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Authors: Misha Elliott

Learning to Fly (3 page)

BOOK: Learning to Fly
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Chapter Three

Time seems to go by so slowly when you are miserable.

It seemed like things were falling into place for Angie, she found a job and was happy all the time.

For me, I spent most of every day in my room.All I can think about is how I’m going to miss out on the enjoyment of senior year activities.  I’ve lost everyone and everything that was going to make this last year of school special.I dread mornings, but Angie insists that I get up to eat with her before she goes to work.  Today, I am pleasantly surprised, as I sit at the table alone eating in silence.I take the tip of my spoon and submerge the colored o’s under the milk.  I keep playing and don’t look up when I hear my mother’s heels clacking against the tile floor.

“Sophie, have you gone to the school yet?”  I grumble into my bowl of cereal. I have put off registering for the last two months.  She did all the paperwork, I just have to go in and schedule my classes. 

“No, not yet, I’ll go today.”  I notice Angie is dressed especially well and is wearing makeup.  “You look nice, what do you have planned for today?” 

“Well, I have a date with Larry.”  Why does that name sound familiar?  I push a few more o’s under the milk and spooning them up before it hits me. 

“Larry is the guy that owns the house we are renting.” I say aloud.It is as if she is reading my mind.

“I told Larry that as a single mother I wasn’t interested in casual dating.  We’ve been dating for two months now; he is very nice.  He really cares about me and wants to help us.”  I give her a hard stare. “Don’t look at me like that, Sophia. I have a good thing going on with Larry and I don’t need you ruining it for me.”

“I will believe it when I see it.  What if you two break up; then what, are we going to pick up move again?”  Why am I the only one that thinks of these details? I scoot away from the table and plop my dishes in the dishwasher before getting dressed.  I throw on sweatpants and t-shirt that says ‘Hot girls read books’ before heading out the door.  I pull my phone out and text Heidi.

S: You will never guess what happened. ..

Angie strikes again; she is dating our landlord.

I lean down to check my phone several times on the walk to school.  I still don’t have a reply from Heidi.  Shocker.We’ve texted and talked less and less over the summer; our last conversation was cut short because Matt was over, watching a movie.  Funny how things change; we used to be so close.  I guess she let Mall fill the space that happened when I left and she is busy trying to have a life. 

This really sucks; even Angie has somebody, and seems genuinely happy this time, which is something new for her. I hope she isn’t playing one of her weird games with him to get our rent discounted or we will definitely be moving again.  I shudder at the thought of that. 

The walk to the high school gives me plenty of time to clear my head.  I realize it’s not Heidi’s fault that we haven’t talked as much; sometimes life does get in the way.  I don’t have to stubbornly wait for her to contact me first either.  I spent the rest of my walk wallowing in self-pity, wishing there was somebody for me. Heidi is the greatest friend I have ever had and I know I will never be as close to anyone else.

The corner of Jaguar Lane and 10th street comes before I know it. I turn the corner and make my way down the block to the high school where a huge stone Jaguar decorates the front lawn.  I’ve never been in a school this huge; it takes up an entire street. There are two large buildings on either end and a smaller one situated between them.  I stop and look at the sign for the directions to the main office building.On the way, I notice the trees are all covered with toilet paper.  Weird.  There are football flyers posted all over the front windows.  I go over and tear one of the flyers off the toilet papered tree.  It has a picture of a really cute guy and a heart with the letters QB.  I hope that this isn’t one of those places were sweaty guys chasing around a ball for sport matters more than education.  I really need to stick to my academic schedule to make my life dreams come true.

In front of the walkway is a small wooden sign that indicates the location of the Main Office and Visitor Registration. The anxiety I feel about a new school, friends, and class just doubled then multiplied by 100.  I see the sign on the door that reads pre-registration closed until first day of school.  “What did I ever do to you?” I say, looking up at the sky.  I had taken religious studies last year and learned about God, Buddha, and atheists.  I like to believe that someone or something is looking out for me.  I just wish they would hurry up and do it already.

