In Which There is a Slight Alteration to Zac's Schedule
Chapter 8
In which there is a slight alteration to Zac’s schedule
I sit back in my desk chair and think about the events from earlier today. Summer and Grey had come back only to find Deirdre and I helping Whinny into a locker. After we’d finished laughing, we had realized that that gang was probably looking for us and decided to hide out in lockers until it was safe. Summer and Grey looked hopelessly confused for a second, but we all laughed at it after that and explained what had happened to us while Summer explained what took her so long. Apparently, Grey had gone back to the cafeteria and fallen asleep (“He does that before storms,” Summer told us. Grey just shrugged when we stared at him.) and it took Summer a bit to wake him up. In the end, our time for club activities ran out before we could do anything, so we agreed to just meet up in the extra lit class room (there used to be a lot more students than there are now) when Summer called us.
I chuckle and make a mental note to bring an umbrella to school soon, then lean forward to start on my homework again.
“Zac!” The door bangs open behind me, but I don’t bother turning around. “Dinner’s ready, and for god sakes, turn on a light in here!” my mom says. I don’t think it’s too dark; although the sun went down hours ago, I do have a desk light.
“It’s kind of late for dinner,” I say, tilting my head towards the clock on my desk that reads eleven p.m. I had some chips and salsa as a substitution dinner long ago.
“Well, it’s late for homework, too, so come and eat.” I get up and she leaves to start serving the food. The smell of microwave pizza fills the kitchen as I walk in and sit down across my mom. Silence settles over us, just like every night. It used to be a little livelier when my half-sister still lived with us, but she went to college years ago.
The pizza’s too gooey, and overcooked as well, but I eat it anyway. My mom’s really cheap and a terrible cook besides, so it’s only natural we live off of microwave dinners and dry foods. Going out to eat is a rare occasion that is deserving of my best shirt and pants, even if it’s just some two-star joint.
“Zac,” my mom says, breaking the usual silence. “My new job starts tomorrow.”
“And...?”
“And it’s a long drive from Sunlin.”
“Everything’s a long drive from Sunlin. This is the middle of nowhere.”
“But that means I’ll be gone all day. I’m eating breakfast on the road, lunch on the job, and dinner on the road.”
“What about me?” I ask, starting to get the drift. The nearest store is an hour drive from Sunlin, and I don’t even have a driving permit. Not only that, but my school is a thirty minute drive from my house, and without a car I’d have to walk it. I do the math in my head, and figure it would take almost four hours to reach school, which means I’d have to leave at around four a.m. to reach school by eight, and after school ended at three, I’d get home by seven. This means I’d get somewhere around eight hours of sleep, assuming I go to bed at seven thirty and wake up at three thirty. Minus at least four hours of homework, I’d get around four hours of sleep a night, which is not enough for an adult, let alone a teenager who needs at least ten hours a night.
“Zac, I’ll get groceries while I’m driving either to or from work, I swear. And as for a ride to school, I’m sure I could arrange something...” My mom looks down at her pizza doubtfully. Our house in particular is far from the main part of Sunlin, and getting someone to drive so far out of their way just to pick me up seems impossible.
“I’ll be fine. I can walk, and as long as there’s food and money here, I’m good.” I’m not too sure about the ‘fine’ part, but I’ll manage it somehow. My mom seems satisfied and continues eating. I finish up and get back to my homework, because at this point I have under five hours to sleep. Wonderful.
September 5
Today I called the first official meeting of my new club after school was over. Whinny and Deirdre seemed alright, but Zac looked really tired, and so did Grey. Grey explained that it was just the storm (it’s tomorrow, he told us), but Zac just gave us the typical “It’s nothing” answer, which sucks because there’s no such thing as nothing. In the end we just let them sleep.
Meanwhile, Whinny, Deirdre, and I contemplated important things like what this club’s purpose is. I explained my idea of making school fun, and Whinny fancified it and said the club’s purpose is to enhance the school experience and make it a memorable one, which sounds like a good thing to put in a yearbook.
Also, we had to decide on a name. This time Deirdre helped and said we should make it sound official, but fun as well. She said that making school fun is like bringing summer into it, which is conveniently close to my name. After a moment of deliberation, we added “Inc.” to the end of “Summer”, thus creating Summer, Inc. - a club made to enhance the school experience by bringing a little bit of summer into it. I woke the boys up and told them about it, and they agreed. After that we called an end to the club meeting.
Whinny, Deirdre, Grey, and I set off in the same direction (towards Wasde, the housing district of Sunlin) but Zac went in a different direction entirely, towards the fields, where there’s nothing for miles. I asked him why he was going that way, but he just said that he lived down the road (which is way too vague, considering that “down the road” for miles and miles is open space). I suppose it’s better that way; nobody would see the sharpie on his face.
