I Can't Fly

Chapter 15

The next morning, my Mom and I were back to our normal harmony. Sleep made my grudge against her disappear from my memory completely. I got her to smile when I complimented her on the scrambled eggs she made for me. She gave me a kiss on the forehead when wishing me a good day at school. I hugged my Mom upon arrival home from school. I welcomed the overwhelming feeling of surprise. She explained that she finished her day's work early, so she came home to see me. I couldn't care less about why she was home. I took the opportunity to give her the school's gossip on relationships, teacher hatred, and Wyatt and Saturn's relationship specifically.

As she cooked dinner, I sat on the kitchen counter nearby. I continued to talk when her phone vibrated next to the stove. My Mom set down her spatula then scooped it up. She seemed to freeze as her lips read the text to herself. Her eyebrows scrunched together.

"Hey, Honey?"

"Yes, Mom?" I swung my legs forward and back as I waited. After a few long moments, she still gave no response. I began to inch myself closer to see who it was from.

My Mom finally revealed the mystery to me. "Dr. Hemingway asked me if I could bring you to my counseling session tomorrow." My eyes widened. Why won't this woman make up her mind? How does she expect me to believe she knows what she is doing? What made her change her mind? My Mom mirrored my reaction.

"What does this mean?" She asked.

"I don't know. But... Does that mean I can skip part of school tomorrow?"

"Well, I guess you will have to." Uncertainty weighed down on her shoulders while a large weight fell off mine. Without a second thought, I mentally declared that my mountainous pile of homework was tomorrow's problem.

I didn't know what to think as she bit her lip nonstop in thought. My heart reached out to her as worry took over her once relaxed face. After we ate dinner, I couldn't bring myself to leaving her alone. Instead, I found a comfortable spot on the couch and flipped to where I left off in my English class assigned novel. My Mom brought out a book of her own and sat across from me. Her tense shoulders loosened. At times, I glanced at her brown hair fall in front of her face or her smile grow a bit wider while reading a passage. For a moment, she became the bookworm that she used to be.

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I presented my homework to Mrs. Walter as she walked around. She gave me a rewarding smile. I paid attention in class, even raising my hand a few times. I finished up scribbling notes down when class ended. My little burst of happiness fueled me to approach Mrs. Walter's desk on my own accord.

"Hi, Mrs. Walter. How is your life going?"

"Good. Yours?"

"Pretty good." That answer was automatic after so many people asking the same question for so many years. Saying a different answer always lead to a larger conversation than preferred. What was the point in contemplating if the answer was true? "I am taking the SAT next week. Hopefully, I can get a better score than I did in the spring."

"That sounds interesting. Maybe with taking AP World you will understand the history passages better."

"I hope so." My thoughts slipped out faster than I could stop them. "I get to leave school early today too. My Mom is calling me out." Regret washed over my mood, causing my happiness to dwindle.

She raised her coffee mug. "That must be why you are in such a good mood for someone who is not a morning person. Did you tell your other teachers so that you could get the lesson and homework that is due tomorrow?"