Headed to school, Jeffrey looked up at the sky. Up above he saw billowing dark grey clouds hovering around. With no sun in sight, the day was slightly dark and gloomy.
For Jeffrey however, he liked the rain. The blue sky he was accustomed to was replaced with a windy and vibrant atmosphere.
Then it started to rain lightly, as if someone had turned on the sprinklers. Tiny drops of rain landed on the car windows. Jeffrey wore a black and blue raincoat.
As soon as he arrived at school he saw the courtyard mostly deserted. The weather had deterred a good number of the students and kids that usually arrived early. The rest found classrooms or building overhangs to hide under. There were some areas, but it was crowded.
The rain was light, so Jeffrey didn't mind standing in the open. He unfurled an umbrella, holding it above his head. In his other hand was a book. As always Jeffrey resumed reading.
Some time had passed and Jeffrey was thoroughly lost inside the world that Matthew Lucis had created.
"Hope lay in a small fire place. Staring at it the color of Liesel's eyes darkened. The world had become something she didn't understand. It was as if life was turning monochrome becoming shades of grey."
As Jeffrey was reading, the sound of footsteps got louder. Soon enough, it walked nearer to him. However, Jeffrey was too absorbed in the story to noticed.
*ahem*
the stranger coughed to get his attention. However they received no response. Seeing as Jeffrey's mind was not attached to his body. The person tapped him on the shoulder. Before having to shake him back into reality.
"Jeffrey", the kid called his name.
"JEFFREY", they repeated a little louder.
Having lost the movie playing in his head, Jeffrey looked up to notice the group of people waiting on him.
His science project group had gathered. Seeing as some of the previous members efforts were futile, Samantha and Dresden had asked Preston to wake him up.
"Oh hey guys", Jeffrey said still not completely back to reality.
"Hey man", Dresden responded.
Samantha and Preston just shook their heads with a pair of knowing smiles.
The date for science fair project was getting close. So it was about time to finish up what they had started.
"We should have a meeting", Samantha declared.
"About what and when?", Dresden asked.
Both of them looked toward Preston and Jeffrey.
"Any thoughts?", Preston threw the problem to Jeffrey. The whiplash and sudden question startled Jeffrey. Preston without a moments hesitation threw him under the bus.
At this moment, Jeffrey didn't even know which way was even up. He took a moment to identify his surroundings.
The dark grey color of the concrete had soaked up the rain. Dark dots and water droplets formed on some of the classroom doors. Various plants and trees had a dark green color.
"Uhh... hmm", Jeffrey's mind transitioned back to the present.
"Let's do my house on Wednesday", he suggested. There were a few things he wanted to prepare and a couple of ideas to go over.
Dresden scribbled a note.
"yeah, ok", Preston replied. Samantha and Dresden didn't have any objections.
The project group talked about a couple of things to prepare and things to bring.
"So you got the poster board, Preston?", Jeffrey asked.
"How's the slides coming along Samantha?", Dresden added.
"I printed out the fliers", Preston informed them.
The four stood alone out in the light rain. All because Jeffrey was being dumb and didn't find a nice and warm place to read. Jeffrey enjoyed getting caught the rain, breaking up the usual and normally boring sunny days.
The sound rain made as it hit the ground. The peace, quiet silence and sound of the environment.
"Jeffrey, if you're going to read at least do it in the band room", Samantha said.
Preston looked at her.
Dresden knowing what that meant said, "It was probably locked."
"Maybe it was, but I bet Jeffrey didn't even check", Samantha said with a sigh.
They started walking to one of the open classrooms. The science room was full of backpacks and other students hiding from the rain. It was much louder here, than it was when they were outside.
Dresden and Samantha took out their homework assignments and started comparing answers.
"What'd you get for number 15?", Dresden asked.
"I thought we were suppose to do evens", Samantha replied.
Dresden paused for a moment as he realized the mistake he made. There was a look of fear in his eyes. Dresden got busy scrambling to pull out his textbook and start looking at the problems. The assignment was due in a few class periods, so he had little time to lose.
Taking out a pencil and a notebook. He tore out a piece of paper, making sure to carefully tear along the perforated edges.
Dresden wrote his name in the top right corner. Folding the sheet in half, he started to work
"number 6", Dresden muttered as he copied the problem. He was slowly making progress attempting to finish the assignment before school starts.
Meanwhile Jeffrey and Preston were nearby listening in and having their own conversation.
"How's your week?", Jeffrey mentioned.
"Pretty good. History test on Thursday, chair re-test and auditions tomorrow in orchestra, but it's a light week", Preston talked about his schedule.
"Nice.... nice", Jeffrey commented.
"How's yours?", Preston inquired.
Jeffrey in the middle of putting his book away, tried recalling his schedule.
"This week's Monday, I have Mrs. Crawford 2nd period, Mrs. Browne 3rd period. Got a Math test on Wednesday", various class schedules and assignments came to mind.
In middle school, every kid got a planner. Unfortunately, not many knew the value or even had strong planning skills. Jeffrey was one of those kids who kept everything in his mind, and as such various assignments and tests would slip from his mind.
It took a few seconds for Jeffrey to recall, but he responded to Preston.
"Meh it's alright. Mom wants me to try out for a club soccer team though. Suggested I get a friend to join with me", Jeffrey offered. Although his stare at Preston afterward made his friend just a little uncomfortable.
"Umm... maybe ask Dresden. He's pretty into sports", Preston suggested.
"Come on man, you and me. Just like summer camp", Jeffrey brought up.
"Ugh", Preston moaned.
Soon enough the school bell rang and kids started heading to class.