Everything in class was normal. We were all reading like we were supposed to.
I'm Faelecia! I'm thirteen, in grade eight and go to a small school. It's called charity case elementary. We have about eleven kids in our class, yet we are a seven/eight split class.
Our real teacher was in a meeting in a different city, so we had a substitute. He was a really cool guy.
"So, you can put your books away, because, in about fifteen minutes, we're gonna go to the recreational centre and watch a presentation about M.A.D.D." He said.
"What's M.A.D.D.?" Asked a boy in my class named Drake.
"Mothers against drunk driving," I said, gazing my attention back to our substitute.
"Yes. So Mr Urie is gonna bring you guys, so is Mr Lemming." He said. Mr Urie was our principal. He was strict as hell, liked to get people in trouble, and I hated him. Mr Lemming is cool though. He's our math teacher and science teacher. We always make funny jokes in class, he's one of my favourite teachers, other than my homeroom teacher.
"Why Mr Urie?" I practically whined.
"Because he wants to spend time with you guys." He laughed. Suddenly, at that moment, Mr Urie barged in through the door. He was in his usual attire of a random coloured dress shirt (usually either black or white) and a fancy overcoat, this time he didn't wear one, but just a plain white dress shirt. He wore dress pants all the time, even on casual Friday.
"Alright, we're ready to go. Some people are going to be with Mr Lemming and some are coming with me." He said, strictly of course.
"Can me, Faelecia, Drake and Connor go?" A kid named Miles asked. I liked all the kids in my class, they were like my family.
"I don't care, just decide, now everybody, go get ready." He demanded, us walking out the door and to our lockers.
We were all chit chatting while we got ready, but then Mr Urie stopped us.
"Alright, so who's going with Mr Lemming?" He asked. Miles, Drake, Connor and I raised our hands.
"He's waiting outside."
We all walked outside and saw Mr Lemming.
"Alright, I have four more seats in my car, so you can all fit." We all walked to his punch buggy.
"Um, there's only three seats." Miles laughed.
"Well, since Miles is the oldest, he can have the front seat, and since Drake is the youngest, he has to sit between Connor and me," I said, everyone, agreeing after.
Mr Lemmings opened the door to side and pushed the seat forward so we can all get in.
I got in and bonked my head, laughing at the fact at how small his car was.
Drake squished in right beside me and Connor.
Everyone else was going with Mr Urie, and I felt bad for them. Everyone who went with him was Astrid, Lisa, Anna, Avery, Nevada and Lilly.
He had to borrow another teacher's car.
On the ride to the presentation, we all made jokes in Mr Lemming's car. We were a funny group, the five of us.
All my other friends are with Mr Urie. I'm friends with everyone, and they're all friends with me.
"Alright, we're here!" He smiled, leaving the car so Drake, Connor and I could leave the backseat. We walked into the recreational centre and everyone else had already beat us.
We removed our shoes and kind of stood there.
"We put our shoes over there," Astrid said, pointing to a bunch of shoes. We all placed ours there and kinda of, stood there.
We all waited in silence until I started silently humming.
"Who's humming?" Asked Mr Urie, quickly turning his head to look at us.
"Me," I whispered, stopping it. He glared at me, then looked away.
After a lot more silence and awkward tension in the room, a guy walked in.
"We're ready to start the presentation, are you guys?" The man asked. He seemed to be the owner of the centre.
"We are, c'mon class, let's go." We all followed him to the gym, where a big screen projector was set up.
"Sit at the free throw line." He ordered. We all sat down and talked to each other.
Mr Urie and Mr Lemming sat on a bench and talked to each other.
"I'm gonna hate this, I know it. I'm gonna cry, and I don't wanna do that in front of my friends, nor Mr Urie, he probably thinks I'm a loser already." I said to Astrid. She knew what I was going through.
A year ago, my dad passed away while drinking and driving. Ever since, it was me and my amazing mum, Sarah.
Astrid knew about this, she was the one who helped me through it. I've gotten over it, but there's never a day where I don't think of my dad.
Another guy walked in. He had a microphone and a 'M.A.D.D'. shirt.
