Weekend was finally over. I returned to the house and got dressed for school. Owen had already left, leaving the keys beneath the flower vase for me. I opened the door and noticed the house was clean,too clean. I guessed maybe Owen didn't have the partyas he planned. I went upstairs, freshened up and got dressed. I poured Coco's kibbles in her bowl and left for school. I boarded the bus to school since the school bus had already left. I stopped at the bus stop and I continued the rest of my journey on foot. I got to school really late. The hallway was a bit lonely. All the students were already in class. I went to my locker, dropped my bag, collected the books I needed. I was about to close my locker when Principal Don popped right in front of me.
"Principal Don!"I stammered, frightened by his presence
"Ms McDonald, ain't you supposed to be in class?"Principal Don said, checking the time on his wrist watch
"I...am"I replied, closing my locker and heading to class
I stood at my classroom window and viewed the teacher inside. It was Mr Rodriguez,my Spanish teacher. Mr Rodriguez is always grumpy. He yells at any small mistake and blames everyone for his misfortune. I opened the door and walked in
"Ms McDonald, you're late"Mr Rodriguez said, pointing at the time on the classroom wall clock
"Sorry Mr Rodriguez but you see...I went to a sleepover party last night and over slept in really late. I had to go home,feed my dog and get dressed for school. The school bus had already left before I got home so I had to take the bus. Then,I stopped at the bus stop and continued my journey to school on foot"I explained really fast
"Aww! How sad! Maybe you should learn to wake up on time and save me the boring speech"Mr Rodriguez
"Okay"I replied, sitting on my seat
"So class,where were we?"Mr Rodriguez asked
******
An hour before recess,it went for gym class. Coach Miller was doing some push-ups when we entered.
"Welcome class. I hope you all are ready for today's class?"Coach Miller said
"More like death training"Jimmy said, make the whole class burst into laughter
"Who said that?"Coach Miller said
All fingers were pointing at Jimmy.
"Since you like talking too much,why don't you be my spotter for today's class?"Coach Miller offered
"Okay"Jimmy said, standing in front of the class
"Jimmy, would you mind moving a few metres away from the class?"Coach Miller said
"Okay?"Jimmy replied, unsure of his answer
"And then what?"Jimmy asked
"Now class, today we are going to learn about Dodge Ball. The main aim of this is to hit your opponent with your ball and avoid getting hit by them. Let me demonstrate"Coach Miller said, throwing a ball at Jimmy
"Ow! That hurts!"Jimmy complained
"Now you try"Coach Miller said, allowing everyone to throw their balls at Jimmy
"Wait? What? Ow! Ow!!"Jimmy groaned
"I'm okay. Or maybe not"Jimmy said, passing out because of the throws
"Quick, someone should take him to the school nurse"Coach Miller said, seeing Jimmy unconscious
That's one way of ending gym class. With a few minutes to spare, Claudia went to the library to return the books she collected a week ago while I went to the school garden. I sat on the bench and viewed the surroundings. The colourful butterflies on some hibiscus; sucking out the sweet nectar from it;the birds making their nests on the trees,some squirrels and raccoons. Wait? Raccoons? Oh,it's just a rock hiding behind the tree,I think. I was enjoying a peaceful atmosphere, trying to get a few things off my mind. Recess! The bell rang and the students dashed out from their classes. Claudia was already in the cafeteria, munching on a hamburger and milkshake. I bought the same thing she ordered except for the milkshake. I bought a soda instead. I sat on the same table with her.
"Hey! Where have you been? I've been looking everywhere for you"Claudia said with her mouth full
"I was at the garden, clearing my head. I can't stop thinking about what you said"I said, opening the can of soda and taking a sip
"What exactly?"Claudia
"About you know who"I said softly
"You mean Xavier?"Claudia said out loud
"Shh! Pipe down or someone might hear us"I cautioned
"Calm down,I won't let the car out of the bag. Speaking of Xavier,here he comes with Brianna and her minions"Claudia alarmed
"Really?"I asked
"Yes,he is coming this way"Claudia informed
"He is?"I asked
"Yes. Wait? No, he's just sitting with Brianna,that witch"Claudia said
"Oh, okay"I said, disappointed with her response
"Don't be sad. He's not interested in you. He's a playboy"Claudia reminded
"What if he's a good boy and you're just accusing him falsely?"I debated
"Maybe you're right and I'm wrong or vice versa. There's no harm in doubting him. C'mon,the guy is surrounded by a bevy of ladies. Isn't that enough evidence to prove he's a playboy"Claudia said, stating the obvious
"I know,but..."I said, trying to prove her wrong
"No buts. I've stated the obvious which is clearly staring right in front of you. If you can't see it like I do,then you really need to get your eyes checked"Claudia said, returning her tray
I looked at Xavier and Claudia's words kept playing in my head. He didn't even talk to me. He kept on staring at me. I tried to look away to know if the stare will continue. Fortunately,he did. It felt as if we had a connection and our eyes did the talking. Few minutes later, recess was over. Claudia came back with two popsicles. One for me and one for her.
