That One Moment...

Chapter 25

Day 91 - start of second half of school

Sarah had tried to prepare herself for this day since they had returned from Florida...well, even before that since she had a lot of time to think in the van on the way home. How was she going to ignore everyone and just go back to being a loner?

The first step had been to make sure she was blending in by riding the bus. She was only slightly surprised that Ryan was not there to give her a ride that Monday. It had become such a routine before break that Sarah was slightly fazed that he hadn't just shown up...even though things were over and she planned to go back to her regular life. 

Waiting in line for the bus that morning sucked. It was full-on winter now - cold and windy, snow was predicted again as well. Sarah had gotten a number of looks from the other students, likely because she hadn't ridden the bus for a while. 

Claiming a spot in the middle of the bus, one guy that she had ridden the bus with for years felt confident to ask her, "So, back to slumming with us losers again?"

Sarah had been shocked for a second, but was able to laugh and respond with a quick comment...thanks to her mind having gone over various scenarios the last few days,  dreading what was coming when they returned to school, "Just realized this is more my scene. It was fun to fly close to the popular crowd, but just too much work really." She had been proud of herself for that one...but the stares continued as she got off the bus at school. Was it that surprising that she was riding it? That she was alone?

Sarah quickly entered the school and moved towards her locker, hoping that she could ignore everything and everyone. She seemed to luck out this morning when she was able to get there, switch out some of her stuff and head to home room without running into anyone. Sarah had noticed that her former group of friends, maybe including Ryan, were closer to the main entrance and chatting. Luckily they were not looking in her direction when she hurried to her locker. Sarah had also worn pretty neutral clothes so she could blend in - jeans and a gray hoodie with her knee high black boots. It wasn't accidental that she had her hood up moving through the main hallways.

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Period 1 - American Lit

Even though Sarah kept her hoodie up, sat near the window in the back, and tried to blend in, it didn't work and both Chris and Abby found her. Abby sat next to her, while Chris took the desk in front. Before the bell even rang to start homeroom, they were chatting away like the last month hadn't happened, like Sarah hadn't been ignoring them for over a week...not responding to their texts...not taking any calls...what was going on? This was not fitting her plans of going back to how she had attended school the last few years. Sarah dropped her hood, since it hadn't helped in the least.

"So, how was the end of your break?" Abby asked her. "Was it just as terrible as the start? I cannot imagine being stuck in a retirement community, hanging with my family non-stop for that long! Break is supposed to be relaxing, not more stressful."

At that, Sarah couldn't help but laugh a bit. Abby was totally correct there. Trying to be curt enough that Abby and Chris realized she didn't want to chat really, Sarah responded with a "Yeah, it was another tough one. At least there was sunshine."

Abby turned to Chris and asked about his break. Interestingly, as they waited for Mrs. Romero to start the class, neither of them mentioned Ryan or hinted at any issues between Sarah and him. Sarah wasn't sure if this was on purpose or if they really didn't know. The talk turned to what to expect in the spring, from classes switching around some to the upcoming sports seasons. Abby asked her about basketball, since they were starting up practice again the following week and games were going to begin soon. Chris chatted about how he would be transitioning to track, but had weight lifting between seasons to keep in shape. Sarah was intrigued a bit, since she had no clue kids were doing so much outside school for sports. Her image of the jocks had changed a lot over the fall, but she kept being shocked by what was involved for some of them.