"Hello everyone, my name's Sebastian and I'm here to show you guys a film about M.A.D.D., also known as Mothers Against Drunk Driving. M.A.D.D. is about people who are under the influence when they drive. Whether it's drugs or alcohol. Now, I'm gonna show you four videos. The first one is fictional, but the other ones are actual testimonies. You may also get a little upset, maybe your family member or a friend has passed or gotten hurt from this problem. If you do feel upset or you're scared, just go to one of the teachers and they can walk you out of the gym, help you feel better." Every one of my friends looked at me when he mentioned the 'Maybe someone from your family or friends has passed or been injured by this problem.'
The video started, and it wasn't bad. It was fictional and it was also pretty dramatic, but it stated the point that drinking while driving is wrong.
It was the testimonies that got to me. The first one put a huge pit in my stomach, and the second one, I left because I couldn't help myself.
I got up and walked past everyone, on the verge of crying. I walked to the teachers, wanting to get Mr Lemming to take me out. Mr Urie got up immediately and we walked out of the gym, quickly walking behind the line of my friends.
I was at one side of the wall, bawling my eyes out, while he was on the other side, just leaning against the wall awkwardly. I heard his shoes walk over to me and he rubbed my back. My instinct was to hug him, I don't know why, but I hooked my arms around his torso. I know he felt awkward at first, and trust me, I did too, but later on, he wrapped his arms around me too.
"Shh, it's alright, just, cry it all out." He said. For once, he was being nice. He let go and so did I. We both looked at each other and I wiped my eyes.
"Would a walk perhaps make you feel better?" He asked. I nodded and we walked around the recreational centre, looking at photos of the gymnastics team for the town and other photos too.
"You know, you're a strong girl. To have made it that strong for that long is impressive." He said.
"What do you mean?" I asked, getting a little confused.
"I'm not trying to be rude, but I know about what happened to your father. Your mother told me. You were so strong to stay in there for that long, and I'm proud of you." He smiled. This was the first actual time I saw him smile, it was really cute.
I side smiled and looked up at him, taking the sleeves of my sweatshirt and wiping the tears off.
"Would you wanna stay here or go back in?" He asked. I didn't wanna go back in, but I didn't want to deprive him of watching the video.
"It's totally fine if you don't, I was just curious as to if you wanted to." That made my mind up.
"I kind of don't want to, I've already heard the whole lecture before anyways," I said. He nodded and played with his hands for a second.
"Would you want to continue the walk?" I asked, twisting on my heels.
"Sure," He said, and we both walked around, even more, just looking at all the cool sites.
"The presentation is probably over, we should get back." He said. I walked beside and we just didn't talk the whole way. This was really awkward.
We walked in the gym and Mr Lemming was talking to everyone. They all stopped once Mr Urie and I walked in.
"Alright, everyone! Let's go back to school." He said, everyone, getting up and walking out of the gym door and into the lobby.
"Um, could I possibly go with Mr Lemming's this time?" Asked Lisa, one of my best friends, other than Astrid.
"Of course!" Smiled Mr Lemming. "But we don't have enough seats."
Almost Immediately, I raised my hand and volunteered to go with Mr Urie.
"Alright then, thank you Faelecia." Mr Urie said. I looked at him and he sent me a side smile for a split second but got back to his serious face.
(Great example of his serious face.)
I blushed and quickly hid it, trying not to show him. We all got ready and walked out. The guys and Lisa. Mr Urie, Astrid, Nevada, Avery, Anna and Lilly.
"So, who's gonna go in the front seat?" He asked, looking at all of us. When no one spoke, I, yet again, volunteered.
I got in the front seat and everyone assembled their way in the back. Mr Urie turned up the radio and Mr Brightside came on. I looked behind the seat and saw Astrid smile.
I started silently singing, I'm pretty proud of my singing and musical abilities. Mr Urie joined in too, then Astrid. We both turned our mumbles into lyrics until we got to the school.
We pulled into the parking lot and all got out of the car. I caught up with Astrid and we started talking as we walked into the school. We went to our lockers and put our shoes away, taking our inside ones and putting those on.
We were about to get in class, but Mr Urie stopped us.
"Faelecia? Would you please go to my office?" He looked down at me. I gulped and nodded, my quivering head turning to look at Astrid. She gave me a look that told me it was gonna be okay.
"Of course Mr."