Jovial Memories

Chapter 8

Monday morning came all too quickly for Mandy. She groaned crankily at the sound of her beeping alarm, and she lazily threw her hand on the snooze button to shut the damn thing off. Rising from her bed, she realized it was lightly snowing outside. What another great way to start a Monday...

Secretly, she hoped school would be cancelled. Unfortunately, the sound of a snowplow caught her attention, and she was forced to accept that school would be continuing on schedule despite her wishes.

After getting on comfortable clothing for the day, Mandy came downstairs to find her breakfast--a piece of toast and a glass of orange juice--awaiting for her on the kitchen table. Her mother was sitting in the office, typing away at the computer.

"Morning!" her mother called from the office. "Breakfast is on the table!"

"Thanks, Mom," Mandy replied tiredly, quickly eating her breakfast. Placing the empty dishes in the sink, Mandy grabbed her backpack and gave a quick good-bye to her mom before stepping outside into the cold storm.

Mandy held her scarf tight against her neck as she walked through falling snow, the tiny flakes clinging to her hair with each step she took. There was a certain beauty about snow like this. It was peaceful, calming, unlike the winter blizzards they often had.

Unfortunately, Mandy only found snowfalls like this beautiful when it got school cancelled. Trudging through the snow towards her bus stop on a Monday morning wasn't the best way to start the week.

As soon as Mandy saw the bus sign on the corner of the street, she noticed the other students looking as unhappy as herself. They were standing stiffly by the silver pole, their scarves pulled against their faces as well. For some reason, this caused Mandy to smile. It made her feel happy to know that others shared her pain.

The yellow school bus pulled up against the snowy curb, the brakes creaking loudly as it came to a stop. Mandy lugged her backpack onto the bus and found a spot near the center. The bus took off with a jolt, throwing Mandy back against her seat.

Chatter was quiet today on the bus, most likely because everyone was exhausted from a long weekend. Mandy rested her chin on her hand as she watched the bus pass snowy towns.

Turning to face the others, Mandy noticed Abby sitting two rows in front of her on the left side of the bus. She was chatting quietly with one of her friends.

Mandy normally didn't notice Abby or care enough to notice her, but she felt a stinging sensation inside her. Since hanging out with the Abby in her Year Dimension, she felt a new growing curiosity towards the real Abby. Was it possible that Abby could act the same as she had years before? It seemed like a silly thought, considering how rude Abby has been, but Mandy still felt like she at least needed to let Abby know that Jessie was okay and that Mandy was able to see her now.

It was stupid to even consider talking to Abby, but the whole bus ride, Mandy kept awkwardly rubbing her palms together, trying to find the courage to speak to Abby. She had nearly called her name by the end of the bus ride, but the quick appliance of the bus' breaks caused Mandy's small moment of courage to come to a cease. Students were already rising to get off the bus, leaving Mandy to wait until a better time.

Monday morning classes were terrible, as usual. There was nothing worse than sitting in a small classroom for an hour listening to the dull voices of her teachers chat away about nothing of importance. Worst of all, Roy and Iris seemed intent on making eye contact with her and trying to conjure up small talk. Why couldn't they accept that Mandy wasn't supposed to make any friends?

When lunch rolled around, Mandy decided eating in the cafeteria with Roy and Iris snooping around was too risky, so she decided that the bathroom would be a suitable place. Strutting past the lockers with her lunch in hand, Mandy turned a corner and paused, noticing Abby chatting away with those in her clique.