Maybe Memories
Welcome To Timpanogos High School.
As Bert and I entered the school yard, I couldn’t heIp but feeling annoyed. I hate the sound of screaming kids running around in the school yard, picking on each other, laughing at each other, just... whatever. I fucking hate it.”
“Fuck, babe – can’t we just ditch school?” Bert asked, looking at me a resigned look upon his face while squeezing my hand.
He hated school, and it was all thanks to the assholes that beat him up last year. He loved to write, and edited a straight-edge magazine, but a couple of kids there beat him up, and he just quit after that. They turned him against the straight-edge community, and lead him into drugs. School is about the only place where he sees them now, and he’s constantly reminded of what they did to him. In a way, I feel sorry for Bert, and try to help him the best I can. Still, it’s not easy when I’m struggling myself.
“No. We can’t ditch the first day of school. Then this whole god damn school year is gonna fall apart. I don’t know about you, but I’m sure as hell not gonna risk that. There’s too much as stake now. We’re in high school. Oh, my God, Bert, we’re in high school”
The thought of high school make me excited yet terrified at the same time. It’s confusing, but I’m glad I have Bert by my side. As long as he doesn’t skip school, that is.
“Fine,” he said sighing before we entered the school area and hurried inside where we picked up our books at the school’s library.
“Where the fuck are we supposed to be now, anyway?”
“I don’t know. Remember that letter we got in the mail last month?”
“Should I?”
“Yes. ‘Cause the room number to where we are supposed to meet at is in that letter. Wait… I think I put it in my backpack. Hold on. Ahh, bingo! Here it is. Okay… Um, room number 562, second floor. Great!”
“Awesome! Then let’s go”, he said, eagerly wanting to get the hell away from the school yard.
“But hold on a minute. Weren’t we supposed to meet in the auditorium?”
“Babe, you’re the one with the answers. I’m the one who ask the questions.”
“Haha, funny… But we’ll check out the auditorium now, and it’s empty, we go to room 562, and if that’s empty too, you’ll get your wish come true about skipping school. Do we have a deal?”
“You know I love you, right?”
“Thought so”, I giggled, before receiving a kiss from him as we headed into the school building, and found our way to the auditorium.
Inside, there were people gathered everywhere, and all of them were talking which made it all sound like bees in a beehive. God damn it, I hated it. Too much noise. So unnecessary.
Before either Bert or I could say anything, we all got interrupted when the buzzing noise of a speaker turned on, and a gray-haired man suddenly appeared. He stood in front of a big whiteboard tapping the microphone while going “testing, testing, test- hey! Okay, so welcome to Timpanogos High School, everyone!”
Some students began laughing, and I hated that man already. Fucking idiot. He cleaned his voice and began his speech. I already knew it was going to suck, so therefore, my mind was somewhere else.
“…And the final classes are… Standard class 1, first year; Richard Abbott, Charlie Adams, Lisa Aldington…”
“Fuck, this is gonna take forever,” I complained, leaning on to Bert’s shoulder, and well-knowing that if the classes were going to be reeled off alphabetically, then hearing our last names be called, which begin with the letter M, could take a while.
The gray-haired man, who introduced himself as Mr. Larsen said as he kept on informing everyone which class they were attending.
“… Quinn Allman…”
“Hey… Quinn Allman. I know that guy,” Bert said, taking no notice in the fact that he was somewhat interrupting Mr. Larsen. Either way, Mr. Larsen continued reeling off the names.
“Shh… Not so loud. But, yeah, you know him?”
“Yeah. Or, well, I know of him. We used to hang out before.”
“Why did you stop?” I asked, curiously wondering why.
“’Cause his family’s not Mormon. He moved to Orem like, a year ago or so, and his parents aren’t that Mormon friendly.”
“Then why the hell move to Utah, the most Mormon place on earth?” I asked puzzled.
“Beats me. I think his dad got a job or something.”
“… Robert Edward McCracken, Lina Christine Miller…”
“There we go, that’s us! And the classroom was?”
“Room 562.”
“By the way… Noticed anything strange about our class?”
“Like what?”
“It’s like, the exact same people we’re in the same class with this year as last year in junior high.”
“But, Bert, we’re following our own class from last year. It said so in the letter you never read,” I laughed, kissing him on his cheek before stroking it.
“Man, I really need to start reading the mail I get, huh?”
“Kinda, baby. But let’s go, or else we’ll be late for class.”