Instead of walking directly home, I decide to explore my new surroundings.  The local library is only two blocks away from the high school, which is convenient for me.  At least today isn’t a total waste, I get a new library card, some College Level Examination Program (CLEP) test prep books, and that new young adult romance book all my friends are talking about back home.  I am so excited that the library offered CLEP exams.  If I study hard and pass, I can test out of 200 credit hours of college courses.  That would mean I would save myself about $11,000 on school loans, and I would graduate at least two semesters sooner.  Today is turning out to be a good day after all.

I scroll through the contacts on my phone and decide to call Heidi instead of text. 

“Hey, Hun! How are you?” Heidi’s bubbling voice says on the other end of the line.

“Good, I’m just so happy to hear your voice.  I just miss you so much.  This move has been so hard on me.” I say and I start to sob into the phone.

“You’re not the only one. I miss you, too, silly.  We spent every day together.  How could you not think losing my friend would be hard on me, too?”  Her words stun me, because until this point, I have been so consumed with what this did to me; I didn’t consider how hard it would be for the friends I left behind.

“I’m so sorry, Heidi, I didn’t mean to pull an Angie on you.” I say, making a joke at my mother’s expense. 

“It’s alright.  You ready for the big first day of school?”

“No.  I spent the summer wallowing in self-pity instead of signing up for my classes.  I won’t get to make my schedule until the first day.”

“Girl, you should’ve called. If I was there, I would kick your ass.”

“No need, I’m already kicking it myself.  I did get some CLEP guides at the library.  I was thinking of knocking out some of the basic classes to cut down on loans and college hours.”

 

 

“Ooh.  Good thinking, I will look into that too up here.”  Heidi said.

“I don’t know why I didn’t call.How are Matt and your folks?”

“Matt is great; he makes me so happy and has been such a trooper since you left.  Don’t tell him I told you this, but he goes with me to chick flicks now.”  The thought of Matt sitting through a tear jerker while Heidi cries makes me smile.  I remember one night when all of us were watching a chick flick at Heidi’s house.  Heidi and I cried and sniffled so much that he vowed never to watch another chick flick for as long he lives.“My folks have been acting weird lately.  Dad is working such crazy late hours and Mom even got her first real job working part time job at the mall.” Heidi continues.

“Wow.  Those are some big changes.” I say, as I walk down the driveway to the front door. 

“Yep, it’s good that she has something to keep her busy when I’m gone.”

“I’m back at home.  I want to dive into these books.  I love and miss you so much.”

“Love you too, Hun.  Talk to you soon!” She says and disconnects the call.

I get comfortable on the swing and pull out the hard cover book from my bag.  I am usually an e-book kind of girl, that way I always have the books I need at my fingertips.  However, this book is like a priceless treasure in my hands.  I take my time turning it over to read back cover and the blurb about the author. 

Sometimes I just miss the smell of a book and the feeling of turning actual pages with my fingertips increases my enjoyment.I dive, heart and soul, into the story.  Time flies by as I enter the world of the two main characters of the story.  With my vivid imagination, I feel everything they do when they have their first kiss.  I wonder if I will ever have a great love of my life. For a guy to sweep me up and tell me that he is mine forever. I think about Mr. Donaldson and wonder if I will have a family someday with someone like him.  With that image, I drift into a sweet dream.

I wake up to wet dog kisses from a sweet little chocolate lab puppy. “Surprise, sweetheart.”  In front of me stands Mom and Larry, and she looks like the cat that just swallowed the canary.

“Your mom said you always wanted a dog; I hope you like him.” I roll my eyes and look back at my mother.  “Sure, I wanted a puppy when I was six, and you kept promising we could get one.  Even took me to several places to look at them, but we never did buy one.”  I watch Larry uncomfortably move over to sit beside me. 

“I wanted to get you something, Sophie. Your mother thought the puppy would be a great idea and labs make great companions.” 

I give Larry a blank look, “You do realize I will be leaving for college in a year?”I am not upset with Larry; his only fault is listening to Angie.  I put on my best fake smile. “Thank you, Larry, he’s adorable.”  I hold the pup up to my face and it licks my nose.

My mother stands in front of me, petting the pup, too. “It’s yours, so you get to name it.” I look over and notice something sparkle on my mother’s hand.  It takes me by surprise, but I’m not too concerned; it’s not as if it’s on the hand reserved for that special little something. 

 

 

“Let me see,” I pick the pup up and look underneath.  “Well, since you have a “pen- is”, I will call you Duke.”

