Chapter Nine

By Monday, it seemed the entire town was down with this flu bug. On the walk to school, there were fewer kids walking as well as getting off the buses. The halls were empty-so much that it almost felt like a ghost town. Dawn and I were late walking to homeroom but we still made it in plenty of time due to the fact that we didn't have to shove our way through the crowded halls.

We entered the classroom and took our choice of seats. By the time the bell rang, there were only six other students as well as a substitute teacher. The substitute explained the Mr. Blake was out sick and then handed out questions to do on the next four chapters on The Pearl (we had finished The Red Pony and moved onto another one of John Steinbeck's books). Dawn rolled her eyes at me as she passed me a question booklet and I returned her look of disgust. I may like school but there is nothing worse than spending a period sitting in a desk answering questions on what you've read.

Finally, after what seemed like ages, the bell rang. With a sigh of relief, I got up and Dawn and I walked out of the room. We took our sweet time and still managed to be early for second period. We sat down, again in our choice of seats. Again, there was a substitute. She said that our teacher was out sick and wanted us to read chapter four and then answer questions. I groaned. It was going to be a very long morning.

By the time I made it to the cafeteria for lunch, I thought my head would explode. I had gone through four periods of doing nothing but reading and answering questions. It seemed as though every teacher was out sick and the few who weren't didn't want to move ahead. Ergo, they had all assigned questions.

I walked through the doors of the cafeteria and saw it almost empty. I made my way through the sea of empty chairs to where Kristy, Dawn, Claudia and Stacey were sitting. I knew Logan wouldn't be joining us—something to do with the basketball team. I sat down and put my head in my arms.

"What's wrong, Mary Anne?" Stacey asked. I raised my head.

"I am SO bored!" I exclaimed and Stacey laughed.

"I know how you feel. All I'm doing in my classes is reading and…"

"…answering questions!" Dawn finished Stacey's sentence.

"Well, I'm not bored. I wish school was like this all the time." Claudia put in.

"I don't. I'd rather pick pieces of lint of my socks all day that have school be like this year long." Dawn responded.

I opened up my lunch bag and began pulling out my lunch. As I was arranging it, I looked at Kristy. She was staring into space.

"Kristy?" I asked, unwrapping my sandwich. Kristy beamed back down to earth.

"What?"

"Are you okay?" I asked, taking a bite. Kristy nodded.

"I'm fine." She said with an enormous sigh.

"You don't sound fine." Claudia observed.

"Okay, fine. I'm worried about Alan."

"Is he still sick?" Stacey asked. Kristy nodded.

"I'm sorry." I said. "I know how you feel."

"Just think of it this way." Claudia said. "If he's not here, then he can't be mean to you."

"I would rather have him teasing me than knowing that he's at home sick."

"Don't worry, Kristy. He'll be fine." Dawn said encouragingly.

"Why don't you go and see him this afternoon?" I suggested. "I'm sure he'll like the company."

"Who'll like the company?" Logan asked, sitting down with a tray full of food.

I glanced at Kristy, who was shaking her head at me. She was also turning a dark shade of red, which surprised me. Kristy hardly ever blushes. I don't know if Logan noticed or not but if he did, he didn't say anything about it.

"Uh…" I stumbled and began to cough.

"You okay?" Logan asked me with a smile.

"I'm fine. I thought you had a basketball thing?" I asked. Logan nodded and swallowed.

"I did. But we cancelled the scrimmage. Not enough guys."

"Too bad." Stacey said. Logan shrugged.

"It's not that big of a deal. I'm actually kinda relieved. I don't want to overwork myself."

"Smart thinking." Kristy said, her face back it's normal shade. Logan nodded.

"There's no way I want to feel that sick again. Can you believe all the people who are absent?"

"It's crazy." Claudia commented.

"We were just saying how all we've done this morning is reading and answering questions." Dawn told Logan.

"I know. It's all I've done too. People better start getting better fast because I don't know how much longer I can take this. It's so quiet it's almost eerie."

"I agree. But at least it's nice being able to walk down the halls and not get bumped and shoved." I pointed out.

"I still wish things would get back to normal." Kristy said.

"They will soon." Stacey said as the bell rang. I groaned. I was not ready to go to another class. But like it or not, I soon found myself in my next class. At least Logan was in the class with me. As soon as the teacher had handed out another set of questions, he slipped me a note. I quietly opened it and read it.

What was with Kristy at lunch?

I wrote back.

Nothing. She's going to visit Alan after school is all. But don't tell her I told you.

I slipped Logan the note and we continued our conversation all through the period via note.

Logan: Oh. That's nice of her. Is that who'll appreciate the company? And I won't tell ;)

Mary Anne: Yeah. And thanks 3

Logan: No problem. I know for me, it was the highlight of my day when you came. I'm sure Kristy will do the same for Alan. Is she freaking out over it?

Mary Anne: A little bit. She's nervous because she and Alan usually don't get along. At least, not like this.

Logan: I understand. I'm sure she'll be fine and I'm sure Alan will like it.

Mary Anne: What do you mean?

Logan: I know a few things…

Mary Anne: Like what?

Logan: Well…Alan picks on Kristy to try and get her attention. But you can't tell anyone I told you!

Mary Anne: I won't. So it's true that if a guy likes a girl he'll tease her?

Logan: Maybe…

I was just about to write a response for Logan when the bell rang. As much as note passing had helped pass the time, I was not ready for another period. I stood up and smiled at Logan. He smiled back.

"I love you, Mary Anne." He said softly.

"I love you, too." I replied. Logan slipped his arm around my shoulders and together we walked out of the class room.