One of the Boys...Right?

~June 19th~
*Jess*

The last day of school.

Spring is over. The moisture in the air is gone. There's no more waking up having to dress warm and sweating when school is over. It's hot from the moment the sun rises to the moment it sets. You can almost taste the summer before you. The hot sun shines down through the leafy green trees, cooling you down as soon as you walk under them. The smell of fresh cut grass lingers in the air. You crave a glass of lemonade or a popsicle. You hear people splashing in their pools in the afternoons.

As soon as school lets out for another day, you see the girls shed their tshirts, opting for their tiny tank tops and short shorts. People flock to town to hang out. Others go home to study for exams. And then, the last day of school arrives. There's no homework or tests to be done, except for exam preparations, you're free to talk in class and the teachers dont care, and you can feel the excitement from those around you. Then, when the bell finally rings, everyone cheers and runs for their buses, bikes, or their friends to walk with them. Teachers wave goodbye on the sidewalks as the buses pull out, glad to be done with you for another year. You go home and cross off another day and smile at the thought that you're done with the year. And when you finish your last exam, you can stay up late and sleep in as long as you want. The nights are filled with the crackling of bonfires, music from graduation parties, and splashing from those taking a late night swim.

Summer truly is a beautiful thing.

I was thinking about all of these things while my history teacher drabbled on about how the 50 states came to be. I was thinking about summer to fight my urge to stand up and sing 'Wakko's 50 States and Capitols' song from Animaniacs. The bell would ring in 5 minutes, and he was talking faster than ever. It's like that man was in a contest to say every word in the English language before class was over.

Then my mind continued to the senior prank.

In our school, the pool arena is right in the middle of the school. It has windows on every side, and students can see in and out. Because of the location, it was deemed as the best spot for a prank.

A group of about 30 senior boys filled the swimming pool with almost 2000 rubber ducks of all sizes. Big ones, small ones...[A/N: some as big as your head!] different colors...it didnt matter. They tied stuffed animal ducks to the flag lines over the pool and to the diving board, taped pictures to the swimming clock, and filled the bleachers with stuffed ducks.

Why was everything covered in ducks?

Nobody really knew. But someone got the idea of filling the pool with thousands of rubber ducks, and they apparently decided to go big with ducks. The principals laughed at the sight when they walked into the school and saw thousands of rubber ducks. Students eagerly volunteered to jump in and collect the ducks, just for the chance to jump in with their clothes on. The 30 lucky seniors who did the prank were allowed to skip class and clean up after getting a picture of the pool area. I hoped we could compete with that next year.

As if in a miracle, the bell rang. Like I predicted, people cheered and threw their papers in the air. Phones and iPods came out like magic. The noise in the hall was almost overpowering. I got silly-stringed by a group of senior boys who then ruffled my hair jokingly.

"GET A TAN, JESS!" one of them screamed.

"GO GRADUATE ALREADY!" I laughed back and continued on to my locker, brushing the silly string away from my eyes. I passed another junior girl, who rolled her eyes knowingly. We shared a laugh before she walked on.

"We're done, Jess! We made it!" Kelsey grinned excitedly, her big, bright green sunglasses falling down over her face.

"Dont say that yet, we still have finals." I stuck my tonge out.

"WE DID IT!" I heard a voice shout. Screams and cheers went in a wave down the hallway.

"DO THAT AGAIN!" someone yelled. Their voice wasnt strong enough to be heard over the clamor.

"Let's go!" Kelsey slammed her locker shut for the last time, grabbed my hand, and pulled me into the slow moving crowd. The hot sunshine danced on our skin and the breeze ruffled our hair. The smell of asphalt mixed with the smell of flowers, and excited squeals and goodbyes were heard everywhere. Seniors doused each other with squirt guns and bottles of water. Class clowns were pestering the teachers who stood on the sidewalks. The radio that was outside every year was blasting techno music, starting a breakdance/dance off/dance party.

This is probably the only reason I loved school.

"JJ! WE MADE IT!" Bam and the guys were right behind us.

"Let's go walk by the middle school and make the little kids jealous!" I grinned. We didnt have any backpacks or bags, just our cell phones and whatever money we were carrying that day.

"I want ice cream!" Dico whined. Kids groaned from inside classrooms.

"Nah, I want a popsicle." Kelsey shook her head.

"I wanna go to the beach. Lay out and feel my toes in the sand." I forced myself to sigh happily.

"What about that new amusement park? We should go there after exams are over!" Bam suggested. A kid scowled at him. We all burst into giggles.