Monday morning, Kay woke up earlier than usual, taking Noah's advice to avoid Charity and
Miguel. She showered and changed, and then went downstairs for breakfast. Her father wasn't
even awake yet, so she started the coffee machine for him. Then, she chopped some vegetables
and ham to make omelets for herself and her father. She cracked some eggs into a bowl and
lightly beat them with a fork.
She finished cooking the two omelets and was toasting some bread when her father came down
into the kitchen. He stopped short when he saw breakfast waiting for him, and Kay sitting at
the table, already eating.
"Morning Dad," Kay greeted him.
"Kay? Why are you up so early?" Sam asked curiously.
Kay shrugged. "I wanted to start going to school a little earlier," she replied.
Sam raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. He went to the coffee machine and was surprised
to find that is had already finished its cycle. He glanced back at Kay, but didn't say anything.
Finally, he took a mug out of the cupboard and filled it with the hot liquid. Then, he sat down
at the table and began to eat his omelet.
Sam and Kay ate quietly. Sam wasn't sure what to say, and Kay seemed oblivious. The silence was
broken when the toast popped out of the toaster. Kay's hand shot out and grabbed both pieces.
She gave one to her father and started munching on the other one.
"Honey, is something wrong?" Sam asked, concerned.
Kay looked bewildered. "Wrong? No, nothing's wrong."
"Are you in trouble at school?" Sam pressed.
"Of course not," Kay insisted. "Except..."
"What?" Sam prodded eagerly.
"Well, I was late for homeroom on Friday and I got one hour of detention after school today,"
Kay explained.
Sam barely managed to hide his disappointment. "Oh, is that all? Don't worry, the time will fly
by."
Kay nodded. "Yeah, I hope so." She continued to eat her breakfast.
"Is there something you want, honey?" Sam tried again.
Kay thought for a minute and then shook her head. "Not that I can think of. I pretty much got
everything I wanted for my birthday," she replied. She gave her father an odd look. "Is
everything all right Dad? You're not sick or anything, are you?"
"No, I'm fine," Sam assured Kay.
Kay looked doubtful. "Are you sure?" she asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Sam insisted.
"Okay." Kay finished her breakfast and put her plate in the dishwasher. She put her jacket on
and slung her knapsack over her shoulder. "I'm heading to school now."
"Do you want a ride?" Sam offered.
Kay looked puzzled. "Isn't the station in the opposite direction of the school?"
"I don't mind the detour," Sam told her.
Kay smiled and shook her head. "Thanks dad, but it's only a ten minute walk." She gave him a
kiss on the cheek and then left the house.
Sam watched Kay walk away with a worried look on his face.
************************************************************************************************
When Kay arrived at school, the hallways were practically empty. She went to her locker and
hung her jacket up inside. A tap on her shoulder made Kay jump slightly and she turned around.
"Reese?!" she said in surprise. She took a good look at him and had to keep her jaw from
dropping. He was wearing his new contact lenses, and he was dressed in some pretty decent
clothes; some faded black jeans and a baseball jersey.
"Morning, Kay," Reese greeted her. "Why are you here so early?"
"I just wanted to start coming to school earlier," Kay replied.
Reese suspected that there was more to it, but didn't press her for an explanation. "So, Noah
went back yesterday, right?" he asked, trying to make conversation.
"Yeah," Kay replied as she closed her locker. "So why did you decide to wear the contact lenses
today?"
Reese shrugged. "No particular reason. I guess I just wanted to make sure that they felt okay."
"Do they?" Kay asked.
Reese nodded. "Yeah, they feel fine. I can't even tell they're in there."
Soon, people started to come into the school, filling the hallways. A lot of people noticed
Reese, but didn't recognize him. There were a lot of whispered speculations on who he could
be. The fact that Kay and the handsome stranger made a very striking couple wasn't lost on
them either.
"I'm going to wait by Simone's locker," Kay told Reese. "She probably went to my house and is
wondering why I wasn't there."
"Well, I have to talk to one of my teachers, so I'll see you around, okay?" Reese told her.
Kay smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I'll see you around," she echoed.
Reese smiled back and then walked off.
As Kay waited by Simone's locker, people kept stopping to say hi or wave to her. And it wasn't
just guys; it was also older students that normally, she barely talked to unless she had to. Kay
smiled and waved back to everyone. Five minutes later, Simone arrived at her locker.
"Where were you this morning?" Simone demanded. "I came by and your mom said that you had already
left."
"I'm sorry Simone," Kay apologized. "But I'm starting to come to school earlier."
"Why?" Simone asked.
