"Great news class," Mr. Homily said breathlessly. "We'll be working on what we started yesterday. Open your textbooks to Chapter Seven."
There were a few groans and a hitch pitched, "Yes!", from the back of the class as all of the students did as they were told.
Alison pulled her textbook and notebook from her bag. She set the items on her desk and looked across the room. She stared at Mitch.
Mitch was looking at her.
Alison was shocked. She took a deep breath and swallowed. She felt her face get hot.
And as soon as Mitch saw that she was looking at him, he turned away quickly. He said something to Gloria.
Gloria laughed.
Mitch opened his book and he looked at Mr. Homily.
Alison stared at Mitch for a few minutes.
Gloria turned to Alison. She glared at her.
Alison turned away from Gloria quickly. She swallowed with great difficulty. She looked at Mr. Homily.
Mr. Homily was humming as he set up the projector.
Alison felt a tap at her shoulder. She turned to Edwina.
"Hey. You okay?" Edwina asked.
Alison nodded and said, "Yeah I'm fine." She looked at Mitch.
Mitch was whispering to Gloria.
Alison turned from Mitch. She smiled warily at Edwina before she looked at Mr. Homily.
Mr. Homily had set up the projector. The Sharpie cap was in his mouth. He laughed and the cap bobbed in his lips as he talked.
"Get ready students. Time to learn," Mr. Homily said.
2
In gym class, Tommy Morgan had opened one of the outer doors.
There was a raging snowstorm outside and at least a foot of fresh powder on the ground.
Tommy decided to use a couple of old football helmets and bring in some snow. He made a lot of snowballs.
Louis Graham, Bob Haskin and Joe Ritter all joined him.
After collecting the snow and making the balls, the four boys closed the door and they went on a snowballing rampage in the gymnasium.
The sound of loud screams, squeals and running feet echoed in the large gym as the snowballs went flying.
Most of the white balls hit their targets.
Tommy and his friends were good shots.
Snowballs struck faces, necks, chests and backs.
People fled in all directions.
Some of the victims chose to pick up some of the snow from the floor and launch a counterattack against Tommy and his friends.
The gym soon erupted in full scale snowball war pandemonium.
Alison and Edwina stood against a far wall away from all of the chilly chaos. The best friends laughed as they watched all of the action from the safety of the snowless sidelines.
The class had been divided into twelve groups and they were all playing basketball.
Coach Huron had been standing in the corner of the gym with his back to the class talking on his cell phone during most of the melee.
Tommy and his friends had spotted the coach on his phone and they decided that his lack of attention to the class was a golden opportunity. And they took it. The four boys ran across the gym. They flung snowballs at the weak, the weary and the unawares.
Mostly the four boys struck computer nerds Emo kids.
After seeing the Emos and nerds get hit, most of the kids saw what was coming and managed to avoid the onslaught of snowballs by running, ducking or hiding behind someone.
The snowballing four hit twenty-two people in ten minutes before they were caught red handed by Coach Huron.
Tommy had decided to go after a group of cheerleaders with his balls.
And it did not go well.
All of his snowballs missed. And he got a basketball to his balls for all of his trouble.
Coach Huron didn't end his call until he heard someone sobbing on the floor.
It was Tommy.
He was covered in snow and holding his balls.
And twenty-two people were nursing cold wounds on their faces, chest and boobs.
And there were also puddles of melting snow on the floor.
When Coach Huron saw all the damage, he totally lost it.
He screamed for a good five straight minutes and he didn't stop until his face was red and veins were popping out on his forehead.
And then he yelled out the punishment for the snowball melee.
As punishment, the entire class was forced to run laps.
Fifty laps around the gym.
Ouch.
Tommy, Louis, Bob and Joe were all sent to the principal's office.
"I can't believe we have to suffer for those jock head idiots," Edwina said. She huffed and puffed as she ran at Alison's side.
Alison looked across the gym as she ran. She saw Mitch running with a group of his friends from the boy's basketball team.
Mitch laughed and joked with his friends as they ran across the gym in the formation prescribed by the coach.
Coach Huron stood in the middle of the circle of running students. He blew his whistle and screamed at them to, "Keep the frigging pace!", as they ran.
"Not again Sven," Edwina said. She ran to the side and bumped into Alison.
Alison stumbled from the sudden impact. She slipped on a patch of melted snow and lost her balance. She screamed and fell onto the floor. She landed hard on her side.
A collective "ooooooooooh" filled the gym.
Edwina ran to Alison and she helped her up.
Alison rose to her feet stiffly. She rubbed her side with a wince.
"I am so sorry Allie," Edwina said. "I was only trying to get your attention. I didn't mean to like check you."
Alison didn't look at Edwina.
Instead she watched Mitch as he ran by her.
Mitch looked at her briefly before he turned away and looked forward. He ran faster.
And so did his friends.
"Is it me?" Alison asked.
"What?" Edwina asked.
Coach Huron blew his whistle full force as he ran to Alison and Edwina. He stopped in front of them and pulled the whistle from his mouth. "Thirty eight laps to go! Move it! Move it! I said go! Go! Go!"
"Okay," Alison said.
