It was a long week until Friday, but daily makeup lessons with Erin gave Therese the confidence to put it on before school. Peter picked Therese up on his way to school. He loved his first glimpse of Therese in the morning, even tired she looked beautiful. Her parents waived them off, glad he had a seat belt in the front of his car, and it was on her side. Therese liked it when she thought of the passenger seat as “her side”.
The coffee was still hot when they arrived at class. Therese handed a cup to Mr. Shank. He was impressed, it was hot. He handed Therese three dollars for the coffee. He figured it was better to break the rules buying the coffee than to drink it for free. He took another sip, amazed that it could be any better hot, and it was. His eyes opened with the coffee and flicked further open when he saw Therese standing there with her makeup on, and hair done. “Thank you for the coffee,” Mr. Shank said, pausing, then carefully adding in a fatherly way, “you’re dressed up nice.”
“Thank you.” said Therese, with a flat tone that could be recognized as blushing, pleased and happy to those who knew her. The other boys were less tactful in their glances and at least one was slapped by his girlfriend for staring.
The girl next to Peter shot a jealous eye bolt at Therese. Peter took a sip of his coffee. “Yah, coffee is way better than herpes.” said Peter to the other girl. She glared at him and put her yellow capped ointment away.
“What makes her so special?” asked Herpes girl.
“She doesn’t know she’s beautiful.” said Peter . There’s genuineness and naivety to her own beauty amplified it to Peter and now the other guys who had only mocked her before.
Later that day, Erin texted Therese “Cant wait til you get here. Buck came early and fixed the sink.”
Therese replied “Does that make him useful?”
Erin texted back “No. He traded for a cup of coffee. It makes him resourceful. He put tools in a wagon walked here and home.” Mr. Shank shot a look and shook his head, then Therese out her phone away. He wasn’t going to bother making it an issue, but he had always held her to the same standard as the other students, even if she was his favorite. Except for the coffee, but if it works it isn’t stupid, he thought. Therese blushed, she didn’t mean to text in class, she was just excited.
The bell rang, and Therese was sad, because she would not see Peter until lunch. She very much liked her time with him. Therese gathered her bag, and smiled when Peter lifted it for her and handed it to her. She liked that he would take any opportunity to help her. She looked in his eyes, and diverted her eyes, unsure if she had caught a glimpse of her own future or not. She looked back, and he was still there. “It’s going to be a long morning, see you at lunch, by the big tree?” asked Peter.
“Yes, I will meet you there.” said Therese, realizing she just caused her morning to drag out further. She and Peter separated at the door and went in different directions. Therese was walking through the hall to cut through the main building and saw her friend struggling with her lock. Therese walked over, she liked Tiffanie, she was determined and worked hard to be in all her classes. Tiffanie had Down Syndrome, but she called it exercise and not a limit.
“It won’t open.” said Tiffanie She was becoming frustrated, and as she became frustrated, and then she became reckless in her efforts to open the lock. Therese saw Elijah darting through the hall to their next class, that meant the late bell was about to ring, and the remaining students would have to go to study hall.
“Elijah, I need you to open this locker.” called Therese after her friend. To the world, it sounded like a barked order, but Elijah knew it was a worried request from his friend.
Elijah, in a full sprint turned around, bumped the bottom of the lock and spun it in a random way, spun it a few times and jerked it open, just as the bell rang. Elijah darted, and jumped over a garbage can, knocking it, stopped to put it upright, and bolted to class just before the final bell rang.
“I don’t think I can pull that off.” said Therese.
“How did you know he could do that, is it because he looks like a car thief?” asked Tiffanie.
“If I had a car to lock my keys in, he’d be the first person I would ask.” said Therese.
“I have occupational therapy. Do you have to go to study hall?” asked Tiffanie.
“Yep. I always wondered what it would be like.” said Therese.
“I could ask Douglas to get you a pass.” suggested Tiffanie.
“No, I want to try this. See you later.” said Therese.
“Thank you, Therese, you are my hero.” said Tiffanie, as Therese walked away. Therese thought she must have misheard Tiffanie.
Therese walked to the late building. This was her third year at the school, and she had never been sent to the late room. Therese walked up to the door and opened it slowly. She looked inside and saw her economics teacher, Coach T sitting at a table, she walked in and walked up to him.
Coach T stood up, and greeted her, “Hi Therese, how can I help you?” asked Coach T, who was an old powerhouse who was forced to live football in a headset to keep himself close to the grass. He missed the crunches and the impacts following the snaps, but the longer he taught the more he enjoyed it and did his best to diversify the learning in his classroom.