"To avoid running into certain people," Kay replied pointedly. "I've got it all worked out. I
get up early enough to have breakfast with my dad, and then I go to school. That's about the
time that Miguel leaves his house to get Charity. So by the time he and Charity get to school,
I've already been to my locker and I'm waiting at your locker for you."
"Do you hate Miguel now?" Simone asked.
Kay sighed and shook her head. "I don't hate him. I just can't talk to him right now."
Simone gave Kay a sympathetic look. Suddenly, her eyes widened slightly. "You're wearing the
shirt I got you!" she exclaimed happily.
Kay smiled and nodded. "What do you think?" she asked, twirling to show off her outfit. She was
wearing the fuschia shirt with a short black skirt and matching sweater. Her legs were left bare
and she wore some chunky black high heels that made her legs look even longer.
"You look great!" Simone told her. "You certainly don't look like you should still be in high
school."
"Thanks Simone," Kay said. Suddenly, the warning bell rang, and the two young women began
walking to class. Simone reached her class first and waved to Kay as she went inside. Kay
then went into her class, two doors down.
Inside her classroom, Kay could see Charity and Miguel seated at the front of the class. She
also saw an empty seat beside Miguel. Kay debated on whether or not she should take the seat
at the front, when someone decided for her.
"Kay!" Tom Reeves, the captain of the soccer team, called out from the middle of the desks.
"There's an empty seat here, if you'd like."
Kay flashed Tom a grateful smile and headed toward him. As she sat down beside the tall,
blond-haired, blue eyed teen, she noticed Miguel turn around and look at her in confusion.
She pretended not to see him and said good morning to everyone around her, who happened to
be Tom's teammates and varsity cheerleaders.
"I love that shirt," Kerry Wilson, the head cheerleader, told Kay. "Where did you get it?"
"Thanks," Kay replied. "I got it for my birthday."
Kerry was about to say something else when the bell rang again. Everyone faced forward to
listen to the homeroom teacher.
When the period was over, Tom offered to walk Kay to her next class.
"Um...sure," Kay replied a little uncertainly as she put away her things.
"Can I carry your books?" Tom offered hopefully.
Kay's eyes widened in surprise. Guys still offered to carry a girl's books? "No, I think I
can manage," Kay told him. She hoisted her knapsack onto her shoulder. "It's not very heavy."
Tom looked a little disappointed. "Okay."
Tom and Kay walked down the hallway with at least a dozen classmates trailing behind them.
As they walked, Kay noticed a large number of the female population watching her with envy.
Kay stopped outside her art class. "This is my stop," she told Tom.
"Come have lunch with us," Tom offered, referring to the soccer team and the cheerleaders.
Kay shook her head apologetically. "I'm sorry, but I promised a friend that I'd eat with her."
"She's invited too," Tom said. "Come on Kay, please say yes."
"Okay," Kay relented. "I'll see you at lunch."
"Great!" Tom grinned. "See you later."
Tom's little fan club said bye to Kay and then followed him down the hall.
As soon as they were out of sight, Kay mock-shuddered. "Freaky," she muttered. She then went
into her class and sat down at a free easel. Her class was currently working on still life
drawing. Her teacher came into the room carrying an elaborate arrangement of flowers, which
she set down on a pedestal in the middle of the room. When the class had settled down, she
spoke.
"Your assignment today is to sketch these flowers," she informed them. "Please get to work."
Kay flipped to a clean page on her sketchpad and began to draw. Her pencil flew over the page
as she sketched. Occasionally, she was aware of her teacher watching her draw. She would then
move on to the next student without saying anything. Eventually, the bell rang, startling Kay.
She didn't realize that class was over. She looked down at her page and was surprised to see
that she had already finished the picture.
She closed her sketchpad and stuck it into her knapsack and got up to leave when her teacher
called her back.
"Yes Miss Patterson?" Kay asked politely, silently hoping that she wasn't in any trouble.
"May I please see the sketch you did today?" she asked. "I'll write a note for your next
class."
Kay took her pad out and handed it to the older woman, flipping to the right page. "Here you
go."
Miss Patterson looked at it for a long time. "This is the best piece of work I've ever seen
from you, Kay," she finally said. "You are a very talented artist, but you're easily
distracted. When I watched you work today, you were incredibly focused on your work, and
that is a major improvement."
Kay blushed at the praise she had just received. "Thank you, Miss Patterson."
"Keep up the good work, Kay," Miss Patterson told her. She scribbled out a note for Kay's
third period teacher and handed it to Kay. "You can go now."
Kay took the note and her sketchpad. "See you tomorrow."