"Ugh!" Edwina said.
Alison grabbed Edwina's arm and she pulled her friend to the running circle.
Alison and Edwina rejoined their classmates and they continued their endless run around the gymnasium.
"I can't believe this," Edwina said. "If I have a heart attack from all of this exertion I will so sue this school into extinction."
Alison watched Mitch from across the gym.
"You're obsessed girl," Edwina said.
Alison turned to Edwina. "What?"
Edwina was looking at Mitch. "With him. Mitch. And it's a waste of time. You're not in his group. He doesn't even acknowledge you."
"Well you don't get to choose who you love," Alison said.
"Love? Is that what you think this is?" Edwina asked.
"I know its love. It's just one-sided is all," Alison said.
"Its lopsided you mean."
"Wina don't be mean."
"I'm not it's just. You are way too good for him. And there's lots of other guys in this school. Good guys. Cool guys. Guys that actually like you and don't hang out with the mean girls."
"I like Mitch."
"Well unlike him and live your life. High school won't last forever you know. And you don't want to waste all of your glory years pining over someone who doesn't deserve you."
"I don't know Wina. I can't just turn my feelings off."
"Well you're going to have to do something. Are you happy right now? Does how you think you feel for Mitch make you happy?"
"Well..."
Alison slowed down and she thought for a moment.
"It doesn't make me happy. Loving him and not having him feel the same kind of makes me...miserable," Alison said.
"Yeah. And what kind of life is that?" Edwina said.
"A sucky
one," Alison said. She looked at Mitch.
Mitch was laughing and running with his friends.
Alison took a deep breath. And she turned to Edwina. "You're absolutely right. I need to like get on with my life. As of right now. I'm done obsessing over Mitch."
"Good girl!"
"But this thing. I don't know. I think I'm going to need some chocolate or something. You know to get over the shock."
"You and me both."
3
"This imitation chocolate sundae kind of hit the spot?" Alison said.
"Yeah it did," Edwina said. She shivered and pulled her scarf around her neck.
Alison and Edwina were seated in the middle of the bright cafeteria.
The cafeteria was crowded with chatting students.
The windows of the lunchroom were covered with ice and heavy snowfall could be seen outside.
"I wonder how many inches we'll be getting tonight," Edwina said.
A low voice suddenly rang out from the side of the table.
"Twelve inches," Paul Monty said. "That is if you can take that much."
Paul was holding his tray and grinning at Edwina while thrusting out his pelvis.
His two friends, Danny Ryde and Tim Benton were standing near him. They were both looking at Edwina and laughing hysterically.
"Ew," Alison said after realizing what the boy meant.
Paul looked at Alison. His grin widened. "Took you a minute to get that one huh?"
"Just leave Paul. Leave with whatever minuscule of dignity that you have left," Edwina said.
Paul looked at Edwina confused. "Huh?"
Alison placed her spoon on the table and she laughed.
"You speak weird," Paul said. He moved closer to Edwina. "But me like."
Edwina picked up a fork and she thrust it at Paul.
Paul moved back.
Danny and Tim both said, "Whoah."
"Hey this is a violence free zone. But no worries. I'll see you in Chemistry later."
"Ugh," Edwina said.
Paul laughed. "Come on guys."
Paul walked away. Danny and Tim followed him.
"How many times has Paul asked you out this year?" Alison asked.
Edwina snatched a French Fry off of Alison's plate with a shrug. "Don't know."
Alison picked up her spoon and she focused on her sundae.
Edwina watched Alison for a few seconds before she turned from her friend and looked across the cafeteria.
Mitch was seated at a table by one of the icy windows.
His basketball team mates were sitting around him.
Gloria was at his side.
She held his arm as she talked to him.
Mitch ate his burger and he nodded as he chewed.
Edwina turned from Mitch. She looked at Alison.
Alison was eating her sundae.
"You're doing really well," Edwina said. She ate her fry.
Alison looked up at Edwina. "Well at what?"
"You haven't looked at Mitch once since we got here," Edwina said.
Alison looked at Mitch. She averted her gaze from him and looked at Edwina. "Its like you said. Loving him...no. Liking him is a waste of time. It's time to move on."
Alison ate another fry. "These things are like lukewarm."
"Well they were hot until we came into this freezer of a lunchroom," Edwina said.
"But they're still good though," Alison said.
"Yeah they are," Edwina said.
4
Alison picked up her baby brother Chad from inside of his high chair.
The chubby baby squealed and slapped his sweet potato covered hands against the front of her shirt.
"Someone's happy to be out of that chair," Alison's Dad, Wentworth, said as he filled the dishwasher with plates and forks.
"Oh he just ruined your shirt," Alison's Mother, Daisy, said. She was wiping at the stove.
"Its fine Mom," Alison said.
"You can just put him down in the living room and you can start on your homework. I'll be right in after I help your father clean up," Daisy said.
"I'm fine honey," Wentworth said.
Daisy looked at her husband. "Are you sure dear?"
"I can handle a few dishes and the table. Go on in the living room," Wentworth said.
"Okay then," Daisy said. She kissed Wentworth and placed the towel in her hands on the table. She went over to Alison and took Chad from her.
