Status: Working on it :)
To Be Decided
Chapter 4
I came home in a stupor after the day’s events. I haven’t had too many first days of a new school, but I am pretty sure the first day of your senior year isn’t supposed to be this weird.
I hung out with Josh for the rest of the day and he turned out to be a pretty interesting guy. And he had a true passion for literature, which was blatantly obvious when he started talking about books. It’s always nice to find people who are smart too. Plus Josh helped me get to know Hourmont High a little bit better.
As soon as I got home I went up to my room to start on homework. You would normally expect teachers not to give homework on the first day, but my English teacher insisted that we start reading 1984 by George Orwell. So I sat down at my desk and opened the book. Most school books are fairly dry and boring, but this one actually had some substance. Therefore the reading went fairly fast.
After I had finished my homework, I realized that I was home alone with nothing do to. My grandma wouldn’t be home till 7:30, so I turned on the music in my room and laid down on my bed to think. It was probably a good thing that I spent time organizing my thoughts after my day at school. I tried to avoid the topic, but my mind just kept being pulled back to it. Hallie. I wish I had her phone number, yet at the same time, I wasn’t sure if I ever wanted to talk to her again. It’s not like she had wronged me, but knowing the truth felt weird, and I didn’t even know if it was true. I wish I could have asked her about it, yet I don’t even know her that well. She seems like such a complex character that it almost seems plausible.
I finally decided I would hang back after French class and ask her, since she seemed to only want to talk to me when we were alone. And, I chose to not ask her about it, since it wasn’t really my place, and a person’s true character comes out when you talk to them, even if you don’t ask blatant questions. Plus, with my little knowledge about prostitutes, they probably dress like sluts, not pretty girls, because there is a huge difference and Hallie was definitely a pretty girl.
I day dreamed until my grandma got home, which wasn’t too long after my resolution about Hallie. I knew my grandma had arrived because the smell of teriyaki drifted into my room and the front door slammed loudly. I got up from my bed and wandered into the kitchen to help my grandma set the table, just like every other night.
My grandpa died three or four years ago and since then my grandma has had a hard time coping on her own. Most nights she brings home take out and I help her set and clear the table. Except Sunday, which is the day my grandma cooks a huge meal for Sunday night dinner. It was always a tradition while my grandpa was alive, and my grandma has carried it on since he died. I asked her about it once; I was still fairly young and didn’t quite understand the gravity of death. Anyways, my grandma told me that if she stopped her Sunday night dinners, it would be like saying goodbye to grandpa, and she was never going to be ready for that.
After we ate, my grandma wanted to play chess, so we sat in the living room and played for two hours or so. Chess is such an invigorating game and it challenges you to think three steps ahead of the present. My grandma is a great chess player; she’s the one who taught me to play when I was younger. Now that I’m old enough to really understand the game and think on my own, we often play games that last for hours because we can both anticipate each other’s moves. It’s nice to know someone that well and to have someone know you like that; it gives off a sense of openness, like not everything has to be kept away inside. I feel like that happens to Hallie, so I’m going to try and be her emotional outlet. Damn, thinking about Hallie again.
After my grandma and I finished our chess game, I said goodnight and went upstairs. It was only 10pm or so, but I was exhausted from school and having to wake up at a decent hour. So I put on pajamas and got ready for bed. By 10:15 I was sitting in my bed with The Odyssey; I figured that I wouldn’t have a lot of time during the year to finish the book, so I might as well finish it while the homework load is fairly light.
I read into the night and felt like a little kid again, one who stays up with a flashlight and picture book under the covers. However, at this age, my grandma thinks I’m old enough to be responsible for what time I go to bed, so I can have me lights on late. Still, I turned everything off around 11pm and tried to fall asleep. For the most part, I felt content, after creating a plan for Hallie and my relationship. Even though I knew the truth, or what I was told to be the truth, about her, that didn’t change the need I felt to help her. So finally I fell asleep and dreamed of the most beautiful and mysterious person I know.
