Nocturnal Animals

Meaningful Names

Nocturnal Animals
Chapter Four
Meaningful Names

Thanks to @Dredge116 for the book mock up above

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Walking into first block, Kenai was not who I expected to see. It was the second day of Creative Writing, and Kenai certainly wasn't in this class yesterday. I think I would have known if he were.

I stood in the doorway, questioning why he was here. Did he have something to say to me, or was his schedule permanently changed? 

Whether or not to approach him- I did not know. Our talk last night broke ground, but did it mean we were okay now? Was our friendship back in play?

Kenai finally noticed me standing there, giving me a smile and a small wave to ensure that we were fine. He even waved me over, nodding to the empty seat right beside him. I guess it would be rude of me if I declined his invitation. 

I walked over to where Kenai was sitting, setting my stuff down on the desk next to him, "What are you doing here?"

Kenai shrugged, "My schedule was changed."

Just as I had suspected- kind of. 

I nodded slowly, sitting down in the cold chair. I quickly got out all of the supplies I might end up needing for the class. Kenai saw what I was doing, and shook his head with a sly chuckle. 

"What?" I frowned.

"Just can't believe you're still so organized." He said. 

For as long as I could remember, everything of mine had to be organized in a neat way. I used to color code everything as a hobby- which Kenai would always tease me for. Joke was on him though, because while he was busy losing things, I wasn't. 

The final bell rang, and class officially started. The iconic Mr. DeRemer sat down in his spiny chair, and kicked his feet up on the desk. 

He let out a large sigh, "I absolutely despise mornings, and only want to catch up on the news today. That being said, it's protocol that I give you at least some kind of assignment. Since this is creative writing, you will have to write me a small paper. However, it can be one paragraph because I don't want to read as much, either."

The class erupted in small laughter. DeRemer was known for his "carefree" and "lazy" attitude towards things. That's partially why he's been on the school's bad list ever since he started here. But Creative Writing was a pointless class our school had to offer by school system guidelines- and nobody else wanted to waste their time. Hence why DeRemer is still around.

"Today you will pick a partner, and look up the meaning of each other's names. Then you will write something for me explaining whether or not you think the meaning suits that person. Paper's due by the end of class. Don't bother me until then." With that, DeRemer pushed play on his laptop, and began to watch the daily news.

Kenai looked towards me, "Be my partner?" 

I nodded with a smile, remembering how none of us had to really ask back in middle school. We would just automatically assume we were each others partner. The teacher's even knew to pair us together when they got to choose who we worked with. It was like I had expressed before, Kenai and I used to be inseparable!  

With the faint noise of the morning news in the background, I opened the laptop my parents had given me for my eighth grade graduation. As soon as I logged in, Kenai whisked the device out of my reach.

"Let's do you first." He said, beginning to type the words 'Seneca name meaning' in the Google search bar. "I bet it means something like innocent, or prosperous."