“I’m late. I have never done this before.” Therese told the sweep room teacher. Her knees shook and betrayed the calm flatness of her face.
Coach T stuck his finger in his ear to check his hearing. “Who’s going to be late?” he asked Therese.
“I am late.” said Therese.
“Late for what? I can help you find it.” said Coach T as he offered to help. He could not understand why Therese was in the room filled with students who for the most part caused their own lateness to avoid the next class for reasons as varied as they were.
“No, I mean I am late for class.” said Therese. The other students giggled.
“Hey quit giggling and look forward, you all know the rules.” Coach T told the students, who obeyed and went back to sitting silently. “You mean you are late for class, so you got sent here? I’m sure it was an accident, I can get you to class, what happened?” offered Coach T. He liked Therese, she did good on the tests and sat the football players next to her so her test answers would rub off on them. The Coach liked that Therese paid attention to everything he taught, even when he was out of better material and forced to teach economics.
“I helped a girl I know open her locker. She was frustrated, and I didn’t want to leave her alone.” said Therese.
“Well, that’s a good reason to be late. I got this kid in one of my classes, Elijah, you should ask him, he looks like a car thief.” offered Coach T.
“He is who finally opened it, but he is faster and made it to class.” said Therese.
“Well do you want to be here, or do you want to go to class?” asked Coach T.
“I just want equality.” said Therese.
“Justice and equality are two separate words. Where is the justice in keeping you here? Let’s get you to class.” said Coach T, walking her to the door. Therese shrugged her shoulders, she just failed late for class detention. Coach T walked with her to her English class and opened the door. “I’m sorry I got her here late, she was helping me with my taxes.” Coach T said, waving goodbye to Ms. Offley. Therese silently walked to her seat. She wished she did better at detention, then the class would not be staring at her right now.
Therese sat in her seat. Ms. Offley continued to teach uninterrupted, but she made a mental note to ask Therese to help her with her taxes. If the economics teacher used her, Ms. Offley thought she must be good. Elijah gave Therese a wink, and Therese did her best to hide her grin, which was mostly flat and unnoticed. Therese joined the class and did her best to focus, but kept thinking about Peter.
The bell rang, and Elijah walked over to Therese. “That was pretty awesome of you.” said Elijah to Therese.
“That was hero stuff on your part. Tiffanie gets frustrated easily, but she is awesome.” said Therese.
“Did you get kicked out of study hall, and sent to class?” asked Elijah.
“Yeah, I suck.” Therese told him.
“You didn’t abandon your friend, and you got kicked out of study hall. I think that is some cool hero stuff too.” said Elijah, as he waved goodbye and went to look for mischief to engage in before his next class started. Therese lifted her head up a little higher than normal, thinking good about herself.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Therese walked to art class. She sat in the back, in her usual spot. She kept to herself as she usually did. Instead of grabbing some paints, she just started doodling in her notebook. She drew a picture of Peter. Mr. Monty came up by her and she shut the notebook, “I’m sorry, I’ll paint.” said Therese.
“You can draw, some of the best drawings I ever did were in a notebook, I’m sorry I interrupted you.” said Rem Monty as he excused himself and went back up to the front of the room. Therese grinned and continued drawing pictures of Peter until the bell rang.
Therese walked quickly to her chemistry class, she did not want to push her luck with detention for being late again. She navigated the halls as quickly as she carefully could. As she became anxious, her senses narrowed in perspective and she felt nervous. Therese stopped off to the side, took three deep breaths, and then resumed a purposeful gait. Therese was glad when she entered the chemistry room. The students sat at small tables with little sinks and gas valves at each table.
They were paired up in twos, and Therese sat by herself not because she didn’t have a lab partner, but because her lab partner viewed going to school as a suggestion. Therese was careful in her notes, she would give a copy to her partner when he would show up again, but she was unsure if he even reviewed them. He was a no-show.
Finally, lunch came and Therese walked as quickly as she could to meet Peter. He was already napping under the tree, never one to miss the opportunity for rest. “Hi, Peter.” said Therese, causing the boy to jerk alert. Peter stood up quickly, and between standing up quickly and looking at Therese he felt lightheaded and almost fell backwards.
“I was going to grab a slice of pizza, do you want anything?” asked Peter as he hoped he could buy something for Therese to show he liked her.
Therese held up her lunch box and said “Mom made a sandwich.”
