Chapter 1
It was 7:50 a.m. when I arrived at school. The hallway was packed, with just a few students by their lockers while others stood in groups, talking.
My new shoes scraped against the tiles as I walked.
“Remember, you owe me because I covered for you this weekend,” a student said as he walked past me.
“Walk faster! I can't afford to be late,” a girl shouted as she ran in, almost pushing me while another girl trailed behind her.
At my locker, I took out my calculus and French textbooks and tucked them into my bag.
I was still gathering my books when I heard a voice behind me.
“Hello.”
I continued what I was doing, assuming he was talking to someone else.
I felt him come closer before he gently tapped my shoulder.
“Yes?” I turned.
“You didn't hear me the first time?” His eyebrows knitted together in confusion.
Should I lie?
“Yes, um, I was just getting my books and I didn't hear you,” I said, using an awkward smile to soften the moment.
He stared at me for a second before nodding.
“Are you Mina?” He leaned forward.
“Yes…” I raised an eyebrow.
I squinted my eyes to get a better look at him.
Brown hair, blue eyes and a baggy hoodie.
Yup. It was Jasper.
I closed my locker before speaking.
“Can I help you?”
“No. Mr. Colman asked for a list of people in his class, and I was just looking for Mina.” He brought up a book and ticked a box.
“And that's you.”
I gave him a polite wave as he walked in the other direction.
Sighing, I adjusted my bag on my shoulder and entered the hall.
Some seniors were already seated at the back row while others sat at the front, scribbling furiously on sheets of paper.
I took a seat in the second row when I remembered that we had to sit according to our classes.
“Testing, testing.” The tech guy tapped the microphone as more students came in.
Faint murmurs and laughter were the only sounds that could be heard.
About a minute later, Mr. Jeffery walked in, his loafers clicking against the floor as he climbed onto the podium.
“Good morning, students.”
He raised his hand in the air, which caused the talking to die down.
“Morning, sir,” we responded.
“As you know, today is…”
“Mandatory Test Day,” some students said while sighing and shaking their heads.
“Mandatory Test Day,” he continued. “I already sent for your sheets. When you hear the bell ring, the sheets will be given to you.”
He adjusted his tie clip.
“Of course,” a girl said beside me, whispering to her friend.
“Man, I hate this,” a junior said loudly, earning him a look from the principal and his classmates.
Mandatory Test Monday
Thank goodness I didn't sleep. I stayed up to study.
My mind flashed back to the night before, which caused a small grin to appear on my lips.
“Thank you, God.” I crossed my fingers and lifted my head.
“Mr. Jeffery,” Brian, who was a senior, stood up.
“Yes. Would you like to ask a question?”
“Yes. When are our sheets going to be here?”
“In about a minute and forty-five seconds.” He glanced at his watch.
“Alright.”
The sheets arrived exactly a minute and forty-five seconds later.
Then the shrill bell rang, and the sheets were placed on the left side of our desks.
“Start!” he exclaimed before walking off the stage.
And so it began.
My test sheets had multiple sections. The first one was AP Math, the second was Chemistry and the third was Ancient History.
I scratched my pen against my head when I started the history section, but luckily, I could remember a few things.
“Hey, no looking,” a teacher said, glaring at a girl who was peeking at her seatmate's test.
I heard hushed whispers around me, but all my focus was on the test.
“Ten more minutes. You should be wrapping up by now,” the principal announced.
“Ugh.”
My pen moved furiously across the paper, causing my handwriting to look a bit messy.
I dropped my pen and examined my sheet, making sure I had answered all the questions.
“Time is up.”
The teachers then went row by row, collecting each sheet.
“Your test will be given back to you by lunchtime. You know the drill. Juniors leave through the back door, and seniors take the front door.”
He pointed toward the exits.
We all got up from our seats and began making our way out.
I reached my class after navigating through a wall of students.
“Don't tell me you picked option A,” Rumi said, shaking her head.
“Well, I didn't hear you,” Eliana answered with a sheepish smile.
“Dude, you won't believe what happened this weekend,” Briana said, fixing her bow as she spoke to someone.
