush of everyone pushing through the doors and running to their vacation was exhilarating. The warm sun on my face as I stepped outside, the light breeze touching my skin. It was summer, and I was happy' Laken Trent is a stressed junior in high...