I get the displeased, “Sophie,” from my mother.  I love saying pen-is instead of peen-us; it makes me laugh.  I pick him up in my arms and pat him while he lay in the crook of my neck.  I look at my mom and Larry who seem to be whispering back and forth and giggling like teenagers.  The pen-is comment wasn’t that funny.How sad that, once again, I am the lone adult in the room. 

I take Duke with me to my room and lay a folded towel on the bed for him to sit on. “There you go,” I say in a baby voice and scratch the top of his head.  “Looks like you’re my first friend here.  Do you think I’ll fit in on my first day at school?”  I wait for him to answer me, but instead, he rolls on his back showing me his belly.  “Oh, so you want that belly rubbed before you talk?”  I ask, as I rub and scratch the fur on his underside.  He opens his mouth and his tongue falls out to the side. This little puppy is the cutest thing I have ever seen; maybe this place won’t be so bad, after all.

 

 

 

Chapter Four

 

The alarm buzzes, letting me know it is 5:00.  I do not want to be late the first day of my senior year.  My nerves have me feeling like its freshman year all over again.  As I brush my teeth, I think about that old movie Groundhog Day and hope that every day doesn’t feel like this.  It would really suck to be caught in a perpetual first day of school.  I shake off the image and prepare myself mentally for the day.  All I need to do is continue to focus.  I already have most of the credits I wanted to have, and, hopefully, I get to take CLEP tests to get rid of a few more so I will be ahead of the game at Brown.

I’m in my bra and fully clothed from the waist down in jeans and sandals, but can’t find my blue shirt.  I dig through the clothes basket to see if it is there and then I remember where I saw it last; she was wearing it yesterday. Something in my mother’s brain thinks it’s cool that we can share shoes and tops.  I find nothing cool about a thirty something woman who likes to wear clothes that come from her 17-year-old daughter’s closet.  I grab my second favorite shirt and put it on, making a mad dash to the kitchen.  There is no need to take a chance on cafeteria food and ending up hungry all day.  I see the kitchen table is set for three, and with the good dishes that we only use when we have company for holidays.

I start to down the glass of juice in front of me when I see Larry in plaid lounge pants and a black wife beater.  He walks over to the fridge and takes out several items.  “Tell me, Sophie; are you a scrambled or fried egg gir
l?”This isn’t the first time my mom has had overnight guests but something seems different.

“Fried.” I reply and watch him suspiciously.  He plops eggs in the pan and then flips them over with a flick of his wrist.  He puts sausage in the microwave and turns back to me leaning his right hip on the counter.

“Do you want white or wheat toast?”

“Wheat.”  Maybe it wouldn’t be so awful if she dated someone who liked to make breakfast in the morning before school.When he brings the eggs over and slides them out the pan on my plate, I can’t help but notice the silver band on his left ring finger.

I cannot believe what is going on. I push my chair back so hard it makes a screeching sound against the tile floor.I tear down the hall and storm into her bedroom without knocking.  She is in the bathroom with her hair up, putting on makeup, and singing.I see the ring sitting on the edge of the sink.  I pick it up.  “What is this?  You married him?  How can you marry someone that you hardly know?” I finally stop long enough for her get a word in. 

“Sit down, Sophie.”  I put the lid down on the toilet and have a seat. 

“I told you that I let Larry know that I didn’t want to just keep dating.”  I remember we had that conversation only yesterday.  “He really loves me, Sophie, and wants to give us a good life.  He owns several rental properties here, at the beach, and Hawaii.  Can you imagine how nice it would be to take a real vacation and go to Hawaii?” I suddenly see what it was that convinced my mother so quickly that Larry was the one for her.

“I wondered where everyone was.”  Larry is now standing in the doorway.  I
can’t look at either of them. 

“How can you make such a big decision and not talk to me?  I just found out yesterday that you two were dating.” 

“Sophie, I love your mother very much and I know you’re worried about sharing her with someone else.” I give him the talk to my hand signal. 

“Larry, I’m talking to Angie right now, if you don’t mind.”  My mother starts to sniffle, and Larry walks over and holds her protectively.

“Regardless of your feelings, Sophie, your mother and I are adults and you are a child.  She doesn’t need your permission, only your cooperation.” He has his arm around her, consoling her.

