“Honestly, it felt as though the entirety of my world had come crashing down around me. I could feel the splinters of glass raining over my skin and leaving lines of red flaring pain. How did I do this again? How COULD I do this again? I’m so dead.” The light from the overly large classroom suddenly becomes blinding as I try to focus my wavering eyes on my latest History examination. F triple minus. With this I know I’m doomed for the rest of the semester. I glance around the room and look at the faces of my peers. Some have the same expression as I do; Others are more morose. Grace Linking catches my eye and offers a soft smile. I tenderly smile back before lowering my head against the surface of my failure covered desk. The paper eases some of the coolness of the wood and I sigh.
“MR. OLVERA! If you are unsatisfied with your test score you have an option to make it up. Please try not to bash your brain in before school tomorrow. That being said, I’ll be notifying the parents of everyone with a C or lower. You are all dismissed.”
A collective groan arises from the class. Along with the rest of the zombies I gather up my possesions and I trudge out of the too bright room before the bell rings. At this school, it’s always best to be early for your next class. The teachers understand that and always release us ahead of schedule. I bump into Grace in the hallway and she offers me another smile. This time I manage to paint my face with a shit-eating grin. Her smile widens and she begins to talk.
“Hey, Oz. How’d you do on the test? I got an 85.” Her face is almost as bright as the classroom. It hurts my eyes a little and I look down before pulling my test out of my backpack and showing her.
“Ouch, that sucks. Maybe I should tutor you some time huh? Don’t worry I’ll take it easy on you Ozzy.” She smirks.
“Hey, I don’t need tutoring, Grace. You don’t need to save me from EVERY class. Besides, I’ll probably never see you again. After I get home my grandfather is going to erase ME from history. Thanks though, I’ll keep you in mind when I’m floating through limbo.”
“You’re so dramatic, Olvera. I’m sure it won’t be that bad.”
“Linking, if you only knew.”
“Well, Ozzy. If you need me, you know where to find me. Buh bye now.” She winks before spinning on her heel and walking off to her next class. Grace Linking. I’ve always had a crush on her. Since middle school. I don’t know what it is, but there’s something about her that I’m just drawn to. Maybe one day when I’m not a complete dumbass, she’d actually consider dating me. Until then however, I’m Mr. Lonely forever. I shuffle my feet to my last class of the day.