●●●
I opened my eyes and Hallie was on the bed next to me, sleeping peacefully on my bed. I didn’t remember how or why she was there, but her presences made me feel calm and safe, so I figured whatever the reason, it was okay that she was sleeping in my bed. I wanted to wake her, but something inside of me told me it was best to let her sleep. So I left her peaceful expression and got out of bed. That’s when I realized I wasn’t in my room at my grandma’s house. No, I had no idea where I was, and I was fairly certain that this wasn’t Hallie’s room, because it was completely empty. The walls were white, like the ones in a hospital, and when I looked at the bed again, it was a hospital bed, only big enough for one person. I felt myself fall down and land in a bed similar to the one Hallie was sleeping on. Then a machine appeared next to Hallie’s bed that was beeping rhythmically. I checked around me again, but the rest of the room was still empty. Until suddenly the machine next to Hallie sounded an alarm and the monitor of her heart beat went flat. Then it was as if I was pulled into the real world and we were in an actual hospital. Doctors ran past my bed to Hallie, trying to help her. The room quickly became crowded, to the point that I couldn’t even see Hallie. I had no idea what I was doing, but suddenly I sat up and got off the bed. Pushing my way through the throng of people I finally found Hallie, still looking peaceful on the hospital bed. I took her hand and held on to it for dear life. Then she opened her eyes and looked straight at me. Some sort of sense of relief washed over me as I saw her sparkling brown eyes. She smiled that perfect smile and opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. She became confused, like she knew I couldn’t hear her. I went to ask one of the doctors, but everyone was gone and we were alone in an empty white room again. I looked back at Hallie and she tried to speak again, yet nothing came out.
●●●
The sound of my alarm clock entered my dream and woke me from my stupor. I wasn’t sure how to interpret my dream, but I didn’t have time to think about it. My clock read 7:15, which was thirty minutes after I was supposed to wake up. So I jumped out of bed, found some clothes, and rushed out of my room to the bathroom.
After speed shaving the small amount of facial hair I had, I quickly got dressed and ran down stairs to the kitchen. There was a bowl of fruit on the counter, so I grabbed an apple and headed out for the subway. My grandma had already left for work, since she leaves every morning around 7am. Most people’s grandparents are older with gray hair and a 401K. But my grandma decided to go back to work when my grandpa died. She said she didn’t have anything to do with her life, so she filled it with the fairly simple tasks of a secretary at a medical practice. My grandma wasn’t so sure about going back to work in the beginning, but when I moved in with her, she told me it was the right choice.
I walked to school, since it was only a few blocks from my grandma’s house. It was 7:45 when I left the house, so I was fairly certain I wouldn’t be late, however it wasn’t class I needed to be on time for, it was after class that I was looking forward to. So I hurried to school and found my locker easily, though the halls were crowded with juniors and seniors trying to get to their classes.
When I walked into my English room, Hallie was seated in the same seat as the day before and she was engrossed in The Catcher and the Rye. I sat down next to her quietly and she barely even noticed me. However, she did look up from her book and turn to me. Just like my dream, she smiled modestly and went back to her book without a word. There was something about her and people, maybe they intimidated her. Or maybe…
Duh! Everyone at this school must have known about her being a prostitute, so she must not have wanted to draw attention to herself. God I felt so stupid it was embarrassing. I made a mental note to research prostitutes, because if I was going to be Hallie’s friend, I had to know something about prostitutes so I wasn’t guessing all the time. I doubted the library would have any books on it, so I figured I would delicately surf the internet, which could end very badly considering the topic. I don’t think I realized the gravity of what Josh had told me, and perhaps it was better that way, so that I didn’t automatically label Hallie.
Class was boring, since all the teacher wanted to do was talk about the author, who we knew nothing about. The book was interesting, and I think all of us wanted to talk about that, not George Orwell and what he meant while writing Animal Farm. I mean, we aren’t even reading Animal Farm! So for the whole class I pretty much zoned out and thought about Hallie and prostitution. Hmm... Girls and whores were starting to make me feel like an average, sex obsessed guy.
The bell interrupted my thoughts, probably for the better since I realized the teacher had written homework up on the board. I was supposed to read two chapters for the double block, which was practically nothing. The three chapters I read last night took me twenty minutes at most. But the class started filing out of the room along with the teacher, who must have taught her next class somewhere else, and I was reminded of my plan.
When everyone else had left, Hallie was finishing packing up her things, so I waited patiently for her to be ready to leave. After a moment, she realized I was waiting for her and gave me a surprised look, as if she hadn’t expected anyone else to be in the class room. She smiled cautiously and lifted her backpack onto her shoulders.
“Hey,” I said, as she moved to walk out the door.
“Hi,” she replied, seemingly confused. Oops, I hadn’t really planned out what I was going to say. If only I was good at thinking up things on the spot.
“I was wondering,” she was looking up at me with warm brown eyes; it was so distracting. “Do you want to get coffee with me at break?” I was pretty sure there was a little café just outside campus, so it seemed like a good idea.
“Sure,” Hallie said with a smile, and then she turned and walked out of the room. I laughed to myself and followed her out shaking my head. Girls, I had no idea how complicated they could be.
