Spreading Wings

Spreading Wings - Chapter 5

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Chapter 5

    “Lunchtime!” The class scrambled out, eager to get out of the classroom. Many desks were moved out of their place as they all went outside together.

    Eti looked back at me. “Have...fun?”

    “Yeah. Definitely.” I sat at my desk glumly, watching everyone else go out. It wasn’t fair that grades were so important.

    Eti sighed, then joined a group of girls as they walked out the door...the rich girls. Usually, Eti hangs out with me, but she sometimes hangs out with the rich club. To them, Eti is the coolest person, and they all try to bribe her in order to be her friend. She hates all of them, but it’s not like she can hang out with the poor class – that would ruin the ‘rich’ reputation.

    After everyone had left, Mr. Slops got up from his desk and handed me a sheet of paper. “Arella Burkin. I usually don’t like students, but you…you’re an exception to that. I despise you.”   

    I twirled my pencil in my blond hair, already bored with his ran.

    “As your punishment for tardiness, not completing your math homework, and failing to pass English, you are going to write.”

    What? No!

    “Hang on a minute. Failing to pass English wasn’t part of my reasons for deten-”

    “Your topic will be about...” Mr. Slop ignored me as he sneered. “On your excuse for being tardy. You have the whole lunch hour.” He grabbed his lunch sack and went outside, clearly taunting me.

    I picked up my old ratty pencil, hating Mr. Ill. First, he knew I couldn’t write, so he made it my punishment. Second, that had to be the most ridiculous topic for an essay. But I knew I couldn’t choose a different topic. I was stuck.

    Gritting my teeth, I slowly put some words on the paper. It was slow going – I couldn’t spell to save my life – but I eventually finished a sentence. Then 2. Then 3. It wasn’t so bad really, since I was just ratting out the teacher. I didn’t care about school, or getting good grades, yet my mom still made me go. This was one of the times where I really hated my mom – why couldn’t she have let me be homeschooled like Paic?

    My classmates started trampling into the class. Lunch hour was over. I got up and placed my sheet of paper on Mr. Slop’s desk, hoping that he wouldn’t make me redo it.

    …

    “Yes!” I punched my arms into the gray air. Even during the early months of fall, the sky was rarely a shade of blue. “No school!”

    “...for 2 days.” Eti reminded me as we walked out of the school building, which looked pretty run down with it’s uneven bricks.

    “So what? It's out.” I felt giddy, the way I always did when the weekend came. “We could go to the fabric store.” Mom usually lets us try on new clothes they've made, which is always fun, even though neither of us would ever buy them – I can’t afford it and Eti’s family buys more expensive clothes.

    “That would be pretty fun. I’ll ask my dad if – oh man!” She smacked herself on the head. “I have to be at SSC!”

    Eti goes to the headquarters of SSC twice a month to learn about how her father runs the place. Her ambition is to take his job once she's old enough. She pretended like she didn't care much about it, but I knew Eti loved going there and greatly anticipated these days.