Status: over.
Deception
exam PMS
Lori shoves past me in the hallway and flicks her blonde hair in my face. Riley turns his face in the opposite direction.
"They're really good at this whole cold shoulder thing," Miranda says, rolling her eyes. “How were they your best friends anyway?”
If only I could answer that question.
We have a month until AP exams, and I'm calm. Miranda's been studying her brains out; I think it's because all the teachers have this crazy expectation of her doing well on the exam. I don't doubt that she'll do amazing, she's a smart girl, but the pressure they're putting on her has been driving her up the wall.
"Hey, Miranda--" Jack starts, but Miranda shoves him into a bay of lockers. "Ouch," he whines. "That's abuse!"
"Stop whining like a crack whore," she spits, glowering at him.
He looks at me. "What's going on?" he whispers. The four AP review books stacked on her desk can't explain to him what's going on. Nor the bags under her red eyes.
"Exam PMS," I reply.
He nods in understanding.
> >
Miranda and I have study time at her house, and she's practically ripping out her blonde hair. "God fucking dammit, why can't I absorb all this into my brain!" she shouts, staring bug-eyed at the Government book.
"It's no big deal; you're going to do fine." I grab a handful of grapes as Miranda guzzles down a coke. "You're not going to fail."
"But I feel like I am. I can feel a two coming in May," she mutters, pouring over her books.
The doorbell rings, and Miranda doesn't bother to stand up. I answer the door, and it's Jack and Alex. Jack has a bag of snacks while Alex has nothing but his keys. "You two look ready to study," I say, inviting them in.
"I'm not going to college, so I could care less about those exams," Alex replies, waving his hand. "Who cares?"
"I CARE!" Miranda shouts from the living room. We peer in, and she's sitting on the Turkish rug, brooding over two open books. She's taking the tests in the back. "I swear to God, Alexander William Gaskarth, you say that again, and you're going to get more than just a drop kick to the balls."
Jack whimpers.
The three of us join Miranda on the carpet and open up our own study books, minus Alex. He opens the bag of cheese puffs and scarfs them down, an orange mess around his mouth. "These things are the best," he says, artificial cheese coating his tongue. "I could live off cheese puffs if I had to."
"You'd get fat. Really, really fat," Jack replies, prodding his best friend's belly.
"You know what? You're an asshole," Alex shouts, slapping Jack's hand.
"No need to get snippy," I chime in, skimming over the APES notes. I highlight most of the pages, the neon yellow dimming each time.
I'm not really sure what the point of this all is. Why do we need a "well-rounded" education? I'm not going to major in math; I figured that out a long time ago. I'm not going to major in English. I just want to run and pole vault. And hang out with my friends. And have a steady job that I'll like more than sitting in a cubicle all day. I don't want my life to be something I regret.
Alex knows what he wants. Jack knows what he wants. Miranda knows what she wants.
I'm the only one that doesn't know.
I don't think I'm going to have an epiphany in the next few months. I don't think the summer will change me in that sort of way.
I know where I'm going to college, but why am I going?
> >
Liz eats an entire box of cookies and goes searching for another. Dad says it's a boy, and he's so excited. He looks like that little boy excitedly opening his Christmas present and discovering that it's a Nintendo 64.
I sit in the corner of the room, farthest from both of them.
"Oh, Kaleb, we only have a couple months until baby Andrew is born!" Liz squeals, squeezing Dad's hand. He strokes her expanding waistline. "I'm super excited to be a mommy!"
I guess I don't count. Like how I didn't count on the wedding day. Where I sat and played Pokemon.
"Oh, Kaleb, you're going to be a sister," Dad says, beaming. It's scary to see him so happy.
"Yeah." I muster a small smile. I bet you almost anything that I look like a creep.
"She's so excited, I can see she can barely hold it in," Liz says, bobbing on the love seat.
I stand up and say I have to use the bathroom, pulling out my phone as I walk into the kitchen. Two new texts: one from Miranda and another from Riley. I look at Miranda's first:
think i almost memorized everything in the book for gov.
I roll my eyes and check the next text:
meet me at the grocery store.
I grab my umbrella and my keys, shouting that I need to go out to buy some glue for a project. "Get some more oatmeal cookies and snicker-doodles!" Liz shouts as I shut the door.
