ViaWe sit down just in time; the bell rings a few minutes after we're fully seated.Mr. Montgomery and Justin both stroll in at the same time, looking very serious.Justin sits next to me and stays completely silent."Good afternoon, class. Today's gonna be an easy day. We'll be reviewing everything from our last lesson," Mr. Montgomery says with a tired smile, grabbing a stack of papers from his desk. As he's about to hand them out, Kol gets up."I'll help you with that, Mr. Montgomery," Kol says eagerly as he walks over."That's not necessary, Mr. Cooper. You can sit back down," Mr. Montgomery replies, raising an eyebrow."Actually, I'm your TA, so it's my job to help you," Kol fake laughs, shrugging."Oh, I didn't know that," Mr. Montgomery responds, handing Kol the stack of papers. "Just give everyone a packet. That's all," he adds, looking a bit surprised.Kol nods and starts passing out the review packets, glancing at each student."The test for this lesson will be this Friday.
NathanielI've had a fucking rough week, seriously. My head feels like it's about to explode. I'm almost damn certain I'm grappling with a migraine. Again.This marks the second one in just the last couple of days."Alright, folks, I'm out. Take care, everyone," I announce to the bustling main office, fishing my keys out of my pocket with a sense of relief.As I slide into the driver's seat of my car, she starts ringing me up. "Are you finally on your way home, Nathaniel?" She sounds both pissed off and really damn desperate, with some rustling and crying noises in the background."Yeah, Hazel, just settled in the car," I responded, starting the engine and letting it hum to life, feeling a wave of exhaustion wash over me."Please, hurry back. Your son's crying up a storm, waiting for you," she pleads, the urgency in her tone mirroring the escalating cries of our little one."Hazel, I ain't gonna be back for at least another hour. Please hold down the fort with him till I'm back," I re
NathanielArriving home, I spot a car parked in my driveway that I've never seen before."God. I'm so damn tired of this crap. Sick and tired of the same old shit," I mutter under my breath.I step into my house and scan the living room. It's a mess, and my son is nowhere in sight.Heading into the kitchen, it's empty. I march upstairs straight into my bedroom.Can't say I'm shocked by what I find.My wife passed out in bed with some guy."In my damn bed," I growl, my fists clenching with rage."Hazel," I raise my voice, but she doesn't stir.I scoop up her clothes from the floor. "Hazel," I shout louder and toss her the clothes I grabbed, frustration boiling inside."What Nathaniel?!" She shouts back, annoyance evident in her voice.The guy beside her starts to wake up."What the hell do you mean 'WHAT'?" I keep throwing her clothes, my anger building. "You fucked this idiot in my bed, in my damn house, and you have the nerve to yell at me!?" The guy beside her wakes up and looks aro
Nathaniel"Ben," I sighed, "you had to move out. You had a great chance to find a partner and a decent job. Don't tell me you're second-guessing."My sister had to move out, it was the only way for her to find happiness. The only way for her to forge her own path through life."No, Nathaniel, I'm not second-guessing it," I sadly said, "I simply miss having you by my side all the time. Especially with Hazel being difficult." I took a sip of my bottled water, feeling a pang of loneliness.As much as I could understand why she watched out for me, I had to let her go. I had to see my sister have a fulfilling life. Even if it meant being far from where I was."Ben, you don't have to worry about me. I'm not a child anymore. Besides, I'm going to end things with Hazel. I've made up my mind.""What!? Are you serious!?" I exclaimed, shocked. "Dad w-" I cut her off, feeling a surge of frustration."Dad will understand," I reassured her firmly."And if he doesn't?"Honestly, I didn't really know
NathanielI made chicken and rice, and I made damn sure my son had his fucking oatmeal with yogurt—his favorite.I eat some cereal with almond milk after making his breakfast and my lunch. Just as I'm about to shovel the first spoonful of cereal into my mouth, the baby monitor lets me hear my son crying.I sigh and trudge back upstairs to get him. He opens his eyes and smiles at me in the cutest fucking way possible.He's so wonderful."Hey buddy, I hope you had a good night's sleep," I say softly. He starts to cry again. "I made you some tasty oatmeal for breakfast."I lay him down on the bed and change his clothes and diaper gently.Later, I go downstairs and strap him into his baby chair. As soon as he sees his baby food bowl, he smiles and claps his hands together.As I shovel my cereal, I slowly start to feed him.Someone knocks on my door just as I'm about to shovel another spoonful of cereal into my mouth. "That's probably aunty, buddy," I say, getting up to open the door. "Tod
NathanielI hear someone knocking on my office door as I start arranging the poster concepts."Come in," I call out, arranging all of my papers neatly next to me."Hello, Mr. Everhart. Did you call me?" he asks, sounding anxious and terrified."Ethan Hayes, correct?" I ask. He nods in agreement.He definitely doesn't look like the kind of person who would flee from home or miss class for no reason. What then was his conflict?"I just called to ask a few questions. Relax," I say, getting up and fully opening the blinds to let light flood in. "How have you found school so far?" I ask as he sits down."Good, sir," he replies, looking around nervously. "Why?""I was just asking since your dad contacted the school worried," I explain, trying to make him feel at ease. "You left your house yesterday and didn't return. Why?"He shifts uncomfortably in his seat. "I stayed at a sleepover with some buddies. That's all.""And you couldn't have told your dad that when you called? Did you have to m
Nathaniel"Hello, both of you," she says, whipping off her AirPods and slamming them into their damn case. "I apologize for showing up out of nowhere, but umm..." She pulls out a packet of papers. "I think I misplaced the 10th page of the packet." She’s so clumsy that I’m not sure whether I should be annoyed or concerned."It's alright," Alexander says, digging through his files and pulling out a page. "Here you go." He hands her the page, and her face lights up with relief."Thanks for being so understanding. I'll have it finished before tomorrow," she says, snagging a stapler from Alexander's table and slapping the loose page onto the packet.Alexander looks away, muttering, "No problem, Via," with a shy smile.I've never seen him act like such a naive child over a girl. What kind of grip does she have on him?She shoves the packet in her folder, then her folder in her backpack. "Well, I need to go meet with a teacher to plan and create posters for tomorrow's football game." She pop
Via"What the hell am I doing wrong?" I mutter to myself as I paint the outline of each letter on the damn poster we're working on right now, frustration seeping into my voice."What was that?" Mr. Everhart asks, looking up from the poster at me with a questioning glance.Like the clear blue lake I used to go to in Clear Stone Falls as a kid, his damn blue eyes draw me in, making my heart flutter.I stammer, "N-nothing," and feel my face flush with embarrassment.He looks back down at the poster and mutters, "Whatever you say," with a hint of dismissal."Is this the last poster we have?" I ask, starting to paint some letters on the inside, trying to focus on the task."Yes, this is the last poster we have," he confirms as he finishes drawing a football in the poster's upper right corner, his tone matter-of-fact."All right, I'm going to sleep now," I lie, my voice shaky with the need to escape.There was more to it than that. If I didn't leave this room in the next hour, I was going t