A New Beginning

No Sleep

Luckily for Shane, he didn't see Trip at all for the rest of the day. However, towards the end of the day, it was getting harder for him to pay attention in class. Shane's last class was Spanish, the one he struggled in the most. To make matters worse, Mrs. Wolf, the teacher, was rambling on nonstop, which bored him terribly.

After only twenty minutes, Shane felt that he couldn't keep his eyes open anymore. He rested his head on the top of his desk, putting his arms under his forehead as a cushion. The cap on his head fell to the floor, but Shane took no notice; he was already half asleep.

Mrs. Wolf continued talking for several more minutes before she noticed that Shane was sleeping. "Somebody wake up Shane," she ordered.

Jay Schmidt, who was sitting beside Shane, poked him with his pencil. "Dude, wake up!" he whispered.

Shane immediately lifted his head up and looked around, a little dazed. He rubbed his eyes and yawned.

"No sleeping in class, Shane," Mrs. Wolf scolded.

"Well I'm sorry," Shane retorted. "I couldn't help it." He reached down on the floor, picked up his cap, and put it on his head. "Can I grab something to drink real quick?" he asked.

"Not now," Mrs. Wolf told him. "It's class time."

"It's to help me stay awake," Shane clarified.

Mrs. Wolf rolled her eyes. "Whatever," she agreed reluctantly. "Be quick about it."

Shane readily got up from his desk and exited the classroom. He went to the teacher's lounge, grabbed some more coffee, and returned to class.

As soon as Shane sat down, Mrs. Wolf stopped lecturing and stared intently at him. "Did you take that from the teacher's lounge?" she inquired.

Shane took a drink of his coffee. "Maybe, maybe not," he replied smugly.

Mrs. Wolf gave him a stern look. "I know you did, you liar. Don't do it again." She resumed her lecture as Shane sipped his coffee contentedly.

Even with no sleep, the first track practice of the year gave Shane the energy boost he needed. After that, he spent the rest of his day at work, serving pizza to customers at the Pizza Shoppe.

"Hey! I didn't order pepperoni pizza!" an angry customer cried after Shane delivered him his order. "I ordered Hawaiian!"

Looking at the receipt, Shane realized that he had gotten the order wrong. It was the third time he had done it tonight. "Geez! I'm sorry!" Shane replied, trying to keep his anger under control. "I haven't slept for thirty-six hours. Gimme a break!" He whisked the pepperoni pizza away and replaced it with the correct order.

When Shane arrived home from work, he was so tired he could barely think straight. Dropping his backpack in the entryway and kicking off his shoes, he stumbled downstairs into his room and collapsed on the bed. As soon as he laid his head on the pillow, Shane was fast asleep.