“Let’s go have breakfast and we can talk tonight.” Angie says.

“I’m no longer hungry and I don’t have time for this; I have school.”  I walk out of the bathroom just in time to hear Larry say that there’s going to be an adjustment period and that everything will be fine.  I doubt it.

I had planned to get to school early.  My mother and her surprise husband cause me to leave the house later than I had planned and on an empty stomach. 

My phone buzzes in my pocket; I look and see I have a text from Heidi.

H: Hey, Good Luck on your first day. Don’t forget, senior year is ful
l of possibilities.

Heidi’s words bring me comfort, as I get ready to tackle the unknown.I send back a similar message and take a deep breath as I cross the last street before school.

The school parking lot and grounds are packed with students separated into small groups.  I look around anxiously, wondering if I will be welcomed into any of them.I am already upset that I am the new kid at the start of senior year; the fight with my mom pushed has me almost over the edge.I guess someone up there feels sorry for me, because fate steps in and I see him. 

Several guys are tossing a football around in the parking lot.I see the guy from the flyer, the one with the brown wavy hair, take a step back.  His long fingers drape across the laces of the football.  I stare intently, as he pulls his arm back and snaps the football into the air.  I watch, mesmerized as the brown oval spins, reminding me of a corkscrew, in my direction.  Around me, I hear the other girls shriek and run.  Keeping my eye on the ball, I shift slightly to my right.  I hold my hands up in front of me, making a triangle, and when the ball gets to the open space between my hands, I close my fingers around it.I watch as he just stands across the lot staring at me.  When he run his fingers through his wavy brown hair, I bite my lip.

My heart suddenly does jumping jacks as I watch him jog towards me saying something.  I don’t hear him until he gets within arm’s length.“Dude, that was awesome.” Those were the only words he spoke as he took the football out of my now trembling hands.God, he smells amazing, and when he leans in to give me a congratulatory pat on the back, I close my eyes and breathe in as much of him as I can.

“See ya around,” he says, and then he is off.I stand, frozen, as I watch him grab his bag off the hood of a car and enter the school doors. The hallways are full of students talking, and laughing.  He is there, again, in my line of sight.  I am supposed to be looking for the office, but instead, I am standing there watching, as he leans over to get a drink from the fountain.  I take a step backward and bump into someone, the contents of their backpack spilling onto the floor.

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry.” I say and bend down to help pick up her things.“Excuse me; do you know where the office is?”  My timid voice is barely audible over the chatter.  When the bell rings, the crowd disperses and I turn on my heel and head down the hall hoping to find my destination.

“Miss, you’re late for class.”  I hear the sound of the hall monitor.  I wait patiently as he signs the slip of paper before handing to me.  “You’ve just earned yourself a trip to the office, young lady,” he says sternly.

Sarcasm takes over my mouth. “Awesome, you don’t happen to have another one of these with directions, do you?”  I not only earn a detention, I also get a personal escort to the office. 

The burly woman behind the desk seems to have difficulty walking the ten steps from her desk to the counter.  “Good Morning, Ms. Williams, it’s the first day and I already have a prospect for detention.”  He sounds like military drill sergeant.

“Thank you for your help as always, Mr. Mills.”  She speaks with such a monotone that I can’t tell if she is truly thankful or not. 

“Your name, young lady?”

“Sophie Marshall, I’m new here.” I hope that someone will take pity on me, and this day will soon be over. 

“Sophia Ann Marshall?”

“Yes, that’s correct.” 

“Here is your class schedule.  Please note on the top that your homeroom is listed.  Your homeroom teacher will give you a lock for your locker and give you your lunch assignment.” I have trouble following her voice.  She is obviously as happy as I am to be here.

“Thank you, Ms. Williams.” She takes the detention slip and rips it in half. 

“Now, I suppose, since this is your first day, it may take you a while to navigate the school, but I don’t want to see you in this office again.”I walk out of the office, thankful that she let me get away with a warning and no detention. 

Finally, I’m at A24; I open the door and hand my papers to the teacher.  I’m too nervous to look around at any of the students.  “I need someone going to AP Chemistry to show Miss Marshall her locker and get her to her next class.”

“I’ll do it; I have AP Chemistry.”  The voice from earlier is talking to me.