I placed my bag on the shelf and took a seat in the front row next to Jamina.
“Hey, Jamina.” I waved as I sucked in a breath.
“Hi,” she replied.
“I didn't see you at MMT.”
“Yeah, that's because I wanted to ditch it. Plus, I didn't study for it.”
“But that will get you punished,” I said worriedly.
“Screw this school and their bullshit. I wanna be an actress and influencer, not a math geek. And plus, how is this going to help with what I'm doing?” She rolled her eyes.
I guess she was right.
I glanced at the wall clock and saw that I had three more minutes before class began.
My first class of the day was French, followed by Spanish. I took my book bag and placed my stationery and small notebooks inside.
“Morning, Mr. Baker.”
“Morning, Mina.” He arranged his desk as he responded.
I took a seat next to the window and brought out my stationery and books.
I was just about to drop my book bag when I felt someone's gaze on me.
Jasper.
I blinked several times, but he didn't stop staring.
Maybe he wanted to ask me a question?
“Hey. Do you need something?”
“No. Why do you think that?” he answered, now staring at the windows.
“I saw you staring at me, so I was wondering whether you wanted to ask me something.”
“I was just staring at the windows.” He adjusted his hood and looked the other way.
“O…kay,” I said, a bit unsure.
“Bonjour, class.” Mr. Baker got up from his desk as the classroom was now full.
“Morning,” some students whispered.
“Bonjour,” others dragged out.
“Why so gloomy this Monday morning?” he asked with a small snicker, as he knew exactly why.
“MMT, of course,” Nancy said, pursing her lips.
“Come on, it's not that bad.”
“It is,” some students angrily responded.
“Okay, settle down. That is enough. Let's begin our lesson.”
He turned on the projector and began teaching.
The lesson was about French words that were often misspelled, predominantly by English speakers.
I took down a few notes and went through my textbook as he explained.
“Before I forget, I am going to give you students several passages and documents on different topics. Your job is to identify the misspelled words and rewrite them correctly.”
“Is it going to be English or French?” Jason asked, and I was also curious.
“French,” he answered.
“I can see you students are confused, so let me explain.”
He pointed toward the screen.
“You see this passage? It's about water pollution. But as you can see…”
He circled different words.
“Most of the words are misspelled, so your job is to identify them and rewrite the entire passage.”
“Seems simple enough,” I said, noting down the assignment.
“How many passages, sir?” I asked.
“Well, thirteen per person. And the reason I'm giving you this is because they will be submitted in two weeks.”
“Why thirteen, sir?” Nancy pouted.
“Well, because you kids can handle it. Do you want more?”
“No!” the entire class said.
“So thirteen it is.”
“I am going to send the assignments via the school app. You kids don't have to do them on paper. You can do them on your computers.”
I gave a gentle nod.
The class concluded as Mr. Baker asked us questions and checked if we understood the lesson.
I was one hundred percent sure that half the class said yes just so they could leave, but Jason said no, and we had to sit for another ten minutes while Mr. Baker answered his questions.
Next was Spanish.
The people who were taking French, which included me, were late to the class because of Mr. Baker's explanations.
“Why are you guys late to my class?” Mrs. Lopez asked in her usual thick Mexican accent.
“Sorry, we were just held back by the previous class,” I explained, and the people behind me gave agreeing nods.
She stared at us up and down before letting us in.
“So, today's topic is going to be about different Spanish cuisines.”
She tapped on the board and opened a folder containing a video.
“I am not going to be explaining today. I will let the video do the explaining, and you kids better pay attention and not fall asleep.”
She walked to the back row and shook Carson.
“Huh? I am awake.” He jolted up from his seat, drool on the left side of his lip.
“You better be, because you are getting a test on this later this week.”
She returned to the board and began playing the video.
The lady in the video was speaking in Spanish, but thank goodness there were subtitles.
The class concluded shortly after, and I walked back to my classroom.
I slumped into my chair and let out a sigh.
“Calculus, physics, English, AP English and Chemistry.”
I counted the classes on my fingers.
Today was going to be a long day.
“Please don't do this,” I heard Manny say as Rihanna angrily burst into the classroom.
