BUSY WORK

BARDEN VALLEY,GA- 2004

Beca and Chloe rushed into their first period class just as the second bell rang. The girls maneuvered between rows of desks and classmates until they reached their seats, plopping down with a sigh. They had made it just in the nick of time.

It was a good thing, too. Chloe was a model student, who made good grades and never caused any trouble. Beca, on the other hand, was the type of student that couldn't afford to draw anymore attention to herself as far as truancy and behavior was concerned. She was lazy... She had a bad attitude... She slept in most of her classes...She hardly ever turned in her homework...And she tended to mouth off to her teachers.

But the kid had SO much potential. She had a bright mind. She obviously knew the material, because she had the test grades to prove it. She just wouldn't do the assignments.

People wondered what Chloe even saw in her. Why would she be friends with Beca, of all people? How could Beca and Chloe be SO different and so close? To be polar opposites, and still be inseparable?

Those that knew the pair only hoped Chloe would be the good influence Beca needed.

"Good morning class," Mrs. Dooley entered the classroom with an armful of papers. She couldn't have been a day under 40, but she looked good. She kept fit, her tanned skin still had its youthful glow, and her dark hair had barely begun to gray.

"If you would, please pull out last night's assignment?"

With that, the older woman began to move through the rows of students, collecting homework.

Chloe's eyes shot to her left, landing on an uninterested Beca. The brunette reached into her backpack and pulled out the latest edition of PC World, slapping it unceremoniously onto the desk in front of her. It wasn't long before Beca had gotten completely lost in the magazine.

"Rebeca?" Mrs. Dooley called out to the brunette as she reached her desk.

"Yes?" Her steely blue eyes peered up to meet the disapproving glare of Mrs. Dooley. The older woman's glasses rested on her nose, shielding her gray eyes, but not lessening their intensity, by any means.

"Did you complete the homework I assigned?" The woman raised a dark eyebrow over her glasses.

"Why would I do that?" The brunette smirked, hearing her peers snicker across the classroom. Chloe only shielded herself, covering her face as she slouched in her seat. Beca's smart mouth tended to get her in a lot of trouble. It was painful to watch, really.

Mrs. Dooley's nostrils flared. "You know...I REALLY dislike your attitude towards this class."

To this, the teen only shrugged. "Well, I really dislike busy work, so..."

There was a beat of silence as the class waited for the inevitable explosion. Except it never came.

"I can't...I quit, with you. If YOU want to take this class again, be my guest. As for the REST of you," Mrs. Dooley took a breath to calm herself before starting towards the front of the classroom. "Today we will be covering the significance of World War II."

There was a collective groan from the class as students began to take out their notebooks.

Beca only shrugged and turned her attention back to the magazine on her desk.

Chloe wished she could somehow get through to her friend. If only people got to see the Beca that SHE got to see behind closed doors... the smart, caring, funny young woman that she was proud to call a friend.

Not THIS. There was so much more to Beca. She just never let people see it. Chloe wondered if BECA even saw it, herself...

Chloe was going to help her see it, though. With less than two years left in their high school careers, Chloe decided that she would make it her mission to help Beca Mitchell realize her true potential.