“Nice, are you cool if I go grab a slice?” asked Peter.
“I’ll go with you.” said Therese, not wanting to give a separation to their being together.
“Thank you for the coffee this morning, I needed that more than I ever knew.” said Peter.
“It’s nice when you are awake, even if you look cute when you are asleep.” said Therese, then fearing she was too forward.
“Mr. Shank never says cute.” Peter sighted.
“Peter, if you fall asleep in my class one more time, you are going to wake up in detention.” said Therese, in her best impersonation of Mr. Shank.
“That’s pretty good.” said Peter as he laughed. Therese’s monotone voice had done a decent impression of their math teacher.
“He’s actually my favorite teacher. I would not be here without him.” said Therese. Peter missed her meaning.
They arrived at the pizza stand and when they reached their turn to pat, Peter felt around until he realized he forgot his wallet and began digging in his backpack for change. Therese pulled a few dollars from her pocket and paid, took the pizza and held it for Peter who finally realized what she had done.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t want to ask you for help.” said Peter.
“Friends don’t eat in front of friends who are hungry.” said Therese, handing him the pizza as they walked.
“Freaking friend zone already.” Peter muttered to himself, as they walked away. “Where do you want to eat?” He asked Therese.
“Friend zone’s over there if you are looking. I am going to go find some sunshine outside, if you want to join me.” said Therese, unsure where that statement came from, and how it entered her mouth.
“I think it is a nice day outside.” said Peter, following Therese, he liked the way his odds were turning. They sat against a wall outside in the sun, the weather was still cold. Therese pulled out her Space-Girl Michelle lunchbox and grabbed her sandwich. She put the sandwich back in, prayed, and took the sandwich out.
“When I am too old for juice boxes, just shoot me.” said Therese, sticking the little plastic straw point through the foil on the juice box. Therese was used to eating lunch alone, and Peter was welcome company. Therese realized Peter had forgotten a drink and passed him her second juice box.
“I haven’t had one of these since elementary school.” said Peter, looking at the juice box.
“Did you quit because you don’t like them, or because everyone quit drinking them?” asked Therese. Peter answered by sticking his straw in the box and drinking the juice. He looked at Therese, she looked perfect to him, the afternoon light made her glow, as she sat there with her serious look enjoying her sandwich and her juice box. He like that she was true to herself. A cold breeze blew her hair in her face, this just made her prettier to him. She casually pushed her hair away and took another bite from her sandwich.
“What are you thinking about?” asked Peter.
“History class next hour.” said Therese in her flat monotone voice.
“You like it that much?” asked Peter.
“I like history, the teacher hates me, it is mutual.” said Therese, still looking forward and taking another bite from her sandwich. She chewed very carefully and deliberately.
“Why don’t you switch classes then?” asked Peter.
“I won’t give her the satisfaction. And I built my whole schedule around our math class.” said Therese.
“You like Algebra-two that much?” asked Peter, surprised she would suffer a bad history teacher.
“I like Mr. Shank. I would suffer three Mrs. Smith’s to be in his class.” said Therese.
“Mr. Shank? He is always on my case.” said Peter grudgingly towards Mr. Shank, somewhat because Peter just discovered he shared Therese’s affection.
“He likes you when you drink coffee.” Therese told Peter. Peter grinned, this was true.
“You’re real smart, why aren’t you in a more advanced class?” asked Peter. Therese paused to answer, and Peter frowned, realizing he had asked a sensitive question.
Therese shot a look out her eye at Peter, and said. “Maybe this isn’t as good as other people can do, but it is as good as I can do, and I’m okay with that.” said Therese, finishing her sandwich. Peter frowned, thinking he had offended Therese, who looked at him while she chewed.
“Sorry.” said Peter, putting his head down.
“Sorry for saying you think I’m smart?” asked Therese.
Peter looked up and smiled. “I do think you are smart.” said Peter, grinning.
“You are smart, but you don’t try. When you are ready. I will help you.” Therese told him. The bell rang, and they gathered their stuff. “I want you to, I mean, may I please have a ride home after school?” Therese asked Peter.
“It will be my pleasure.” said Peter, standing first and extending his hand to Therese, who took it and smiled as he pulled her up. Therese liked that Peter had strong arms. They said goodbye to each other and walked to the next class. Therese loved the subject and despised the teacher, but she needed the credit to graduate.