Miss Patterson smiled. "Oh, one more thing," she said. "There's going to be a local art show
this weekend, and I'd like it if you'd submit your drawing to be put on display if you're
interested."
Kay's mouth dropped open in surprise. "Really?" she asked excitedly.
Miss Patterson nodded. "Really. If you'll just sign your drawing, I'll mount it and submit
it for you."
Kay opened her pad again and signed 'Kathleen Bennett' in the corner of the page. Then, she
tore the sheet out and gave it to her teacher. "Here you go."
"Thank you, Kay," she said. "I'll see you tomorrow."
Kay smiled at her teacher and then went to her next class. It flew by pretty quickly, since
it was biology and they were watching a video. Miguel gave her a questioning look from his
lab bench when she came in late, but didn't say anything out of respect for the other students.
When the video was over, the teacher dismissed the students from class. Miguel was about to ask
Kay what had happened, but Charity was waiting for him after class, and he forgot his question.
Kay was already in seated in history class when Miguel and Charity walked in. They couldn't sit
next to her because other students already surrounded her. The closest seats were three rows
away.
"Kay's been making a lot of friends lately," Charity commented.
"Yeah," Miguel replied in a distracted tone.
"Is something wrong, Miguel?" Charity asked, concerned.
Miguel shook his head. "No, it's just that I haven't talked to Kay today, and I feel kind of
bad about it."
"Don't worry, you'll see her at lunch," Charity assured him.
Miguel nodded. "Yeah, you're right."
Then, the teacher came in and started the lesson. It was pretty dry stuff about the American
Revolution, and the entire class desperately prayed for the lesson to end. Finally, the bell
rang, and the students raced out of the classroom. When Kay entered the hallway, she found
Tom waiting for her.
"Tom...hi," Kay said, a bit uncertainly. "Um...how did you know that I had history now?"
Tom smiled sheepishly. "I asked around. I hope you don't mind."
Kay smiled back, flattered. "No, I don't mind at all," she replied.
"So...are you ready to go to lunch?" he asked hopefully.
Kay nodded. "Sure," she responded. "Let's go."
Kay's retreating figure was the sight that greeted Miguel and Charity as they left the
classroom.
"It's almost like she's avoiding me," Miguel remarked.
Charity shook her head. "You're just imagining things. Kay would never do that to you."
"You're right," Miguel agreed. "It's all in my head."
Miguel. She showered and changed, and then went downstairs for breakfast. Her father wasn't
even awake yet, so she started the coffee machine for him. Then, she chopped some vegetables
and ham to make omelets for herself and her father. She cracked some eggs into a bowl and
lightly beat them with a fork.
She finished cooking the two omelets and was toasting some bread when her father came down
into the kitchen. He stopped short when he saw breakfast waiting for him, and Kay sitting at
the table, already eating.
"Morning Dad," Kay greeted him.
"Kay? Why are you up so early?" Sam asked curiously.
Kay shrugged. "I wanted to start going to school a little earlier," she replied.
Sam raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. He went to the coffee machine and was surprised
to find that is had already finished its cycle. He glanced back at Kay, but didn't say anything.
Finally, he took a mug out of the cupboard and filled it with the hot liquid. Then, he sat down
at the table and began to eat his omelet.
Sam and Kay ate quietly. Sam wasn't sure what to say, and Kay seemed oblivious. The silence was
broken when the toast popped out of the toaster. Kay's hand shot out and grabbed both pieces.
She gave one to her father and started munching on the other one.
"Honey, is something wrong?" Sam asked, concerned.
Kay looked bewildered. "Wrong? No, nothing's wrong."
"Are you in trouble at school?" Sam pressed.
"Of course not," Kay insisted. "Except..."
"What?" Sam prodded eagerly.
"Well, I was late for homeroom on Friday and I got one hour of detention after school today,"
Kay explained.
Sam barely managed to hide his disappointment. "Oh, is that all? Don't worry, the time will fly
by."
Kay nodded. "Yeah, I hope so." She continued to eat her breakfast.
"Is there something you want, honey?" Sam tried again.
Kay thought for a minute and then shook her head. "Not that I can think of. I pretty much got
everything I wanted for my birthday," she replied. She gave her father an odd look. "Is
everything all right Dad? You're not sick or anything, are you?"
"No, I'm fine," Sam assured Kay.
Kay looked doubtful. "Are you sure?" she asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Sam insisted.
"Okay." Kay finished her breakfast and put her plate in the dishwasher. She put her jacket on
and slung her knapsack over her shoulder. "I'm heading to school now."
"Do you want a ride?" Sam offered.