I walked into the empty hall, since Hallie had probably already hurried to her next class, which was the smart thing to do. The bell rang and once again I was late to that terrible arts class of mine.
I hung out with Josh for the rest of the day and he turned out to be a pretty interesting guy. And he had a true passion for literature, which was blatantly obvious when he started talking about books. It’s always nice to find people who are smart too. Plus Josh helped me get to know Hourmont High a little bit better.
As soon as I got home I went up to my room to start on homework. You would normally expect teachers not to give homework on the first day, but my English teacher insisted that we start reading 1984 by George Orwell. So I sat down at my desk and opened the book. Most school books are fairly dry and boring, but this one actually had some substance. Therefore the reading went fairly fast.
After I had finished my homework, I realized that I was home alone with nothing do to. My grandma wouldn’t be home till 7:30, so I turned on the music in my room and laid down on my bed to think. It was probably a good thing that I spent time organizing my thoughts after my day at school. I tried to avoid the topic, but my mind just kept being pulled back to it. Hallie. I wish I had her phone number, yet at the same time, I wasn’t sure if I ever wanted to talk to her again. It’s not like she had wronged me, but knowing the truth felt weird, and I didn’t even know if it was true. I wish I could have asked her about it, yet I don’t even know her that well. She seems like such a complex character that it almost seems plausible.
I finally decided I would hang back after French class and ask her, since she seemed to only want to talk to me when we were alone. And, I chose to not ask her about it, since it wasn’t really my place, and a person’s true character comes out when you talk to them, even if you don’t ask blatant questions. Plus, with my little knowledge about prostitutes, they probably dress like sluts, not pretty girls, because there is a huge difference and Hallie was definitely a pretty girl.
I day dreamed until my grandma got home, which wasn’t too long after my resolution about Hallie. I knew my grandma had arrived because the smell of teriyaki drifted into my room and the front door slammed loudly. I got up from my bed and wandered into the kitchen to help my grandma set the table, just like every other night.
My grandpa died three or four years ago and since then my grandma has had a hard time coping on her own. Most nights she brings home take out and I help her set and clear the table. Except Sunday, which is the day my grandma cooks a huge meal for Sunday night dinner. It was always a tradition while my grandpa was alive, and my grandma has carried it on since he died. I asked her about it once; I was still fairly young and didn’t quite understand the gravity of death. Anyways, my grandma told me that if she stopped her Sunday night dinners, it would be like saying goodbye to grandpa, and she was never going to be ready for that.
After we ate, my grandma wanted to play chess, so we sat in the living room and played for two hours or so. Chess is such an invigorating game and it challenges you to think three steps ahead of the present. My grandma is a great chess player; she’s the one who taught me to play when I was younger. Now that I’m old enough to really understand the game and think on my own, we often play games that last for hours because we can both anticipate each other’s moves. It’s nice to know someone that well and to have someone know you like that; it gives off a sense of openness, like not everything has to be kept away inside. I feel like that happens to Hallie, so I’m going to try and be her emotional outlet. Damn, thinking about Hallie again.
After my grandma and I finished our chess game, I said goodnight and went upstairs. It was only 10pm or so, but I was exhausted from school and having to wake up at a decent hour. So I put on pajamas and got ready for bed. By 10:15 I was sitting in my bed with The Odyssey; I figured that I wouldn’t have a lot of time during the year to finish the book, so I might as well finish it while the homework load is fairly light.
I read into the night and felt like a little kid again, one who stays up with a flashlight and picture book under the covers. However, at this age, my grandma thinks I’m old enough to be responsible for what time I go to bed, so I can have me lights on late. Still, I turned everything off around 11pm and tried to fall asleep. For the most part, I felt content, after creating a plan for Hallie and my relationship. Even though I knew the truth, or what I was told to be the truth, about her, that didn’t change the need I felt to help her. So finally I fell asleep and dreamed of the most beautiful and mysterious person I know.