“Why shouldn't I?” She turned angrily, tears trickling down her face.
“Because I can't… leave without you.”
“Wow.” She folded her arms.
“You can't leave without me, right? But wasn't it you who told Carter that if I didn't recover from the accident, you would find yourself a new chick?”
She raised her voice.
“Yes, I agree. I did say that, but…”
“But what?” she cut him off sharply.
“I was with you through your parents' messy divorce. I was also with you when you had that fatal injury. I was with you through your surgery.”
“Yes…”
“Let me finish!” She shoved him backwards.
“But when things got hard, you just decided to bail on me. Look, I'm not saying don't move on, but at least…”
Loud sobs began escaping her lips as she spoke.
“I am sorry,” he said, trying to grab her hands, but she slapped them away.
“Rihanna,” I said softly.
She shot me a look before breaking down.
“Get out. I don't wanna see you.”
She pushed him away, this time harder.
He left the classroom with his head lowered and glanced at Rihanna, but she didn't look back at him.
“Is it a crime to love someone?” she asked, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.
“No.”
I approached her, and she immediately pulled me into a hug.
“I was just in a car accident, and his first response was to date another girl,” she cried louder.
“I’m sorry for what he did.” I gently rubbed her back.
“No, don't say sorry. It was him and—and…”
“You don't have to say anything else.” I tried my best to sound reassuring.
“Thank you.” Her voice came out a bit squeaky. “I know we aren't that close, but thanks for today.”
She freed herself from the hug.
“Anytime.”
“It's almost time for my class.” She cleared her throat and took out a handkerchief to wipe her face.
“Good luck,” I said as she left through the door.
Rihanna had been in a car accident with her older sister three months ago. Luckily, her sister wasn't hurt, apart from a mild concussion, but Rihanna, on the other hand, wasn't so lucky.
She had lost a lot of blood and suffered a serious abdominal injury, but luckily, the ambulance arrived in time.
She came back to school three weeks ago and was still a bit disoriented, but as the weeks went by, she started to return to her original state.
The day flew by, and before I knew it, school had ended.
I dragged my feet along the road and sighed at how heavy my book bag was.
I rang the doorbell and heard footsteps approaching the door.
“There is my favorite daughter.” My dad smiled as I walked in and closed the door behind me.
“Hey, Dad.”
I looked him up and down and saw that he was in his usual running clothes.
“I made you mac and cheese.”
“Really?” My eyes widened.
“Yes. I figured you wouldn't have the energy to cook, so I made it for you.”
I pulled him into a hug and ran to the kitchen.
“Not so fast, Min. First, change, then eat.” He held my wrist.
“Sorry, I forgot.”
I slapped a hand to my forehead.
“But, Dad…”
“Mhm?”
“You are in your running clothes. Why?”
He loosened his grip on my wrist.
“I've been sitting in the office for many hours, and my body feels a bit stiff, so I decided, why not take a short run?”
He cracked his knuckles and stretched his arms over his head.
“Right. But it's 4:20.”
“Which is a perfect time to run.”
“Alright. Enjoy your run.”
“Thank you.”
He opened the front door and walked out.
On the stairs, I casually swung my hand along the railing, the cold metal causing me to flinch a little.
“Hey.”
I passed my brother's room, which was wide open.
“Hi.”
He looked up briefly before returning to his computer.
“I should have made the bed before I left.”
I grabbed the bed cover and tucked it in.
When I was finished, I closed the door and began taking off my clothes.
I contemplated whether to take a shower or not.
My mind said yes, while my body said a big NO.
I reluctantly walked into the shower, and after I was done, I slipped into my sweatshirt and pants.
“Dad made mac and cheese in case you want some,” I yelled from downstairs.
“Don't want any,” Mark yelled back.
“Huh. Tough crowd.”
I watched as the microwave gently spun the plate around. It beeped a few seconds later, which meant it was done.
I took out a spoon and started eating.
I almost choked on my food when I realized it was already five, and I had a lot of assignments to do.
I inhaled my food, almost biting my tongue.
I washed the dish and ran upstairs into my room. Then I hastily started taking out my assignments.
