The Improbability of Forever (Kismet #2) ✓

25. Quinn's Last Hours

Twenty-Five

Quinn's Last Hours 

My guilty feelings about Geometry lasted the whole rest of the period, and by the time Mr. Arellano dismissed us I felt absolutely awful.  I'd never felt bad about not turning homework in before, but this was different.  I was just as lost and confused as ever in the class, and I knew I'd need some help if I was going to pass the final exam.

As I sat in my seat, processing these disgruntled thoughts, the rest of the class filtered out of the room.  Cody stopped by my desk on his way out, leaning over to say, "I have mandatory team workout in the gym after school.  But I'll be at your house around five, okay?"

"Okay."  My voice sounded disconnected from my head—I was still debating whether or not to talk to Mr. Arellano about my grade.

After a few minutes, I'd procrastinated long enough, because I was the only student left in the class and Mr. Arellano was giving me confused looks, as if he didn't understand why I hadn't moved from my seat yet.  Jumping up, I gathered my things and slipped out of the room without looking back.

While I wouldn't ask for help just yet, I knew I needed to work on my homework, so I took a seat in a library cubicle and shoved on some earbuds.  I had just whipped out a pencil and opened my textbook to the proper page when a shadow fell over me.

"Ms. Ramirez!"

I shut my eyes and took a few deep breaths, willing Mr. Reese to go away.

Unfortunately, the librarian did no such thing, and as soon as I swiveled my chair to face him he handed me a particularly fat book.  "Since you loved A Tale of Two Cities so much I thought you'd like this, too!"

I feigned a fake smile as I took an old-looking book titled The Age of Innocence.  I really hoped it had SparkNotes.

"I know you're busy with exams but let me know how you like it!"

"Of course."  I smiled as best I could and he sidled away, probably to go harass another student.  Some days I felt bad for him—nobody really came to the library to read anymore, and most students who liked reading just read books on their laptops or phones.  He just meandered around straightening the shelves most days, being fooled by students like me who pretended to read his book suggestions.

The further away Mr. Reese got, the more my guiltiness switched back to Geometry.  Pumping more lead out of my mechanical pencil, I got to work, determined to get through the problem set.

I'd finished the homework by four thirty and was standing in front of Mr. Arellano's shut door, peering into the dark room and trying to see if he was inside.  I could see the stack of homework perched precariously on his desk, illuminated only by the daylight of a window overlooking the quad.  Nobody seemed to be inside.

As quietly as I could, I twisted the knob and slipped inside the room, sticking to the shadows in case anybody walked by and saw me.  Then I dropped my notebook on top of the pile and scurried back out, running smack into someone as I darted into the hallway.

"Quinn?"

"Cody!"  I shut the door to the classroom with my foot, clearing my throat at the sound it made as it hit the doorframe.

"Did you really just sneak in your homework late?"

"Yes..."

He dug around in his backpack and produced his own tattered yellow notebook.  "Mind dropping mine in the stack, too?"