●●●
I opened my eyes and Hallie was on the bed next to me, sleeping peacefully on my bed. I didn’t remember how or why she was there, but her presences made me feel calm and safe, so I figured whatever the reason, it was okay that she was sleeping in my bed. I wanted to wake her, but something inside of me told me it was best to let her sleep. So I left her peaceful expression and got out of bed. That’s when I realized I wasn’t in my room at my grandma’s house. No, I had no idea where I was, and I was fairly certain that this wasn’t Hallie’s room, because it was completely empty. The walls were white, like the ones in a hospital, and when I looked at the bed again, it was a hospital bed, only big enough for one person. I felt myself fall down and land in a bed similar to the one Hallie was sleeping on. Then a machine appeared next to Hallie’s bed that was beeping rhythmically. I checked around me again, but the rest of the room was still empty. Until suddenly the machine next to Hallie sounded an alarm and the monitor of her heart beat went flat. Then it was as if I was pulled into the real world and we were in an actual hospital. Doctors ran past my bed to Hallie, trying to help her. The room quickly became crowded, to the point that I couldn’t even see Hallie. I had no idea what I was doing, but suddenly I sat up and got off the bed. Pushing my way through the throng of people I finally found Hallie, still looking peaceful on the hospital bed. I took her hand and held on to it for dear life. Then she opened her eyes and looked straight at me. Some sort of sense of relief washed over me as I saw her sparkling brown eyes. She smiled that perfect smile and opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. She became confused, like she knew I couldn’t hear her. I went to ask one of the doctors, but everyone was gone and we were alone in an empty white room again. I looked back at Hallie and she tried to speak again, yet nothing came out.
●●●
The sound of my alarm clock entered my dream and woke me from my stupor. I wasn’t sure how to interpret my dream, but I didn’t have time to think about it. My clock read 7:15, which was thirty minutes after I was supposed to wake up. So I jumped out of bed, found some clothes, and rushed out of my room to the bathroom.
After speed shaving the small amount of facial hair I had, I quickly got dressed and ran down stairs to the kitchen. There was a bowl of fruit on the counter, so I grabbed an apple and headed out for the subway. My grandma had already left for work, since she leaves every morning around 7am. Most people’s grandparents are older with gray hair and a 401K. But my grandma decided to go back to work when my grandpa died. She said she didn’t have anything to do with her life, so she filled it with the fairly simple tasks of a secretary at a medical practice. My grandma wasn’t so sure about going back to work in the beginning, but when I moved in with her, she told me it was the right choice.
I walked to school, since it was only a few blocks from my grandma’s house. It was 7:45 when I left the house, so I was fairly certain I wouldn’t be late, however it wasn’t class I needed to be on time for, it was after class that I was looking forward to. So I hurried to school and found my locker easily, though the halls were crowded with juniors and seniors trying to get to their classes.
When I walked into my English room, Hallie was seated in the same seat as the day before and she was engrossed in The Catcher and the Rye. I sat down next to her quietly and she barely even noticed me. However, she did look up from her book and turn to me. Just like my dream, she smiled modestly and went back to her book without a word. There was something about her and people, maybe they intimidated her. Or maybe…
Duh! Everyone at this school must have known about her being a prostitute, so she must not have wanted to draw attention to herself. God I felt so stupid it was embarrassing. I made a mental note to research prostitutes, because if I was going to be Hallie’s friend, I had to know something about prostitutes so I wasn’t guessing all the time. I doubted the library would have any books on it, so I figured I would delicately surf the internet, which could end very badly considering the topic. I don’t think I realized the gravity of what Josh had told me, and perhaps it was better that way, so that I didn’t automatically label Hallie.
Class was boring, since all the teacher wanted to do was talk about the author, who we knew nothing about. The book was interesting, and I think all of us wanted to talk about that, not George Orwell and what he meant while writing Animal Farm. I mean, we aren’t even reading Animal Farm! So for the whole class I pretty much zoned out and thought about Hallie and prostitution. Hmm... Girls and whores were starting to make me feel like an average, sex obsessed guy.
The bell interrupted my thoughts, probably for the better since I realized the teacher had written homework up on the board. I was supposed to read two chapters for the double block, which was practically nothing. The three chapters I read last night took me twenty minutes at most. But the class started filing out of the room along with the teacher, who must have taught her next class somewhere else, and I was reminded of my plan.
When everyone else had left, Hallie was finishing packing up her things, so I waited patiently for her to be ready to leave. After a moment, she realized I was waiting for her and gave me a surprised look, as if she hadn’t expected anyone else to be in the class room. She smiled cautiously and lifted her backpack onto her shoulders.
“Hey,” I said, as she moved to walk out the door.
“Hi,” she replied, seemingly confused. Oops, I hadn’t really planned out what I was going to say. If only I was good at thinking up things on the spot.
“I was wondering,” she was looking up at me with warm brown eyes; it was so distracting. “Do you want to get coffee with me at break?” I was pretty sure there was a little café just outside campus, so it seemed like a good idea.
“Sure,” Hallie said with a smile, and then she turned and walked out of the room. I laughed to myself and followed her out shaking my head. Girls, I had no idea how complicated they could be.
I walked into the empty hall, since Hallie had probably already hurried to her next class, which was the smart thing to do. The bell rang and once again I was late to that terrible arts class of mine.