It seemed as though the wall clock in the front of the room was getting slower and slower every second, was that even possible? The subtle ticking of the second hand was almost taunting me. I searched through my bag at my feet checking if I could find anything to distract me from my constant watch over the clock.
Of course I would have no homework to keep me occupied, what kind of malevolence soul gives out homework on the last day of school? Not even Ms. Bartlett was that cruel… but my overheating body suggested otherwise, eighty degrees outside and yet she refuses to turn a fan on or even crack the window. Ms. Bartlett had been the worst teacher I’d ever had in my entire life by far! Even the thought of her short carrot top hair and her every color cardigan collection made me want to gag. At least in just a few short minutes I would never have to see her again for three whole months!



I continued shuffling through my backpack but found nothing except an empty bag of cheetos and some broken pencils with missing erasers. I sighed then turned my eyes to check the clock again. Uggg… had it only been twenty seconds? I needed to find another way to distract myself from the torturous heat and the never moving clock.
I weighed my options carefully but found nothing that would keep me distracted long enough. I twisted a strand of my long, brown, wavy hair as I tried to surface some more options. My hair was especially frizzy today due to the extreme humidity but it didn’t bother me much, it wasn’t like there was anyone in this school worth looking pretty for anyway.

I usually didn’t look pretty at school, never ugly though. My customary attire consisted of baggy sweatshirts and a worn out pair of jeans or if it was hot, a pair of shorts and an old shirt. In the morning I just took showers and let my hair take its natural beach curled look. Don’t get me wrong I’m not a tomboy or anything. I still wear make-up and spend time coordinating my clothes, I even style my hair differently ever little once in awhile. Somehow though I always end up looking the same, no matter what I do.



