Evolving

Grade Five

"Everyone partner up! We've got a few minutes until the bus arrives!"

Shayle turned to her friend Mara, but stopped short. She saw that Mara was already in the process of link arms with her cousin Josie.

"Sorry, Shayle," Mara said. "Josie wanted to sit by me on the bus today since Yuri isn't here. And we're cousins, so yeah..."

"That's fine, I guess..." Shayle scanned the parking way where all the 5th grade classes prepared for their overnight field trip to the local aquarium. She slowly began to panic, Shayle knew that if she didn't act fast on a partner, she would be forced to sit next to someone she didn't know or worse, and even more embarrassing, Mrs. Rubio, her teacher.

"Shayle," her teacher's sudden voice made her jump. "It seems we're short one person today, would you mind joining a group of three?"

She shrugged and followed her teacher, knowing this was bound to happen.

What she didn't expect was to be paired with Scott Blair and Jesse Nixon. Scott, she didn't know well so she couldn't say much about him. But Jesse? That's where the line was crossed.

She looked at Mrs. Rubio with pleading eyes. "Can't I join another group of three?"

She shook her head. "You were the only one without a partner. Sorry hon.

Oh please, was that suppose to be an apology? Shayle thought quietly to herself.

Jesse squinted, looking off into the distance – which Shayle thought was pretty weird given there was no sun, and the sky was a deep overcast of clouds – at the big yellow buses that drove down the street towards their school's parking lot. "Buses are here."

********

"Dude, my mom brought home GTA 5 and I was so stoked, man."

"No way, we should play together at your house."

"Not mine. My mom took my Xbox away."

"Why would she take away your Xbox? What kind of person does that to a man?"

Shayle rolled her eyes and shifted away from the two. She was hanging onto the bus seat with one thigh, the rest of her body dangled in the walkway.

Jesse put his hands up in exasperation as he spoke. "I know right? I mean, she wouldn't like it if I took her jewelry."

"What did you do to deserve this?"

"Um... not sure."

"You tried to stuff my dog in the dishwasher," Shayle muttered over her shoulder.

"You're the one who wanted me to give your dog a bath."

"No one washes a dog in a dishwasher, Jesse. A dishwasher."

Jesse shrugged. "It wouldn't hurt to get creative sometimes."

Shayle crossed her arms over herself with a scowl on her face as she remembered the day. "He got his leg stuck on something and was in a lot of pain because of you."

"And like I said a month ago, I'm sorry."

Shayle looked at him expectantly.

"Sorry your dog has to grow a pair of sacks and know not to get his legs stuck in things," he concluded.

Shayle lost it. Her dog was her baby and anyone who knew her –including Jesse– knew not to talk bad about him. He was doing this to purposely antagonize her and it worked.

"Ouch, ow, I'm in so much pain!" Jesse cackled as Shayle pounded hard on his arms, his legs, his chest almost anywhere she could reach. The fact that he found this so funny was beyond infuriating to her.

"I'm in so much pain–"

"Shut up!" She let the unshed tears fall. She sat back and dropped her head so that her hair could cover her face as she wept.

"...Dang..." Scott drawled. "I think she's crying."

"Nuh uh." Jessie pushed some hair away from her face to see for himself. Sure enough, Scott was right.

"Leave me alone." Shayle turned her back to them.

Jesse felt bad, but didn't quite know how to voice his feelings to her in a way that wouldn't worsen the situation. "Sorry, Shay... but I didn't make you cry, that was all your fault–"

Scott smacked Jesse's arm as if to say, 'wrong move, bro'.

Jesse tried again, placing a hand on her shoulder, awkwardly. "Well, if your dog would have never–"

"Jesse." Scott warned.

"I mean... I'm sorry that you're crying."

Shayle sniffed. "Really?"

"Yea."

She turned to smile at him and he smiled back.

"Even though I'm still going to tell your mother you beat me up just now."

*********