"They're really good at this whole cold shoulder thing," Miranda says, rolling her eyes. “How were they your best friends anyway?”
If only I could answer that question.
We have a month until AP exams, and I'm calm. Miranda's been studying her brains out; I think it's because all the teachers have this crazy expectation of her doing well on the exam. I don't doubt that she'll do amazing, she's a smart girl, but the pressure they're putting on her has been driving her up the wall.
"Hey, Miranda--" Jack starts, but Miranda shoves him into a bay of lockers. "Ouch," he whines. "That's abuse!"
"Stop whining like a crack whore," she spits, glowering at him.
He looks at me. "What's going on?" he whispers. The four AP review books stacked on her desk can't explain to him what's going on. Nor the bags under her red eyes.
"Exam PMS," I reply.
He nods in understanding.
> >
Miranda and I have study time at her house, and she's practically ripping out her blonde hair. "God fucking dammit, why can't I absorb all this into my brain!" she shouts, staring bug-eyed at the Government book.
"It's no big deal; you're going to do fine." I grab a handful of grapes as Miranda guzzles down a coke. "You're not going to fail."
"But I feel like I am. I can feel a two coming in May," she mutters, pouring over her books.
The doorbell rings, and Miranda doesn't bother to stand up. I answer the door, and it's Jack and Alex. Jack has a bag of snacks while Alex has nothing but his keys. "You two look ready to study," I say, inviting them in.
"I'm not going to college, so I could care less about those exams," Alex replies, waving his hand. "Who cares?"
"I CARE!" Miranda shouts from the living room. We peer in, and she's sitting on the Turkish rug, brooding over two open books. She's taking the tests in the back. "I swear to God, Alexander William Gaskarth, you say that again, and you're going to get more than just a drop kick to the balls."
Jack whimpers.
The three of us join Miranda on the carpet and open up our own study books, minus Alex. He opens the bag of cheese puffs and scarfs them down, an orange mess around his mouth. "These things are the best," he says, artificial cheese coating his tongue. "I could live off cheese puffs if I had to."
"You'd get fat. Really, really fat," Jack replies, prodding his best friend's belly.
"You know what? You're an asshole," Alex shouts, slapping Jack's hand.
"No need to get snippy," I chime in, skimming over the APES notes. I highlight most of the pages, the neon yellow dimming each time.
I'm not really sure what the point of this all is. Why do we need a "well-rounded" education? I'm not going to major in math; I figured that out a long time ago. I'm not going to major in English. I just want to run and pole vault. And hang out with my friends. And have a steady job that I'll like more than sitting in a cubicle all day. I don't want my life to be something I regret.
Alex knows what he wants. Jack knows what he wants. Miranda knows what she wants.
I'm the only one that doesn't know.
I don't think I'm going to have an epiphany in the next few months. I don't think the summer will change me in that sort of way.
I know where I'm going to college, but why am I going?
> >
Liz eats an entire box of cookies and goes searching for another. Dad says it's a boy, and he's so excited. He looks like that little boy excitedly opening his Christmas present and discovering that it's a Nintendo 64.
I sit in the corner of the room, farthest from both of them.
"Oh, Kaleb, we only have a couple months until baby Andrew is born!" Liz squeals, squeezing Dad's hand. He strokes her expanding waistline. "I'm super excited to be a mommy!"
I guess I don't count. Like how I didn't count on the wedding day. Where I sat and played Pokemon.
"Oh, Kaleb, you're going to be a sister," Dad says, beaming. It's scary to see him so happy.
"Yeah." I muster a small smile. I bet you almost anything that I look like a creep.
"She's so excited, I can see she can barely hold it in," Liz says, bobbing on the love seat.
I stand up and say I have to use the bathroom, pulling out my phone as I walk into the kitchen. Two new texts: one from Miranda and another from Riley. I look at Miranda's first:
think i almost memorized everything in the book for gov.
I roll my eyes and check the next text:
meet me at the grocery store.
I grab my umbrella and my keys, shouting that I need to go out to buy some glue for a project. "Get some more oatmeal cookies and snicker-doodles!" Liz shouts as I shut the door.