“Yeah. I wonder which teacher we’ll get this year. Either way, I’m stoked about getting rid off Mrs. Pratt. Fuck my ass, that fucking bitch was psycho.”
“You only hate her ‘cause she could always tell when you weren’t paying attention in class,” I teased, ruffling his hair gently.
“You know, if you weren’t so fucking cute, I’d walk straight outta here and skip school.”
“Good thing I’m cute, then, huh?”
“Fuck, yeah. But still… I hate that Mrs. Pratt,” Bert giggled, grabbing my hand as the both of us headed out of the auditorium and up to the second floor to find our class room.
“Hey, there’s room 566. Then 562 gotta be nearby.”
“I see it, it’s down the hall,” he said, pointing at a big brown wooden door that was open.
“Now I’m anxious. Whaddaya say we skip school now?” I asked, sensing the nervousness getting the best of me.
“Babe, it’s alright. It’s gonna be okay. I’m right here with you,” he smiled, gently squeezing my hand before we slowly walked down the hall and entered the room.
“Ah, more students! Please, come in and find yourself a seat!” an assumingly friendly woman said, greeting us with a smile.
Supposedly, it looked like she was going to become our new teacher. Either way, she’d be a much better teacher than Mrs. Pratt, and that was a fact.
As soon as the remaining students finally found their way to the classroom, the woman standing next to the desk up front introduced herself.
“Well, good morning, students. Before I answer any questions, I would just like to say that I am not going to be your teacher. I just got informed that Mrs.- oh, there she is.”
We all turn around, and even before I could react myself, I could hear Bert gasping while biting his tongue.
Mrs. Pratt. Of course. Who else?
“Good morning, everyone! It is a pleasure to once again see you all, and also to let you know that I am going to be your teacher this year.”
Buzzing was heard in the class room, and there was mixed reactions to Mrs. Pratt’s return. Some were pleased, others didn’t seem to care, and Bert just looked like he wanted to die there and then.
“Thank you, Ms. Hansen, that will be all”, she said, giving the poor substitute teacher a fake smile before seeing her leave the class room.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck, babe. This is not right,” Bert whispered from where he was sitting in front of me as he turned around.
“Stop worrying, baby. But turn around before she sees you, or else she might start hating you this year too.”
“Now I am going to call your names, and I would like you all to please respond with a simple yes,” Mrs. Pratt continued. “Richard Abbott?”
“Yes.”
“Charlie Adams?”
“Yeah.”
“Excuse me?” she suddenly snapped.
“I’m here,” Charlie Adams said, looking at her from his desk.
“It is ‘yes’. I specifically told you all to respond with a ‘yes’.”
“Oh. I’m sorry,” he muttered.
“You better be, young man. I am going to keep my eyes on you… Now, Lisa Aldington?”
“Yes.”
“Quinn Allman?”
“Yes.”
“Babe, Quinn’s sitting over there, on the other side of the class room,” Bert whispered, once again turning around.
“Then go talk to him after class. Hopefully, he’ll recognize you.”
“Yeah, I’m gonna.”
“I bet he’s not as Mormon hostile as you think he is, though.”
“I don’t know. It’s his dad that went all Nazi when he found out that my family’s Mormon, so he kinda refused Quinn to hang out with me, so, yeah.”
“Quinn’s in high school now, though. I mean, come on, at that point, you better be able to choose your own friends, huh?” I said, looking at Bert with a smile.
“Yeah, I guess. I really wanna-”
“Robert Edward McCracken?”
“Huh?”
“Turn around, Bert!” I whispered quickly.
“Well, well, look who we have here,” Mrs. Pratt began, having a voice so sharp it could cut through glass. “If it isn’t young Mr. McCracken.”
“What?”
“Well, that is your name, am I correct?”
“Yeah,” Bert responded.
“Then I suggest you pay attention. Now turn around!”
As Bert turned around, I heard him mumbling something that I’m sure Mrs. Pratt would lynch him for, but she sure as hell deserved every word.
She was known for putting people on display, and for hating students for no particular reason. Still, it only lasted for a short period of time. As for Bert however, she had been torturing him for three years, and this years didn’t seem to be any different.
“And for the rest of you, I am sure that you are all here, so I will not be wasting more of my valuable time by reeling off your names. Without further introduction, the subject we are going to have now is history, so I hope you all have remembered to pick up your books. And from now on… I want everyone to pay attention during class!” she snapped, trying to blow it off with a smile that was nothing but fake.
