A heavy knock on my bedroom door woke me up.
"Arthur! Get up! It's your first day of high school!" My mom woke me up early on the first day of school. Every year. That way, she'd have time to take pictures and document everything "exciting". These pictures mostly consisted of me eating breakfast, brushing my teeth, and riding my bike to school. This year, however, I was taking the bus. Maybe I could catch up with a few of my friends.
I slowly sat up and groaned. I was definitely not a morning person. I shifted my legs out from under the sheets and somehow managed to get out of bed.
After getting dressed, (I no longer wore that yellow sweater. I'd kept it casual with a white t-shirt and jeans, with a blue hoodie on top) I went downstairs and made myself breakfast. As I was spreading butter on my toast, a bright flash blinded me from the doorway to the kitchen. After a few seconds of utter shock, I realized it was Mom with her outdated flash camera.
"Good morning, sweetie," she said with a smile.
"Morning," I grunted. "Where's D.W. and Kate?"
Mom set down the camera and leaned against the countertop. "D.W. is taking a shower, and Kate is still sleeping. I've got to drop her off for kindergarten in a while, though, so I think I'll go wake her up."
My two little sisters were no longer so "little." They were kids, yes, but not babies or even toddlers anymore. D.W. was entering fourth grade, and Kate was starting kindergarten. I don't know how the years flew by. Time doesn't wait. It just keeps moving.
I nodded as Mom walked upstairs to wake Kate. I sat down at the table and ate my breakfast while simultaneously not being hungry. I was nervous. I hadn't seen my friends for three months. I hoped they hadn't forgotten about me. God knows I haven't forgotten about them. Especially…
No. I can't think of her. Thinking of her makes me feel like my heart is beating a million times a minute. I don't know why, but every time Francine Frensky crosses my mind, I get all flustered. It's embarrassing, really.
Somehow I managed to finish breakfast and keep it down. I went upstairs and brushed my teeth, put on my glasses, and head out the door.
The September breeze gently scattered a few leaves at my feet. The bus stop was empty when I arrived, but as the minutes passed, more and more people started to gather. Some faces I recognized, some I didn't. Everyone seemed to be listening to music or catching up with old friends. I felt awkward and alone. That is, until a very familiar pair of white rabbit ears stuck up over the crowd.
"Buster!" Calling out, I saw his ears perk up towards my direction. Soon, Buster's face showed through the others as he walked over towards me.
"Arthur, hey!" He high-fived me and smiled. "Haven't seen you in ages."
I laughed a little. "Yeah, family vacation. It was stupid. Couldn't see any of you guys all summer."
He nodded. "That must have sucked. I'm glad you're back, though. I don't think I could've handled hanging out with George for much longer."
George was a friend of ours who we occasionally hung out with. He was a bit quirky, but nice enough. "Why?"
Buster rolled his eyes and replied, "He still brings that puppet everywhere."
I laughed as the bus rolled up. Everyone crowded near the door, waiting to hurry on and get a seat. I followed suit, but froze when I heard a very familiar laugh coming from the back of the bus. I looked over towards the back windows, and there, sitting with Muffy Crosswire, was the girl I'd been nervous about seeing for months.
Francine.