The gorgeous boy with the football is standing in front of me.

“You ready to go?” He is holding the door open and I nervously go through first.

“Sure,” I want to ask his name, but he doesn’t offer it; maybe he doesn’t want to talk to me. We walk side by side, not saying a word to each other, until we reach AP Chemistry. 

“After you,” he’s holding the door open for me again. I have to admit I’m enjoying the courteous gestures.  I wonder if he’s just a polite boy, raised to open the doors for women.  Everyone stops inside to read the handwritten note on the chalkboard:

  Students, look for your names, seats and partners have been assigned.

Fate gives me another push, as we both find our names, Alexander Matthews and Sophia Marshall; table three.  “It looks like we’re not getting rid of each other any time soon.”  The dimple in Alexander’s right cheek is very noticeable now, along with the fact that he has perfectly straight teeth.

Alexander. I like that name, and it seems to fit him perfectly. I just stare at him as we walk to our table.  I didn’t plan to talk to him first.  He leans over to me, “We haven’t been properly introduced, I know your Sophie; I’m Alex.” 

“It’s nice to officially meet you, Alex.”  I say and I have to stop myself from counting each one of his beautiful long lashes.

“Hey, you have to tell me how you learned to catch a football like that.”

I feel myself blush slightly, “It’s simple physics, force equals mass times acceleration.”  I cannot believe I just said that to Alex, he probably thinks I’m the physics version of rain man.  I turn my head and look back at the board in front of us, I’m so embarrassed, and I can feel the heat rising to my cheeks.

“Wow beauty, brains, and she can catch a football, now that’s what I call a triple threat.” I look over and Alex gives me a huge smile and winks at me. This is the first time I ever had a guy smile at me.  He not only has a sense of humor but he is smart too. For once, being the brainy girl didn’t make me feel out of place.  I take the feeling I get from that smile, along with the way he smells and lock them into my memory. 

By third period, I find out that Alex is a threat of his own; he is the quarterback of the Jonestown Jaguars, he is hot, and he has his own car.  That makes him the dream of every girl at Jonestown, and puts a target on my back. I spend the morning feeling like a member of the track team.  At my old school, all of my classes were located on the same floor, now I’m getting lost and having to sprint to make it to my next class on time. 

I walk into history late and look for a seat at the back of the room.  I put my bag down beside me and pull out my notebook and pen.  “Soph, Soph.” I look up in response, and smile when I see Alex.  He walks in, looking around, with a very irritated look on his face.  “Move,” he says to the boy in the desk behind me, and takes his place.“Let me see your schedule,” he says, leaning over his desk to talk to me.  I pull out my schedule and hand it over.  “Alright, you have A lunch; the same as me.  Come sit with me and I’ll introduce you to a few of the guys.” 

“Thanks for taking care of me today; I don’t know what I would’ve done without you.”  I say to him and miss the sound of Mr. Stephens clearing his throat.

We are still talking when Mr. Stephens comes over. “Eh hem, I hate to interrupt you two, but if you don’t mind, I’d like to discuss U.S. Government and Politics.”  Alex winks at me before I turn around in my seat.

“First day of school, and we are assigned a project due in three weeks.  Who does that?” Alex shakes his head in disbelief.  “I have football practices, the pep rally, and four games; when am I going to have time for project?”  Half of me feels sorry for him, and the other half wants to spend more time with him. 

“Why don’t we pair up; I’m really good at writing essays, and I have a lot of information on the reasons for the swift adoption of the Bill of Rights.”  His face lights up, letting me know he sees the wisdom of this partnership. 

“Sweet, we can go over plans at lunch.” Alex suggests, before the bell chimes, announcing the time for A lunch.  We walk down the hall to a bridge that connects two of the buildings together.  The wide lunchroom has glass windows and I notice there are three different lines to choose, depending on what you want. After skipping breakfast today, I am ready to eat anything, I look around, unsure of where to go.  “Come this way.” Alex grabs my hand, pulling me to the shorter deli line.

  “What makes you think I want a sandwich?”  I cock an eyebrow at him, and wait for his response. 

“I don’t. I just know friends don’t let friends eat the special of the day.”I watch as Alex is almost knocked down by a tackle hug from group of guys, I assume, are his teammates.

BOOK: Learning to Fly
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