2:00. 

Thirty-five more minutes. So close to driving far away from here.

You glance at Amy. Her nose is in her book, yet she is also answering Mr. Todo’s questions. She is also answering them correctly. You realize that you should probably learn a thing or two from her.

You peak at Mr. Todo. He is pacing back and forth in front of the screen, his shadow dancing behind him. His clicking shoes clicking all the while.

You trace your way back up to the clock.

2:03.

You feel like you are going to be here forever. You feel like you will never get to be a part of the happiest summer of your life. You wish to be smelling garlic and basil instead of udon and shrimp.

Speaking of shrimp, they should serve calamari at school. If no one else would eat it, you would. All you want is to be reading next to the tomato garden in the Windy City. You want to let the wind chill the hot, sunny day. You want to tan while the fruit ripens.

2:05.

You choose to let Mr. Todo’s words drown your boredom. The boredom would at least be supported with maybe partially useful information about my future. Sadly, the future he mentioned was the very near future. And since no one wanted to have a conversation about your peers’ summer plans, all that is being explained is his.

You go back to the clock. The obviously better option.

2:09.

Almost twenty-five minutes left. Getting closer. But still, so much time left.

You can hear the classes having fun in the hallway. That is the class you could have been in. You relish in the idea of a fun last few moments of sophomore year.

Mr. Todo opens the door, “Can you please be a little quieter? I am trying to present a powerpoint presentation to my students and we do not need your disruptive actions.”

You can feel the awkward annoyance of both the people in the room and in the hall.

“Sure,” one of the students replies quietly.

“No,” the teacher across the hall says. “Your kids should also be having fun. School is practically over.”

“Here we go again,” the boy behind you says. He leans over to his friend next to him, “I cannot believe that this happens every year.”

2:12.

“They will be in a screaming feud for the rest of the day.”

A grin grows to show your teeth. You can finish the book that you have been reading for the past week. Last night, you stayed up until 3:15 reading. You could not put it down. It made waking up so much harder, but it was worth it.

You reach into your bag, but it is not in its normal spot. You fish around your bag, but then you remember: it is still on your nightstand.

You can picture it perfectly. Your unmade bed, empty water bottle on the desk, books lining the shelves, and your crisp book laying on your bedside table. Nothing is working out for you today.

2:16.

Slowly but surely, time does pass. Slowly but surely, you do get closer and closer to summer.

“I am so done with having you complain every year,” the other teacher yells. “I am so glad I won’t have to deal with you next year!”

You feel uncomfortable. The yelling back and forth reminds you of the past when your parents would fight about the silliest of things. Quickly, that feeling diminishes and gets replaced with a different kind of uncomfortable. The yelling is ringing in your ears and the ground shakes with every stomp or smack of the wall. You are not enjoying this as much as your classmates.

2:19.

“They should get a room.”

2:20.

“Maybe we should join in.”

2:21.

“We should ask him to use the restroom. That could be so much more entertaining.”