"Here you go"Claudia offered
"Thanks"I accepted
"Shall we go or would you like to stay here?"Claudia said
"Okay"I nodded
"C'mon, let's go or we'll be late for class"Claudia said
"Okay"I said
I got up from my seat, leaving my hamburger barely touched and an empty tin of soda and left the cafeteria. I went to my locker to get my note ok and my Algebra textbook. I was about to enter when I saw Xavier. His locker was next to my classroom. We both stared at each other and said nothing. We kept on staring at each other. I wanted to talk to him but suddenly remembered what Claudia told me earlier and withdrew from my decision. I went to class and paid less attention to what Mr James had to say. The last bell rang and school was over. Claudia and I rode the bus home. Claudia kept on talking while I remained mute. I could stop thinking about what she said at the cafeteria.
"And that why I was thinking of getting a blue overall or should I stick with the green? What do you think Jocelyn? Jocelyn! Hello, Earth to Jocelyn?"Claudia said, waving her hands in front of my face
"Huh? What were you saying?"I said
"It was talking about the overall I wanted to buy at the mall. Weren't you paying any attention to what I said?"Claudia said
"Yes. I mean no. Claudia,I just remembered something. I had to take care of a few things. I'll you later. Please stop the bus"I said and got off the bus
"Wait! Jocelyn, this isn't your stop"Claudia reminded
"Yeah,I know. I'll stroll home"I said
I walked all the way from the bus stop to my house. The sun showed no mercy to anyone, not even. He allowed his rays to make fun of me. At last,I made it home. Coco was in her kennel, having her afternoon nap. I searched beneath the flower vase and got the keys to the house. I unlocked the door and went in. Home sweet home. I went upstairs, freshened up and wore a pair of shorts and an oversized t-shirt. I laid my head on my pillow, starring at the ceiling fan till I fell asleep.
7:30pm;I woke up from my slumber, stretching my hands in the air and realized it was dark. I forgot to make dinner before Mom and Dad gets home. I wore my slippers and went downstairs to prepare dinner. I was still at the staircase but I could smell a delicious meal from the kitchen. I thought Owen was making dinner but doubted it. I thought it was all in my head. I pinched myself and found out I wasn't dreaming. I went to the kitchen to confirm if he was actually cooking. I came downstairs, about to enter the kitchen when I heard my name from the dinning room.
"Jocelyn, would you like to eat dinner with us?"the voice said
The voice sounded familiar. It was Mom's. That only means,they are back. I turned around and saw my parents,seated at their using position at the dinning table and having dinner. I ran and embraced them.
"Mom,I missed you so much"I said,still hugging her
"I did too"Mom replied
Dad cleared his throat to get my attention.
"And you too Dad"I said
"That's much better"Dad said
"But Mom,who made dinner?"I asked, sitting down on my seat
"I did. I saw you were exhausted and had already fell asleep,so I decided to make dinner. I didn't want to disturb you"Mom said
"Wow! It smells so good! Can't wait to try some"I said
"Where is Chloe?"I asked
"She's in her nursery. She was exhausted from the trip and fell asleep on the way"Mom said
"Yum! This tastes amazing. I really missed your cooking"I said
"Thank you"Mom replied with a smile on her face
I ate to my satisfaction and was full. Everyone retired to their bedroom leaving me alone in the dining room to clean the plates. When I was done,I retired to my room. I turned on my MP3 player and listened to some music. It helped me reduce my depression a little. I turned on my phone and saw a bunch of texts, missed calls, voice notes from Claudia and Angela. I scanned through the messages without replying to any of them. I had kept my phone in drawer,ready to sleep when I heard it beeped. It was a text from an unknown number. I thought it was Angela using her mom's phone to check up on me till I saw this,
"Hi Jocelyn, it's Xavier Martinez"
I was completely speechless.