Today I was wearing my favorite pair of light washed Capri’s and my super comfy, extremely oversized gray sweatshirt, I felt stupid wearing a sweatshirt on such a humid day but I didn’t have any other choice. All of my tee-shirts were dirty and besides it was one of my very favorite outfits. I thought about doing something special with my hair this morning but then decided against it because I wanted to make myself a special breakfast and that took time, plus if I styled my hair I would just get stuck with a plain old bowl of cereal.
I yawned lazily then laid my head on my arms like a pillow on my desk. I hadn’t realized how tired I truly was. Maybe to celebrate summer I would go home and take a nap. I still couldn’t believe how fast this school year just flew by. It seemed like only yesterday I was a brand new freshmen at Traverse City west senior high school. Ninth grade has definitely been one of my better years.
In the beginning of the year the school tried to place me in the classes meant for the smart kids. I don’t really think I’m that smart, it’s just that everyone else is just plain stupid. I remember being really upset because I wouldn’t have any classes with my friends, but my mom said if I didn’t want to I could just stay in the regular classes. But even when I did stay in the regular classes I ended up not having many classes with my friends, but I did get to see them at lunch. My lunch table consisted of my three best friends, well my only three friends really.
There was Penny, Olivia, and Ian. I’d know Ian the longest; our parents had been friends before either of us was even born. But after Ian’s dad died, Ian’s mom never seemed to have time for visits anymore, luckily me and Ian stayed close. It’s funny to imagine a world without Ian. I can’t even begin to picture going more than a day without seeing his smile or hearing him crack one of his witty jokes.
I looked down at my desk and began tapping my fingernails against the surface rhythmically when Penny, whose seat was directly behind mine, started flicking eraser caps at me trying to get my attention.
“Psst, Sam!” I heard Penny’s bubbly voice whisper from behind my shoulder. What was she thinking? Did she want to get in trouble with Ms. Bartlett? I turned around meaning to scold Penny’s dim-witted actions but stopped when I saw her smiling from ear-to-ear. Her almost florescent orange hair was neatly styled into two braids placed in front of her shoulders. Her light brown eyes were also showing she was very excited about something. Probably just the end of school jitters.
“What is it?” I answered, “Can’t this wait till’ after class?” Her smile immediately turned into a frown at my response.
“I was just wondering if you were going to Kate’s summer party tomorrow.” Her question made me sneer. There was no way I was going to any party tomorrow, especially Kate Rivera’s. We’d hated each other ever since the sixth grade when her then boyfriend Jake Wheeler broke up with her for me. I didn’t even like Jake. Personally I thought he was obnoxious and immature.
Of course Kate just had to be the most popular girl in school and she quickly turned almost everyone against me. For all of sixth grade I practically ate lunch all alone and I was always the last one to get picked for teams, partners or anything like that. After a while though people forgot about the incident and started being nicer to me again, well everyone but Kate.
“I don’t think that’s such a good idea, you know how we err, get along. Besides I’m not even invited.” Penny was grinning again. She had a plan, and for me that meant trouble.
“Oh don’t be silly, you’ll be fine, if you just avoid Kate she might not notice your even there”
“Might? What happens if she does?”
“You always think of the worst case scenarios, it’ll be fine. Now, on to more important things, what are you going to where?” By this time Penny had already decided she had won the argument, there was no getting out of it now. One way or another I was going to that party. I groaned in defeat then answered my friend.
“I don’t know, maybe some old shorts and a tee-shirt.”
“Um, no you’re not! “Tell you what, I’m coming over and I’m picking out your outfit. But then I’ll have to do your hair too. Let’s see I could braid it, or maybe…” Penny continued on talking to only herself now planning my outfit. Knowing her she’ll most likely be unsatisfied with any of my clothes and end up bringing something of her own for me to wear.
I shook my head back and forth as I returned my attention back to the clock. Holy cow! Had it really been that long? There were only minutes left now. I sat on the edge of my chair concentrating on every movement of the clocks hands. I could tell by the silence everyone was doing the exact same thing as me. Not even Penny’s senseless chatter continued for the last half-minute of class.
Then the loud twang of the school bell sounded. It felt good to know I would finally be getting a break from this prison like school. My fellow classmates all stood up almost simultaneously. There chipper shouts of relief filled the classroom as a shower of papers and assignments tossed and turned in the air. Several students began sprinting for the door for a breath of fresh air, or as I like to say, a breath of freedom.
I heard Ms. Bartlett’s coarse voice yell over the thunder of students. I couldn’t quite make out the words but it sounded like she was comparing us to a stampede or a heard of wild animals. I brushed off the comment, I was too happy to be offended by her rude words. I was almost out the door when Penny caught up with me.
“Sam! Hey Sam wait up!” Penny yelled from behind me. I paused then turned to face her. “Hey, so do you think I could spend the night at your house? If I’m coming over tomorrow anyway to get ready for the party it would be nice to save my mom the extra trip.”
“Yea sure,” I shrugged indifferently. “We can stop by your house to grab your stuff.”
“Okey doke, I’ll meet you by the cafeteria entrance in like ten minutes then.” I watched Penny skip off gleeful as always. She stopped by the corner near the drinking fountain and wrapped her arms around a boy leaning against the wall. I watched then as the boy kissed her nose and Penny giggled as her face turned bright red. The boy laughed at her reaction. I turned away as soon as I realized I was staring.
I didn’t know Penny had a new boyfriend. I didn’t recognize him; maybe he was in an older grade. Oh well what did I care, Penny had a new boyfriend every other week, this shouldn’t come as a surprise to me. I used to be jealous of Penny because boys always liked her. She was so pretty and outgoing; no wonder they liked her so much. I was never jealous anymore though, even though I hadn’t had a single boyfriend in over a year I didn’t feel the need to have one like some other girls do. Some girls would go out with any guy just to say they had a “Boyfriend”. Oh well, like I said before there’s no one in this stinking city anyways.



I walked down the hall searching for a familiar face. The one I found wasn’t the particular face I was looking for but fortunately it was still one that made me happy. I watched as Olivia gracefully trotted down the hallway greeting me with open arms and a gigantic smile. Her long blonde hair swayed back and forth across her pale skin. Olivia never wore much makeup, but only because she didn’t need it. She was naturally beautiful, like Penny, not like me.
I wondered why they hung out with me. They could clearly do much better. I was so lucky to have them. To have at least a few friends was comforting. Olivia stopped right in front of me and wrapped her meatless arms around me.
Her arms gripped me around the wasted making it hard for me to take in air. I struggled to make out the words to get her to release me. “Liv. Can’t. Breathe.” She quickly freed me and gave me an apologetic smile. It still surprised me how little muscle she had and yet she was so strong, at least to me anyways.
“Oops sorry, my bad. I’m just so excited! So did Penny convince you to go to the party?” I should have known Olivia was in on it too. Now there was really no way of getting out of it.
“Um, yea I guess you could say that.”
“Good, you could use a good party.” I groaned impatiently. “Well I guess I’ll see you later. We really need to hangout this summer.” She began almost sprinting down the hallway then turned around to look at me as if forgetting something. “Call me!” she added. I rolled my eyes and waved.