I sensed the whole class gasping, and we all knew now that Mrs. Pratt was back…
“Fuck, babe – can’t we just ditch school?” Bert asked, looking at me a resigned look upon his face while squeezing my hand.
He hated school, and it was all thanks to the assholes that beat him up last year. He loved to write, and edited a straight-edge magazine, but a couple of kids there beat him up, and he just quit after that. They turned him against the straight-edge community, and lead him into drugs. School is about the only place where he sees them now, and he’s constantly reminded of what they did to him. In a way, I feel sorry for Bert, and try to help him the best I can. Still, it’s not easy when I’m struggling myself.
“No. We can’t ditch the first day of school. Then this whole god damn school year is gonna fall apart. I don’t know about you, but I’m sure as hell not gonna risk that. There’s too much as stake now. We’re in high school. Oh, my God, Bert, we’re in high school”
The thought of high school make me excited yet terrified at the same time. It’s confusing, but I’m glad I have Bert by my side. As long as he doesn’t skip school, that is.
“Fine,” he said sighing before we entered the school area and hurried inside where we picked up our books at the school’s library.
“Where the fuck are we supposed to be now, anyway?”
“I don’t know. Remember that letter we got in the mail last month?”
“Should I?”
“Yes. ‘Cause the room number to where we are supposed to meet at is in that letter. Wait… I think I put it in my backpack. Hold on. Ahh, bingo! Here it is. Okay… Um, room number 562, second floor. Great!”
“Awesome! Then let’s go”, he said, eagerly wanting to get the hell away from the school yard.
“But hold on a minute. Weren’t we supposed to meet in the auditorium?”
“Babe, you’re the one with the answers. I’m the one who ask the questions.”
“Haha, funny… But we’ll check out the auditorium now, and it’s empty, we go to room 562, and if that’s empty too, you’ll get your wish come true about skipping school. Do we have a deal?”
“You know I love you, right?”
“Thought so”, I giggled, before receiving a kiss from him as we headed into the school building, and found our way to the auditorium.
Inside, there were people gathered everywhere, and all of them were talking which made it all sound like bees in a beehive. God damn it, I hated it. Too much noise. So unnecessary.
Before either Bert or I could say anything, we all got interrupted when the buzzing noise of a speaker turned on, and a gray-haired man suddenly appeared. He stood in front of a big whiteboard tapping the microphone while going “testing, testing, test- hey! Okay, so welcome to Timpanogos High School, everyone!”
Some students began laughing, and I hated that man already. Fucking idiot. He cleaned his voice and began his speech. I already knew it was going to suck, so therefore, my mind was somewhere else.
“…And the final classes are… Standard class 1, first year; Richard Abbott, Charlie Adams, Lisa Aldington…”
“Fuck, this is gonna take forever,” I complained, leaning on to Bert’s shoulder, and well-knowing that if the classes were going to be reeled off alphabetically, then hearing our last names be called, which begin with the letter M, could take a while.
The gray-haired man, who introduced himself as Mr. Larsen said as he kept on informing everyone which class they were attending.
“… Quinn Allman…”
“Hey… Quinn Allman. I know that guy,” Bert said, taking no notice in the fact that he was somewhat interrupting Mr. Larsen. Either way, Mr. Larsen continued reeling off the names.
“Shh… Not so loud. But, yeah, you know him?”
“Yeah. Or, well, I know of him. We used to hang out before.”
“Why did you stop?” I asked, curiously wondering why.
“’Cause his family’s not Mormon. He moved to Orem like, a year ago or so, and his parents aren’t that Mormon friendly.”
“Then why the hell move to Utah, the most Mormon place on earth?” I asked puzzled.
“Beats me. I think his dad got a job or something.”
“… Robert Edward McCracken, Lina Christine Miller…”
“There we go, that’s us! And the classroom was?”
“Room 562.”
“By the way… Noticed anything strange about our class?”
“Like what?”
“It’s like, the exact same people we’re in the same class with this year as last year in junior high.”
“But, Bert, we’re following our own class from last year. It said so in the letter you never read,” I laughed, kissing him on his cheek before stroking it.
“Man, I really need to start reading the mail I get, huh?”
“Kinda, baby. But let’s go, or else we’ll be late for class.”
“Yeah. I wonder which teacher we’ll get this year. Either way, I’m stoked about getting rid off Mrs. Pratt. Fuck my ass, that fucking bitch was psycho.”
“You only hate her ‘cause she could always tell when you weren’t paying attention in class,” I teased, ruffling his hair gently.
