Zero to Nine

Chapter 21

I struggled through school for the rest of the week. I completed assignment on top of assignment, trying to catch up the time I missed. I stayed after school with my teachers to learn what we did in class, spent my study halls in the library reading from a history textbook, looking up the answers to chemistry problems, and creating flashcard sets for Spanish. It was a whirlwind of a time, but I got through it.

As the week continued, more and more teachers seemed to know about "the incident". At the beginning, every interaction was a normal one. By the end of the week, even the librarian was giving me pity vibes. I was offered food, rides, hugs, consolation, shoulders to cry on. The only thing I didn't pass up was the food.

I had talked with most of my teachers about me not being there Friday because of the wake. Many of my teachers were surprised to see me in school at all, let alone able to talk about what had happened openly. Granted, I couldn't say or think about certain things for fear of my emotions taking over me, but I was okay. I opted to come in for first block to take a geology test, then leave after. It would be less work for me to take it then and not have to make it up. I considered the fact that I would probably fail the test because the only thing I would be thinking about Friday morning was my sister, but I decided to take it anyway. My geology teacher is pretty reasonable, so I was sure she would let me retake it if needed, and cut me some slack on the short answer questions.

I walked into the geology room on Friday morning, already wearing what I would be wearing for the rest of the day. I calculated that I would not have time to change between here and the McLaughlin's, and I didn't feel like bringing clothes to change and get ready there; I wanted to be with them, not upstairs getting ready. I sat down at my desk and pulled out my phone, checking for notifications. There were none. I set my phone facedown on the desk and opened my geology binder, pulling out the notes from last class. We were told this is what the test would be on. I knew the material well, and geology comes naturally to me, so I wasn't particularly concerned. After about 10 minutes, when most of the class had straggled through the door like zombies, looking at me as they did. I'm guessing it was because I was dressed up. Everyone sat at their desks, class started and the tests were handed out.

A long 80 minutes later, I turned in my test. I had answered every question. I was confident in most of my answers. I was surprised at my ability to pull together and focus under the circumstances: it was early in the morning, and a very important 'something' was happening later in the day.

My teacher gave me a once-over as I packed my backpack to leave. "Do you know if you'll be here next class?" she asked me.

"I think so. Unless something happens..." I trailed off.

"I understand. Don't worry about it. You're doing well in this class, so if you miss a day or two, it will be okay."

"Thank you," I said as I pulled my car keys out of my bag.

"I try to be reasonable about this stuff..." she told me.

"Well, it's working," I said. "You're one of the most reasonable teachers I have. I guess not all of them understand fully, which is okay. One teacher in particular, though, has assigned three weeks of homework in one week, and it happens to be the week I missed. I have to make it up before the marking period is over."

"APUSH?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah," I replied with a hint of a smile. "It's kind of a ridiculous amount of reading."

"Yeah, it is! I hear kids complaining about it all the time in the hallways. Have you talked to the teacher?"

"Yes. No luck," I said, slightly frustrated.

"Did you tell him what happened?"

"No..." I trailed off.

"Maybe you should. Like you said, maybe he just doesn't understand."

"I guess, but I just don't like talking about it."

"That's understandable. Time will tell. Word usually gets around amongst the teachers, so he'll find out eventually and hopefully lay off a little bit. Anyway, don't be worried about my class. Like I said, I try to be reasonable."

"I appreciate that. See you Monday," I said as I turned toward the door to leave.

"Will do," she said after me.

I glanced down at my watch as I exited the classroom. It took me 27 minutes to get from here to the McLaughlin's. I was going to get lunch/brunch before I went to the McLaughlin's, which I had planned to be a quick Panera run. From here to Panera was 6 minutes, then I had to go back by school and go the 27 minutes to the McLaughlin's. So, add it all up, and I got 39 minutes of driving, factor in 15 for eating. About 54 minutes. It was only 10:30, and I had to be there by noon. Since I had extra time, I decided to stop by my APUSH teacher's room and maybe knock a little sense into his head. Figuratively, of course, using my geology teacher's advice.

I rounded the corner into the humanities hallway, passing rows upon rows of lockers. When I arrived at the door, it was slightly ajar. So, I knocked gently near the door handle and pushed it open enough so that I could stick my head around the door frame to get a view of the teacher's desk. He was seated there, vigorously writing with a red pen. Grading papers, I assumed. He looked up shortly after he heard my knock.

"Scarlett," he said with a slightly unamused tone.
"Mr. Porter. I was hoping you'd have a minute to... talk." I stepped into the room toward his desk.
"Sure, I have a minute. What's on your mind?" he said in true professor fashion.
I paused for a moment, rehearsing what I was going to say. "I was just wondering about the homework I missed last week. Do you need that by the end of the quarter?"
"Well, I do need all grades in by the end of the marking period, so yes. And, as of right now," he said, checking his grade book, "I have 3 assignments marked late from you. Do you have them?"
I paused, taken slightly aback. "Uh, no, not right now..." I hesitated. "I didn't have time to complete them. I was wondering if you wouldn't mind giving me a small extension." I made sure to ask for a small extension and not ask for anything too radical.
"See, Scarlett, that's something you never want to do."
What? I thought to myself. I looked at him, confused.
Me. Porter continued, "You never want to tell a teacher you're too busy for their class."
I paused before responding. "I wasn't just too busy for your class, I was too busy for all my classes. It's nothing personal, I just... I had a family emergency."
"Really?" he asked. I nodded.
"Do you mind telling me what this 'family emergency' concerned?" he prodded, putting extra emphasis on the word emergency.
"Uhhh..." I stalled, unsure what to say. "I don't think... uh... I'm not comfortable talking about it yet." That was true. I started to become uneasy.
"Right, well..." Mr. Porter said, leaning back in his chair and taking off his reading glasses. "Do you know what that makes me think?"
I paused once more. "That I need an extension?"
"No." He sounded annoyed. "That you're guilty."
Guilty? Of what? This guy really needed to be more clear.
He continued, "Students do this all the time. They make up some sob story and peg it as a family emergency when all that really happened was they got lazy and didn't do their homework for a few nights. Don't even try to pull that one on me, Scarlett, because I won't fall for it."
I stood in silence. I stared at him from across his desk, dumbfounded.
"You don't believe me."
"Well, you were evasive. What do you expect me to believe?"
I clenched my jaw to keep it from dropping. I could feel tears start to well in my eyes. I held them back as hard as I could.
"Me. I expect you to believe me. I have been nothing but hard working this whole year, especially in this class. And all I've been is treated like this. I don't deserve this, and I know it." A tear fell down my cheek. I quickly brushed it away. "Check with attendance to verify my absence. Then maybe you'll believe me."
I turned and walked away before he could say another word. I headed for the parking lot to quickly grab lunch, holding back tears the whole way. I got in my car, composed myself, and went on my way.