THE SHRILL RINGING of the bell made me jump.
My head had quickly raised, looking around the bustling room. Students ran out of the class, leaving chairs pushed out, knocked over and papers littering the floors.
I slowly rose from my desk, gathering my books and papers into my black binder before I'd quickly shuffled out of the classroom myself. I didn't want to stay back and help the teacher clean up the mess they'd left.
My locker soon came into view and I squeezed through people to get to it, putting in my combination and dropping my things to the floor. I placed my lock on the small ledge, pausing a moment and looking back for nothing in particular.
Bah, okay. I was looking around for you.
"Yo, Jacob!" a guy greeted me, but I'd quickly walked away after packing up. I didn't have time to stick around and miss my bus, though the driver had always pulled up to the stop late.
Soon after, I walked out of the school doors, bus card tight in hand. I hadn't been looking forward to standing outside for 10 minutes, or getting pushed to the side by noisy students trying to get onto the bus, or the vulgar chattering of the boys that always sat in the back.
The only conclusion I'd came to was standing beside the large plants. The view of the buses coming and going wasn't very good, but it was better than what I saw everyday.
As I leaned on a nearby tree, I looked around at the many students crossing the streets, walking to bus stops, and lounging around the parking lot. I'd spotted someone familar, their figure standing alone under the shade of a tree.
Their hand constantly went up to their ear, tucking away a stray strand of short, curly hair. Ah, it was you, Mabel. You were always fixing your hair. I hadn't noticed it until I found myself standing right beside you with my hand raised, about to tap your shoulder.
Your head had whipped around, your eyes wide with surprise. "What are you doing here, Mabel?" I'd asked.
"I-I'm going home? Where else would I be going, Jacob?" You answered with a frown. "I... I have to go now," you excused yourself, adjusting your backpack while walking away from me.
Agh, stupid me. It was dismissal! Out of all the questions I could've asked, I wanted to know where you were going. What an idiot I was.
I hadn't realized that until the very end.
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