“You know, if you weren’t so fucking cute, I’d walk straight outta here and skip school.”
“Good thing I’m cute, then, huh?”
“Fuck, yeah. But still… I hate that Mrs. Pratt,” Bert giggled, grabbing my hand as the both of us headed out of the auditorium and up to the second floor to find our class room.
“Hey, there’s room 566. Then 562 gotta be nearby.”
“I see it, it’s down the hall,” he said, pointing at a big brown wooden door that was open.
“Now I’m anxious. Whaddaya say we skip school now?” I asked, sensing the nervousness getting the best of me.
“Babe, it’s alright. It’s gonna be okay. I’m right here with you,” he smiled, gently squeezing my hand before we slowly walked down the hall and entered the room.
“Ah, more students! Please, come in and find yourself a seat!” an assumingly friendly woman said, greeting us with a smile.
Supposedly, it looked like she was going to become our new teacher. Either way, she’d be a much better teacher than Mrs. Pratt, and that was a fact.
As soon as the remaining students finally found their way to the classroom, the woman standing next to the desk up front introduced herself.
“Well, good morning, students. Before I answer any questions, I would just like to say that I am not going to be your teacher. I just got informed that Mrs.- oh, there she is.”
We all turn around, and even before I could react myself, I could hear Bert gasping while biting his tongue.
Mrs. Pratt. Of course. Who else?
“Good morning, everyone! It is a pleasure to once again see you all, and also to let you know that I am going to be your teacher this year.”
Buzzing was heard in the class room, and there was mixed reactions to Mrs. Pratt’s return. Some were pleased, others didn’t seem to care, and Bert just looked like he wanted to die there and then.
“Thank you, Ms. Hansen, that will be all”, she said, giving the poor substitute teacher a fake smile before seeing her leave the class room.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck, babe. This is not right,” Bert whispered from where he was sitting in front of me as he turned around.
“Stop worrying, baby. But turn around before she sees you, or else she might start hating you this year too.”
“Now I am going to call your names, and I would like you all to please respond with a simple yes,” Mrs. Pratt continued. “Richard Abbott?”
“Yes.”
“Charlie Adams?”
“Yeah.”
“Excuse me?” she suddenly snapped.
“I’m here,” Charlie Adams said, looking at her from his desk.
“It is ‘yes’. I specifically told you all to respond with a ‘yes’.”
“Oh. I’m sorry,” he muttered.
“You better be, young man. I am going to keep my eyes on you… Now, Lisa Aldington?”
“Yes.”
“Quinn Allman?”
“Yes.”
“Babe, Quinn’s sitting over there, on the other side of the class room,” Bert whispered, once again turning around.
“Then go talk to him after class. Hopefully, he’ll recognize you.”
“Yeah, I’m gonna.”
“I bet he’s not as Mormon hostile as you think he is, though.”
“I don’t know. It’s his dad that went all Nazi when he found out that my family’s Mormon, so he kinda refused Quinn to hang out with me, so, yeah.”
“Quinn’s in high school now, though. I mean, come on, at that point, you better be able to choose your own friends, huh?” I said, looking at Bert with a smile.
“Yeah, I guess. I really wanna-”
“Robert Edward McCracken?”
“Huh?”
“Turn around, Bert!” I whispered quickly.
“Well, well, look who we have here,” Mrs. Pratt began, having a voice so sharp it could cut through glass. “If it isn’t young Mr. McCracken.”
“What?”
“Well, that is your name, am I correct?”
“Yeah,” Bert responded.
“Then I suggest you pay attention. Now turn around!”
As Bert turned around, I heard him mumbling something that I’m sure Mrs. Pratt would lynch him for, but she sure as hell deserved every word.
She was known for putting people on display, and for hating students for no particular reason. Still, it only lasted for a short period of time. As for Bert however, she had been torturing him for three years, and this years didn’t seem to be any different.
“And for the rest of you, I am sure that you are all here, so I will not be wasting more of my valuable time by reeling off your names. Without further introduction, the subject we are going to have now is history, so I hope you all have remembered to pick up your books. And from now on… I want everyone to pay attention during class!” she snapped, trying to blow it off with a smile that was nothing but fake.
I sensed the whole class gasping, and we all knew now that Mrs. Pratt was back…
♠ ♠ ♠
I want comments, people! (':Tell me what you think of the update, this story in general.
What's good, what's bad, and what can be done better?
Feedback's always a driving force. ;D
xo,
lina.