Chad laughed and he grabbed a fistful of his mother's hair.
"Go and change and start on your homework. You have midterms coming up right?" Daisy asked.
"Yeah but I'll do fine," Alison said.
"She always does," Wentworth said.
"Go on and get started," Daisy said.
"Alright," Alison said.
Alison left the kitchen and she went to her room. She closed the door and changed her clothes before she sat at her desk. She pulled out her textbooks and fired up her laptop. She checked her phone for texts and after seeing none she decided to start on her homework.
Time passed and she got a lot of work done.
She started to feel sleepy so she decided to stop working. She rose from her desk and her laptop chimed.
"Who is this?" Alison asked. She sat down and looked at her laptop. She opened the Skype window.
Edwina waved at her from her video image on the computer screen.. "Hey Allie. What's going on?"
"I was just about to get some sleep," Alison said.
"What why? It's still early."
"Uh its 11:30. I need to seriously get some sleep. I have a History test tomorrow and I really need to do well."
"Allie you always do well."
"Not always. So what's going on with you?"
"Oh you know the usual. How are you feeling?"
"I told you. I'm a little tired."
"What I meant was. Well. How are you feeling about...a certain someone."
"You mean Mitch?"
"Yeah."
"I told you earlier today. I'm all over that."
"Good because well. There's been some news."
"What news?"
"So you haven't been online? I mean no Instagram or Facebook? Or ChatSnap?"
"No. I turned my phone off earlier and I disabled all of that stuff on my laptop. Wait. What's going on?"
"Well apparently. Mitch and Gloria are officially going out."
Alison was quiet for a minute and then she said, "Good for them. I hope they make each other happy."
"Wow. What a congenial thing to say," Edwina said.
"I told you Wina. I'm moving on with my life. It's like you said. I can't' spend my high school years pining over someone who doesn't even know I'm alive. Time to move on and live."
Edwina pumped up her fist and said, "Yeah!"
"Alright," Alison said with a laugh. "I'm really glad you're excited about that. But now I'm off to bed. I'm sleepy."
"Okay. Well I'll see you tomorrow."
"Okay bye."
"Bye."
Alison closed the Skype window and she lowered the lid of her laptop. She turned off the lights and went to bed.
She slept deeply.
And for the first time in a long time, she did not dream of Mitch.
5
Alison closed the tattered paperback and she blinked.
"Hey Allie," Steven Dale said. He sat in a desk in front of Allie and smiled at her.
"Hey Steven," Alison said. She patted the paperback. "Just feeling a little overwhelmed from reading the bard there."
"Yeah. King Lear is rough but hey. Its required reading. It might help to you know. Actually watch the play. There's a ton of them on YouTube. I could send you a link and maybe..." Steven said. He stopped and looked around the partially filled classroom.
Alison grabbed her cell phone and she looked at the screen. "Yeah a link for this play would be great. Can you send it to me?"
Steven pulled out his phone. He tapped the screen. "Sure. I can send
it to you and then maybe..." He looked up at Allie. "Maybe we can watch it together. On Skype and like comment on it."
Alison looked up at Steven. "That would be like really great. Really I've never done that before."
"Done what?" Steven asked.
"Watch Shakespeare on Skype with someone else. It should be interesting," Alison said.
"Yeah it should. So when can you...I mean..." Steven said.
"Oh well how about tomorrow night? At around eight?" Alison said. "Unless you have something you need to do."
"No I mean I'm free at that time and it would be great," Steven said quickly.
"Great," Alison said. Her cell phone beeped. "Oh this is the link! Thanks."
"Anything for you," Steven said. "I mean. I'm really glad to help. I really like Shakespeare."
"Yes his plays are ever interesting," Alison said.
Alison and Steven looked at each other and they both laughed.
A loud boom suddenly echoed from the opposite side of the classroom.
Everyone in the room turned to the noise.
Mitch was sitting at his desk.
A pile of books and a computer tablet were resting on his desk.
Mitch wasn't smiling. And he was looking at Alison.
Gloria rushed into the classroom. She moved to Mitch and sat down beside him. She talked to him quietly.
Mitch grabbed his tablet. He looked at the screen of the device and ignored Gloria.
"What's his deal?" Steven asked.
"Don't know," Alison said.
The Literature teacher, Mrs. Larsen, entered the room just as the bell rang.
She closed the door and moved to her desk.
"Alright class settle down. We will start today's discussion of King Lear where we left off," Mrs. Larsen said.
Steven turned around in his seat.
Alison opened her notebook. She looked up at Mrs. Larsen.
Mrs. Larsen was standing at the chalkboard writing.
Alison tried to focus on the writing on the chalkboard. But it was very difficulty.
Alison was suddenly distracted. And she had the strangest sensation. It felt as if someone was looking at her.
Alison blinked and she looked around the classroom.
Most of the students were looking at Mrs. Larsen.
Except for two.
Mitch was looking at her.
And Gloria was looking at Mitch.
Alison met Mitch's gaze.
Mitch stared at Alison without blinking. A few seconds passed and he did not turn away. He held her gaze with a strange intensity that Alison had never seen before.
Stalk You Later Page 3