Therese walked into history class and set next to Elijah. She was always surprised at his presence, because this was the only class he was early to. Therese had asked him once why he was always early to history, Elijah told her he was probably meant to be wherever he is, even when he is lost, to which Therese shrugged her shoulders. Truthfully Elijah hated being early only slightly less than he hated Mrs. Smith’s attitude towards Therese, and therefore suffered timeliness out of friendship.
Mrs. Smith hurried and gave the sign-in sheet to Elijah before Therese sat down, even though Therese who was made to sit up front by the teacher’s desk should have received it first. Elijah looked at Mrs. Smith, took the sign-in sheet and handed it to Therese without breaking eye contact with Mrs. Smith, who turned and pretended to be busy on the other side of the room.
“You shouldn’t stand up for me like that, she’s just trying to get a rise out of me.” said Therese to Elijah.
“That’s a heck of a thing to say to your friend.” said Elijah.
“You are just trying to get a rise out of me too.” said Therese.
“That is because you are cute when you are angry.” said Elijah. Therese growled at him, she hated her father said the same thing, but her response only caused Elijah to smile bigger.
The class started, and Mrs. Smith asked, “Who can summarize the war of 1812?”
Elijah shot his hand up, no one else raised their hands. Half of them didn’t know the answer, the other half wanted to hear Elijah’s answer. Reluctantly, Mrs. Smith had to call on him.
“The British pissed off America and, the United States Marine Corps kicked their butts.” said Elijah.
“And just the Marine Corps beat the British? How do you suppose they did that? Anyone else?” Mrs. Smith asked snootily. Therese raised her hand, and again no one else volunteered. Mrs. Smith reluctantly called upon Therese.
“They fired their guns and the British kept a-comin, There wasn't nigh as many as there was a while ago.” sang Therese. Elijah offered a high five, which Therese gladly accepted.
“Both of you, pack your bags and sit outside the door.” snarled Mrs. Smith.
Therese did her best to not shed tears of humiliation. Elijah tossed his hat, jumped over the desk and did a bow to divert everyone’s attention from Therese, then held the door open for her. They walked outside and sat on the concrete next to the building.
“I shouldn’t have done that.” said Therese. She was remorseful for her behavior, the last thing she wanted to do was get in trouble at school again, but she had been caught up in the moment.
“If you didn’t, you’d spend your whole life regretting not doing it. And what, for it you spend a beautiful afternoon outside.” said Elijah, settling down and looking at the sky. He liked the clouds.
“No, really, I shouldn’t have done that.” said Therese, putting her head between her knees and crying softly.
“Everyone hates you.” Said a little voice in Therese’s head.
The security officer came by and stopped when she saw Elijah and Therese sitting outside the building. “Up for a little run, I’ll give you a head start?” said the officer to Elijah.
“I can’t, I caused something.” said Elijah. The officer looked at Therese and walked over by her. The officer sighed, she knew Therese and had always thought her a good kid, just like all the others.
“Rough day, Therese, I saw you get kicked out of study hall, and now you got kicked out of class.” The officer told Therese, who nodded her head while sobbing. The officer liked the kids, she didn’t like Mrs. Smith because she didn’t like the kids. “Don’t worry, it’s just part of growing up, I have seen every kid out here one time or another. I need to go walk the school. See you guys around.” said the officer, then she added a goodbye and left.
“I’m sorry.” said Elijah to Therese.
“No you are right, I would have regretted just sitting there.” said Therese. They sat together in silence until the bell rang. Therese was relieved when the bell rang and hurried to economics class. She didn’t want anyone in history class to see her.
Therese was glad to see Coach T, and wondered if he would be teaching or derailed by one of his thoughts where last week he was convinced SONY stood for Standard Oil of New York. Therese found his unusual explanations entertaining but also wished he would at least put them on the test instead of just putting the stuff he was supposed to teach. Therese sat in the middle of several football players, their large stature and her small frame made the osmosis of her test answers effective. Someone asked about the history of Twinkies, Therese was relieved all bets on learning were off.
When the bell rang, the students knew less about economics than when they walked into class, and had been instructed in a bizarre almost random history of snack food. Therese really wished that would be on the test, it was fun, but she was glad to be leaving.
Therese arrived to Peter’s car first, before he did, so she stood there and waited. She looked radiant to him, the sun shown on her, the breeze blew her hair, and she stood next to his car. Peter ran to meet her, he was grinning. “How was your day?” Peter asked Therese.
“No regrets.” She answered and smiled coolly, climbing in the car and excited to leave with Peter.