After Hours

It was seven in the morning when Sawyer Thompson’s mother knocked furiously on his door.

“Sawyer! Get up!” She exclaimed frantically. “School starts in less than an hour and you need to take your sister.”

Sawyer groaned as he rolled onto his back and pulled the sheets closer to his body. He had forgotten that it was the first day of school, and had not set his alarm the night before. Despite his half naked body, Sawyer wasn’t a complicated boy, and could quickly get dressed for the monotonous hours that lay ahead.

“I’ll be down in ten,” he said, groaning a little as he rolled out of bed.

“Make it five,” she snapped, rushing down the stairs to prepare his sister’s lunch.

Sawyer stood up and grabbed a week old flannel off of his floor and threw it over his shoulders, figuring he’d button it up later. He ruffled his hands through his hair hastily and pulled on some ripped jeans.

“Sawyer, mom says you need to hurry,” Sydney called from the other side of his door.

He rolled his eyes and put on socks before opening the door, disregarding his sister’s appalled face. He walked down the stairs as she followed after him.

“You’re wearing that on the first day of school?” She complained. He shrugged and poured himself a bowl of cereal.

It was Sawyer’s senior year of high school, and he was going to be late on the first day. That wasn’t really a surprise. He didn’t really care about school. He just cared about getting out of there. He’d finally be free to do whatever he wanted to.

Sawyer put his empty bowl in the dishwasher and grabbed his keys and backpack. He threw on his shoes and remembered to button up his shirt.

“Syd, let’s go,” he said, opening the door and walking to his car. The late summer air welcomed him, the sun beginning to peak out of the sky. Colors of red, yellow, and orange danced in the sky, almost as if they were wishing Sawyer a great first day back.

Sawyer started his jeep, driving away as soon as Sydney hopped in the passenger seat. Sydney was in 9th grade this year, meaning she was finally in high school too. Sawyer groaned at the thought of having his little sister follow him around all day.

By no means was Sawyer popular, but he still had a reputation to uphold. He was beautiful, with his short sandy brown hair and foggy blue eyes waiting to shine. He could get anything he wanted from any girl, and he definitely used that to his advantage.

Sawyer pulled into the senior parking lot and quickly turned off the ignition, taking his keys out and putting them in his pocket. He saw his best friends, Masie and Luke, and hopped out of his car.

“Meet me here after school. Don’t be late,” Sawyer said rudely to Sydney, ditching her for his friends.

“Sawyer!” Masie exclaimed, running up to hug him. He chuckled and gave her a friendly hug. Sawyer and Masie met each other in kindergarten, and have had an unbreakable bond since.

Luke smirked at Sawyer and nodded his head. Luke met Sawyer in seventh grade. They hated each other for a while because of some girl. But after she left, they realized they got along pretty well.

Masie grabbed onto Luke’s hand and started walking towards the building. Sawyer smiled quickly, forgetting that they had started dating over the summer. Luke was always codependent, and Sawyer couldn’t think of a day that he’d been single since they had met.

Sawyer thought they were good for each other. But now that they were dating, he was the third wheel. They constantly lectured him on putting himself out there, or trying to get a girlfriend. He had tried, but quickly realized relationships weren’t for him. He was more into one night stands. They were easy and fun, and no emotional attachments afterwards.

“I’ll see you guys later,” Masie said. Luke kissed her softly and Sawyer looked away, making a disgusted face.

“What are you? Five?” Luke asked, punching him in the side. They walked to their first period class together.

“You know how I feel about public displays of affection,” he said.

“Don’t even go there. You’re the worst person I know when it comes to PDA,” Luke said. Sawyer laughed in agreement and took a spot in the middle. Luke sat next to him, setting his bag on the floor.

“Morning class,” Mr. Garrison said, walking in as the bell rang. The class moaned in response.

“Here we go,” Luke said, rolling his eyes. No one had anything against Mr. Garrison. He was a nice guy. He was just, in no other words to put it, boring. He was repetitive and unvaried, and always ended up where he started. Because of that, many students failed his class. Or many students said that was why they failed his class.

“I hope you all had a wonderful and safe summer. And I hope you’re all ready to learn,” he said enthusiastically. The class groaned again.

Sawyer thought of all the ways he could get out of this class. The simple way would be to get up and walk out. Sawyer wanted more than anything to leave. He could jump out of the window. He’d probably break a few bones, but he could do it. There was a door in the back that led to another classroom. That wouldn’t do much justice.

Sawyer gave up and realized he had wasted fifteen minutes day dreaming. If he did this every day, maybe he could make it out of Mr. Garrison’s class alive.

There he was, zoning out again.

Sawyer blinked a few times and shook his head a little. He was tired. Exhausted, even. He went to bed at 2 the night before, talking to a hot former student of Ridgewell. She had graduated the year before. Her name was Nina and she was attending the local college fifteen minutes away from school. Sawyer had every intention on hitting things off with her since the very first day he saw her. And since he had, he now planned on hooking up with her.

Nina wasn’t easy to get though, and Sawyer was quite aware of that. But she was worth it. Oh, was she worth it. Sawyer’s mind started to wander as he thought more about Nina and the rumors he heard about her last year. Since then he was determined to sleep with her.

“Anyway class, there are a few new teachers at Ridgewell, and I ask that all of you are respectful to them,” Mr. Garrison said. Sawyer was kind of paying attention now. Luke tapped Sawyer’s shoulder promptly.

“I heard there’s a really hot new teacher this year,” Luke said enthusiastically. Sawyer shrugged his shoulders. He didn’t care about some young, sexy teacher. He just wanted Nina for now. Besides, Luke was the one that had fantasized about sleeping with a teacher since the beginning of time. Sawyer always shook his head at that. Did he realize how unrealistic that was?

“You have Masie now, Luke,” Sawyer said.

“I don’t think she’d mind. Hey, maybe she’d even be down for a threesome,” Luke rambled on. Sawyer breathed in deeply to stop himself from saying something offensive. Luke was definitely a handful.

“Talk to Masie about that, man. Not me,” he said, irritation striking his voice.

“I think her name is Ms. Ashton or Ash or something,” Luke said, looking for his schedule. Sawyer stared down at his, and wasn’t the least bit surprised to see her name.

“Ms. Asher?” He asked Luke.

“Yeah that’s her. I have her next period. You?” Luke asked, shaking from the excitement. He was just like a puppy on Halloween.

“Fourth,” Sawyer said, no amusement in his voice. He zoned Luke out and actually began to listen to Mr. Garrison. He was trying to do some stupid name game so everyone could get to know each other.

Some teachers never learn right from wrong.