Kay looked puzzled. "Isn't the station in the opposite direction of the school?"
"I don't mind the detour," Sam told her.
Kay smiled and shook her head. "Thanks dad, but it's only a ten minute walk." She gave him a
kiss on the cheek and then left the house.
Sam watched Kay walk away with a worried look on his face.
************************************************************************************************
When Kay arrived at school, the hallways were practically empty. She went to her locker and
hung her jacket up inside. A tap on her shoulder made Kay jump slightly and she turned around.
"Reese?!" she said in surprise. She took a good look at him and had to keep her jaw from
dropping. He was wearing his new contact lenses, and he was dressed in some pretty decent
clothes; some faded black jeans and a baseball jersey.
"Morning, Kay," Reese greeted her. "Why are you here so early?"
"I just wanted to start coming to school earlier," Kay replied.
Reese suspected that there was more to it, but didn't press her for an explanation. "So, Noah
went back yesterday, right?" he asked, trying to make conversation.
"Yeah," Kay replied as she closed her locker. "So why did you decide to wear the contact lenses
today?"
Reese shrugged. "No particular reason. I guess I just wanted to make sure that they felt okay."
"Do they?" Kay asked.
Reese nodded. "Yeah, they feel fine. I can't even tell they're in there."
Soon, people started to come into the school, filling the hallways. A lot of people noticed
Reese, but didn't recognize him. There were a lot of whispered speculations on who he could
be. The fact that Kay and the handsome stranger made a very striking couple wasn't lost on
them either.
"I'm going to wait by Simone's locker," Kay told Reese. "She probably went to my house and is
wondering why I wasn't there."
"Well, I have to talk to one of my teachers, so I'll see you around, okay?" Reese told her.
Kay smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I'll see you around," she echoed.
Reese smiled back and then walked off.
As Kay waited by Simone's locker, people kept stopping to say hi or wave to her. And it wasn't
just guys; it was also older students that normally, she barely talked to unless she had to. Kay
smiled and waved back to everyone. Five minutes later, Simone arrived at her locker.
"Where were you this morning?" Simone demanded. "I came by and your mom said that you had already
left."
"I'm sorry Simone," Kay apologized. "But I'm starting to come to school earlier."
"Why?" Simone asked.
"To avoid running into certain people," Kay replied pointedly. "I've got it all worked out. I
get up early enough to have breakfast with my dad, and then I go to school. That's about the
time that Miguel leaves his house to get Charity. So by the time he and Charity get to school,
I've already been to my locker and I'm waiting at your locker for you."
"Do you hate Miguel now?" Simone asked.
Kay sighed and shook her head. "I don't hate him. I just can't talk to him right now."
Simone gave Kay a sympathetic look. Suddenly, her eyes widened slightly. "You're wearing the
shirt I got you!" she exclaimed happily.
Kay smiled and nodded. "What do you think?" she asked, twirling to show off her outfit. She was
wearing the fuschia shirt with a short black skirt and matching sweater. Her legs were left bare
and she wore some chunky black high heels that made her legs look even longer.
"You look great!" Simone told her. "You certainly don't look like you should still be in high
school."
"Thanks Simone," Kay said. Suddenly, the warning bell rang, and the two young women began
walking to class. Simone reached her class first and waved to Kay as she went inside. Kay
then went into her class, two doors down.
Inside her classroom, Kay could see Charity and Miguel seated at the front of the class. She
also saw an empty seat beside Miguel. Kay debated on whether or not she should take the seat
at the front, when someone decided for her.
"Kay!" Tom Reeves, the captain of the soccer team, called out from the middle of the desks.
"There's an empty seat here, if you'd like."
Kay flashed Tom a grateful smile and headed toward him. As she sat down beside the tall,
blond-haired, blue eyed teen, she noticed Miguel turn around and look at her in confusion.
She pretended not to see him and said good morning to everyone around her, who happened to
be Tom's teammates and varsity cheerleaders.
"I love that shirt," Kerry Wilson, the head cheerleader, told Kay. "Where did you get it?"
"Thanks," Kay replied. "I got it for my birthday."
Kerry was about to say something else when the bell rang again. Everyone faced forward to
listen to the homeroom teacher.
When the period was over, Tom offered to walk Kay to her next class.
"Um...sure," Kay replied a little uncertainly as she put away her things.
"Can I carry your books?" Tom offered hopefully.
Kay's eyes widened in surprise. Guys still offered to carry a girl's books? "No, I think I
can manage," Kay told him. She hoisted her knapsack onto her shoulder. "It's not very heavy."
Tom looked a little disappointed. "Okay."