In which there is a slight alteration to Zac’s schedule
I sit back in my desk chair and think about the events from earlier today. Summer and Grey had come back only to find Deirdre and I helping Whinny into a locker. After we’d finished laughing, we had realized that that gang was probably looking for us and decided to hide out in lockers until it was safe. Summer and Grey looked hopelessly confused for a second, but we all laughed at it after that and explained what had happened to us while Summer explained what took her so long. Apparently, Grey had gone back to the cafeteria and fallen asleep (“He does that before storms,” Summer told us. Grey just shrugged when we stared at him.) and it took Summer a bit to wake him up. In the end, our time for club activities ran out before we could do anything, so we agreed to just meet up in the extra lit class room (there used to be a lot more students than there are now) when Summer called us.
I chuckle and make a mental note to bring an umbrella to school soon, then lean forward to start on my homework again.
“Zac!” The door bangs open behind me, but I don’t bother turning around. “Dinner’s ready, and for god sakes, turn on a light in here!” my mom says. I don’t think it’s too dark; although the sun went down hours ago, I do have a desk light.
“It’s kind of late for dinner,” I say, tilting my head towards the clock on my desk that reads eleven p.m. I had some chips and salsa as a substitution dinner long ago.
“Well, it’s late for homework, too, so come and eat.” I get up and she leaves to start serving the food. The smell of microwave pizza fills the kitchen as I walk in and sit down across my mom. Silence settles over us, just like every night. It used to be a little livelier when my half-sister still lived with us, but she went to college years ago.
The pizza’s too gooey, and overcooked as well, but I eat it anyway. My mom’s really cheap and a terrible cook besides, so it’s only natural we live off of microwave dinners and dry foods. Going out to eat is a rare occasion that is deserving of my best shirt and pants, even if it’s just some two-star joint.
“Zac,” my mom says, breaking the usual silence. “My new job starts tomorrow.”
“And...?”
“And it’s a long drive from Sunlin.”
“Everything’s a long drive from Sunlin. This is the middle of nowhere.”
“But that means I’ll be gone all day. I’m eating breakfast on the road, lunch on the job, and dinner on the road.”
“What about me?” I ask, starting to get the drift. The nearest store is an hour drive from Sunlin, and I don’t even have a driving permit. Not only that, but my school is a thirty minute drive from my house, and without a car I’d have to walk it. I do the math in my head, and figure it would take almost four hours to reach school, which means I’d have to leave at around four a.m. to reach school by eight, and after school ended at three, I’d get home by seven. This means I’d get somewhere around eight hours of sleep, assuming I go to bed at seven thirty and wake up at three thirty. Minus at least four hours of homework, I’d get around four hours of sleep a night, which is not enough for an adult, let alone a teenager who needs at least ten hours a night.
“Zac, I’ll get groceries while I’m driving either to or from work, I swear. And as for a ride to school, I’m sure I could arrange something...” My mom looks down at her pizza doubtfully. Our house in particular is far from the main part of Sunlin, and getting someone to drive so far out of their way just to pick me up seems impossible.
“I’ll be fine. I can walk, and as long as there’s food and money here, I’m good.” I’m not too sure about the ‘fine’ part, but I’ll manage it somehow. My mom seems satisfied and continues eating. I finish up and get back to my homework, because at this point I have under five hours to sleep. Wonderful.
September 5
Today I called the first official meeting of my new club after school was over. Whinny and Deirdre seemed alright, but Zac looked really tired, and so did Grey. Grey explained that it was just the storm (it’s tomorrow, he told us), but Zac just gave us the typical “It’s nothing” answer, which sucks because there’s no such thing as nothing. In the end we just let them sleep.
Meanwhile, Whinny, Deirdre, and I contemplated important things like what this club’s purpose is. I explained my idea of making school fun, and Whinny fancified it and said the club’s purpose is to enhance the school experience and make it a memorable one, which sounds like a good thing to put in a yearbook.
Also, we had to decide on a name. This time Deirdre helped and said we should make it sound official, but fun as well. She said that making school fun is like bringing summer into it, which is conveniently close to my name. After a moment of deliberation, we added “Inc.” to the end of “Summer”, thus creating Summer, Inc. - a club made to enhance the school experience by bringing a little bit of summer into it. I woke the boys up and told them about it, and they agreed. After that we called an end to the club meeting.
Whinny, Deirdre, Grey, and I set off in the same direction (towards Wasde, the housing district of Sunlin) but Zac went in a different direction entirely, towards the fields, where there’s nothing for miles. I asked him why he was going that way, but he just said that he lived down the road (which is way too vague, considering that “down the road” for miles and miles is open space). I suppose it’s better that way; nobody would see the sharpie on his face.