Almost There

- 1 -

"Ms. Morrison."

Tess looked up at the sound of her name. Mrs. Eldon was weaving her way through the desks, handing final essays back to the students who'd had the misfortune of attending her U.S. Government course during the months of July and August.

Summer school: a synonym for "misery."

"Let's get to know one another," Mrs. Eldon had said on their first day in the sweltering downstairs room of the public library. "Why don't you start by telling us your name and what interests you in government?"

Tess had wanted to say, "Hi, my name's Tess Morrison. I'm not interested in government. I just need this course to graduate next year." But she hadn't said that. She'd made up something about her commitment to civic duties and responsible citizenship, which she couldn't remember now because it had been patently untrue.

She really had learned a thing or two in this class that would be useful someday, but Tess wasn't even old enough to vote yet. Why didn't they teach this stuff in college? If Tess ever made it to college, that would be the time to learn.

Stupid requirement. Stupid course. If Tess failed this class, she didn't know what she'd do.

She looked down at the paper lying face-down on her desk. In that moment, it felt like her future hinged on the grade. Drawing a slow, steadying breath and holding it, Tess turned the paper over.

At the top of the page was a red C+. She let out the breath in a sigh of relief.

Thank God. I passed. Tess stuffed her essay into her bag without even flipping through the pages to read Mrs. Eldon's comments. As she glanced toward the clock, she caught the eye of Rebecca, a fellow prisoner. Tess smiled at Rebecca, and Rebecca smiled back.

Thank God. She passed, too, thought Tess.

Tess and Rebecca had met in the class and had become acquaintances, if not friends. Their circumstances were different; Rebecca had failed the required Government course the previous year, while Tess simply hadn't had the chance to take it because she had missed the second semester of her junior year of high school entirely.

Nevertheless, their shared goal—to pass the course—had made it easy for them to commiserate.

"Alright!" Mrs. Eldon said with a bright smile as she finished passing out her stack of graded essays. "That brings us to the end of our final class. Wonderful work, everyone. It has been a pleasure to have you. Best of luck in your academic year."

A few of the students responded with "Thank you!" or a "Bye, Mrs. Eldon!" as they began to gather their things. Tess kept her head down. She dumped her book into her backpack, crushing her essay, and swung her bag onto her back as she stood up. She met Rebecca on the way out the door.

"How'd you do?" Rebecca asked in an undertone.

"I passed. That's good enough for me."

"I got a B." Rebecca's smile conveyed her triumph. "My mom is gonna lose it!"

"Rebecca, that's awesome!" Tess said. "You deserve it! You studied like crazy."

"Mrs. Eldon's a good teacher," Rebecca said. "She took the time to help me, you know? I wish I had her for school school. You ready to start senior year?"

Tess's heart sank. She was not ready at all. "As ready as I can be. I wish we were going to the same school."

Rebecca shrugged. "I have your number. Besides, I hear Eagle Point is a good school. Someone told me they bring in Pizza Guys every Friday."