Tom and Kay walked down the hallway with at least a dozen classmates trailing behind them.
As they walked, Kay noticed a large number of the female population watching her with envy.
Kay stopped outside her art class. "This is my stop," she told Tom.
"Come have lunch with us," Tom offered, referring to the soccer team and the cheerleaders.
Kay shook her head apologetically. "I'm sorry, but I promised a friend that I'd eat with her."
"She's invited too," Tom said. "Come on Kay, please say yes."
"Okay," Kay relented. "I'll see you at lunch."
"Great!" Tom grinned. "See you later."
Tom's little fan club said bye to Kay and then followed him down the hall.
As soon as they were out of sight, Kay mock-shuddered. "Freaky," she muttered. She then went
into her class and sat down at a free easel. Her class was currently working on still life
drawing. Her teacher came into the room carrying an elaborate arrangement of flowers, which
she set down on a pedestal in the middle of the room. When the class had settled down, she
spoke.
"Your assignment today is to sketch these flowers," she informed them. "Please get to work."
Kay flipped to a clean page on her sketchpad and began to draw. Her pencil flew over the page
as she sketched. Occasionally, she was aware of her teacher watching her draw. She would then
move on to the next student without saying anything. Eventually, the bell rang, startling Kay.
She didn't realize that class was over. She looked down at her page and was surprised to see
that she had already finished the picture.
She closed her sketchpad and stuck it into her knapsack and got up to leave when her teacher
called her back.
"Yes Miss Patterson?" Kay asked politely, silently hoping that she wasn't in any trouble.
"May I please see the sketch you did today?" she asked. "I'll write a note for your next
class."
Kay took her pad out and handed it to the older woman, flipping to the right page. "Here you
go."
Miss Patterson looked at it for a long time. "This is the best piece of work I've ever seen
from you, Kay," she finally said. "You are a very talented artist, but you're easily
distracted. When I watched you work today, you were incredibly focused on your work, and
that is a major improvement."
Kay blushed at the praise she had just received. "Thank you, Miss Patterson."
"Keep up the good work, Kay," Miss Patterson told her. She scribbled out a note for Kay's
third period teacher and handed it to Kay. "You can go now."
Kay took the note and her sketchpad. "See you tomorrow."
Miss Patterson smiled. "Oh, one more thing," she said. "There's going to be a local art show
this weekend, and I'd like it if you'd submit your drawing to be put on display if you're
interested."
Kay's mouth dropped open in surprise. "Really?" she asked excitedly.
Miss Patterson nodded. "Really. If you'll just sign your drawing, I'll mount it and submit
it for you."
Kay opened her pad again and signed 'Kathleen Bennett' in the corner of the page. Then, she
tore the sheet out and gave it to her teacher. "Here you go."
"Thank you, Kay," she said. "I'll see you tomorrow."
Kay smiled at her teacher and then went to her next class. It flew by pretty quickly, since
it was biology and they were watching a video. Miguel gave her a questioning look from his
lab bench when she came in late, but didn't say anything out of respect for the other students.
When the video was over, the teacher dismissed the students from class. Miguel was about to ask
Kay what had happened, but Charity was waiting for him after class, and he forgot his question.
Kay was already in seated in history class when Miguel and Charity walked in. They couldn't sit
next to her because other students already surrounded her. The closest seats were three rows
away.
"Kay's been making a lot of friends lately," Charity commented.
"Yeah," Miguel replied in a distracted tone.
"Is something wrong, Miguel?" Charity asked, concerned.
Miguel shook his head. "No, it's just that I haven't talked to Kay today, and I feel kind of
bad about it."
"Don't worry, you'll see her at lunch," Charity assured him.
Miguel nodded. "Yeah, you're right."
Then, the teacher came in and started the lesson. It was pretty dry stuff about the American
Revolution, and the entire class desperately prayed for the lesson to end. Finally, the bell
rang, and the students raced out of the classroom. When Kay entered the hallway, she found
Tom waiting for her.
"Tom...hi," Kay said, a bit uncertainly. "Um...how did you know that I had history now?"
Tom smiled sheepishly. "I asked around. I hope you don't mind."
Kay smiled back, flattered. "No, I don't mind at all," she replied.
"So...are you ready to go to lunch?" he asked hopefully.
Kay nodded. "Sure," she responded. "Let's go."
Kay's retreating figure was the sight that greeted Miguel and Charity as they left the
classroom.
"It's almost like she's avoiding me," Miguel remarked.
Charity shook her head. "You're just imagining things. Kay would never do that to you."
"You're right," Miguel agreed. "It's all in my head."