G&T Based

Chapter 96- Kate

Chapter 96- Kate

The gray storm clouds floated on top of the sky depressingly as I walked to school. The dark clouds completely coated the sky. It being a Monday was already bad enough. The last thing I needed was a giant rainstorm to get me soaked.

I walked into school just as the first bell rang, went up two flights of stairs, and flung my locker open. Opening my folders, I was met with a math worksheet, which apparently was due today. Oh well, I guess I'll have to do it in Social Studies today. Mrs. Cinch isn't even in the room half the time. It was going to be a long day.

***

Sixth period. Slugging my lunch box onto my shoulder, I walked upstairs with Alyssa and Zara. I put my earbuds on, skipped a couple of upbeat and happy songs, and began to listen. Both of them didn't seem to mind and seemed unnaturally quiet.

Mr. Laken met us outside the classroom with a stack of paper. I waved Alyssa goodbye as she headed off to seventh period gym.

"Take on each," he told us as we passed him, "We'll be starting the Shakespeare unit today, so we will begin with a simple, non-counting, just so I know how much each of you guys know about Shakespeare and his writing."

On top of his desk was also a small pile of Romeo and Juliet books that looked like they have been spun in the washing machine a few times and then buried in the ground. Some of the covers were taped back together and one of the books looked as if someone had accidentally spilled Kool-Aid on it.

Great, I though to myself, This will be fun...

Sitting down in my seat, I laid the sheet on my desk and stared at it blankly. I'm pretty sure we had a small section on Shakespeare last year, but it definitely wasn't something worth mentioning or memorizing. Besides, you can't expect us to memorize everything. G&T kids aren't that smart.

Halfway through the questions, I just gave up. It was no use trying to coax my mind into telling me when Shakespeare was born or how many sonnets he wrote. I just put some random numbers down and pushed my paper away.

Mr. Laken, I wrote on a post-it note, May I use the bathroom?

I got up, slowly walked to Mr. Laken's desk, and handed him the post-it note. He looked up from his computer screen, quickly scanned the paper, and gave me a fast nod before returning to his work.

However, before I could leave, the bell rang, signaling that period six had ended and we could go take a break.

Great! I thought to myself, I just wasted a free bathroom excuse,"I walked out of the classroom, slamming the door behind me.

Snaking in between all the people in the hallway, I started reflecting back onto this year, which was actually pretty lame compared to last year. So far, the year was a complete mess. The teachers are awful, and so is the curriculum. Besides, how did some of the kids get into G&T this year in the first place? Terry hasn't gotten single A this whole marking period and has always scored the lowest in every single test or quiz, except in SS for some strange reason.

I thought that I would at least have some fun with Mr. Laken this year, but I guess I was wrong. He had grown to become quite a jerk.

Instead of the fun, games, and free periods we had so much of last year, it was basically just worksheets and quizzes on a daily basis now.

I found a seat on a bench next to a giant window on the far left side of the school. It was much less crowded here compared to the rest of the hallway. After a few seconds, from the corner of my eye, I say someone sit down next to me.

It was Electra. Her neon yellow hair was in a french braid around her head.

"How's it going Kate?" she asked, "You don't seem to be that good."

Taken back by surprise, I blinked a few times. No one has been able to read my feelings that well, not even Lori.

I took out another post-it and scribbled "Not so well" on it. Electra nodded and turned around to face the window. I also turned around to face the window.

The dark stratus clouds still cloaked the sky, refusing to let any sun or sky into view. The grass was all wilted and the leaves were all dried up and fluttering to the ground.

"Things will never be perfect," Electra said to me, "Everyone had their problems, even, no, especially me. All you can do is hope for the best and do what you can." She looked at me and smiled.

I smiled back.

Suddenly, a loud, popping sound screeched from behind me. I turned my head around to see what had happened. When I looked at Electra, she was already on the other side, standing up.

"It was a gunshot!" she exclaimed and darted through the crowd, following the sound. I rose up and followed her, but a crowd of students pushed me back towards the window.

"Evacuate, left door!" a teacher tried to scream above the escalating noise.

The doors leading downstairs opened.