Watching Her- Part 8

After that night, he had been too busy to see her. He had been swamped with May’s finals and even more homework than before. Only once did he look out his window to hers, and she, too, was at her desk, completing homework. It was weird how much time he took off of looking for her. It was only natural that talking to her would feel different or increasingly exhilarating. 1

They thought of three more topics including Yellow Journalism, Flappers on the ‘20s, and Al Capone that Kevin had proudly suggested. Sarah seemed confident in their choices, and Kevin felt the same having her as a partner. “We’re supposed to choose topics tomorrow, but eventually, we’re gonna have to meet up. Do you wanna come over every night in two days?”2

Kevin was surprised that Sarah was making plans so soon. “Why so soon? We have three weeks.” ‘What am I thinking? The more time with her, the better.’ He thought. 3

“This project means a lot to me, and it should mean a lot to you. It’s half our grade. But I also have more finals in the greenhouses next week, so I’ll be swamped. I just want to hurry up and get a head start.”4

“I thought finals were over. I had mine this week and last.”5

“Well, I have different classes than you. I’m having a final in the greenhouses for Horticulture and Ms. Mahon said she wouldn’t have our examination plants grown until next week. And I also have band finals, and the drums are always last. I hate band anyways, I’m quitting.” 6

Kevin laughed. “Alright. I don’t have a problem with it.” Sarah smiled once again, as Mr. Riles that everybody return to their seats to wait for the bell to ring. 7

Sarah went to her seat, leaving Kevin. He sat alone, thinking to himself about the project and meeting her in two nights. He felt silly about not having any ideas for the project. He hurriedly copied down the topics they had thought of on a piece of paper. Tonight, he would go online and read about the projects. He couldn’t look foolish and stupid again. He just couldn’t. Kevin wanted to impress her and make her believe he knew his stuff. It would be a long shot, but he’d start with what he knew the least about: Flapper girls of the 1920’s.8

Kevin arrived at Sarah’s house in his big black Dodge Ram truck with four dour seating. His father had loaned him the money for the truck, and he was going to pay it back with the job he would get in the summer. He sat nervously in his truck for a few minutes, reviewing over what he’d read online about their history topics. He would not make a fool of himself; he just couldn’t. He wouldn’t.9

He picked up his bag and went to the front door, hesitating for a few moments before ringing the bell. Sarah answered hurriedly. Kevin looked inside the door, past Sarah’s casual appearance of blue jeans and a black wife beater that advertised her lovingness of Metallica. In the kitchen stood a nice looking woman, around age 30 of some sort, washing the dishes. She seemed to not notice him, but Kevin knew she must be Sarah’s mother. Sarah headed upstairs, and Kevin immediately followed. She let him inside the room he had left only a month or so before.10

At her desk, her computer was on, and displayed a window including Google searches for Al Capone. “Today I went after school and explained to Mr. Riles the situation with our finals. So he let us have first pick on Al Capone. Do you mind?”11

Kevin shook his head. No, of course, he didn’t mind, except the fact stood that he had studied all the other topics to not look like a fool in front of her. On the other hand, he knew a lot about Al Capone. He set down his stuff on her bed and they got to work. He pulled out a notebook. They settled on what they would do for the project- a poster and a PowerPoint presentation. 12

At the end of the night, they’d gotten through the difficult parts of the partnership, along with the points and ideas they should include in their presentation. Kevin would make the poster (which would include pictures and facts), while Sarah would set up the presentation. Kevin trusted her, after all, she was one of the smartest students of their grade. However, he didn’t feel so confident in his work. He wondered if he was going to screw up and fail Sarah in their partnership. Once again, he was determined to not let that happen. 13

Sarah closed out of the websites they had used and put her books in her bag. Kevin couldn’t help but spot four other books in her bag. “Holy Christ! Why d’you have all those books?” Sarah smiled and laughed to herself.14

“Well, quite a few reasons. One: I’m taking two math classes and both of the teachers insist that we continue to study math throughout the end of the school year. Two: I have French, Horticulture, and Band finals so I’m studying my ass off. And three: I enjoy carrying 50 lbs worth of books on my back,” she added with a smile. Kevin shook his head in disbelief. 15

“So wait, you’re taking Band, Algebra I, Geometry, AP World History, Biology, Language, and French II all in the same year?”16

“Oui,” she replied. “Well, actually, Algebra II and Geometry.”17

Kevin’s mouth was gaped with awe. “How do you keep up? Especially with your volleyball games at the beginning of the year and things, I mean… it’s impossible isn’t it?”18

“Well, yeah, it’s tough, but think about my Junior year. I’m going to take Psychology, cause I took AP World History this year, College Algebra, Contemporary Literature, some other bullshit classes. I’m taking all this stuff in one year so it can be one shit storm at a time. Next two years, I practically get to kick back. My sisters have taken all these classes and said they were easy. I suppose following in their footsteps is a good choice.” She added a shrug and took a drink of her diet coke that she had gotten earlier. 19

Kevin could only sit in more disbelief. “How are you so smart? How do you keep up?”20

Sarah laughed until her face turned pink. “Smart? You’ve got to be kidding me! I’m not a genius, Kevin. I’m average just like you. I get mostly B’s and occasionally A’s. I get my homework done, but that doesn’t mean it’s right. The only time that I really break down and study my ass off is finals. Because my parents don’t care about silly report cards and progress reports. They care about what matters- your MAP scores, SATs, ACTs, and your finals. Of course, ACT's aren't for another year.”21

Kevin, again, could only sit and gape. He wished his own parents were like that. They cared enough about his grades to keep him on the football team. His father had never cared if he was smart or great in school, really. For some reason, Kevin envied her.22

Sarah didn’t know what to say next, but quickly she asked the question. “What do you plan on taking next year? We’re making our schedules next week.”23

“Ummm, I haven’t really thought about it. I think maybe Algebra 2, AP World History, Environmental Science, Literature, ya know… some others.”24

“Well, do you like poetry?”25

“No, I can’t stand it, honestly.”26

“Well, then you don’t want to take Literature, but I liked that class. I adore poetry. But most of it is Edgar Allen Poe and stuff. AP World History is a tough class too. You have a lot of presentations and essays. Environmental Science is okay, I mean, if you like learning about dirt and erosion. Not much to say about Algebra 2.”27

“How do you know all this stuff?”28

“Because of my sister, and also I’m taking all those classes this year.” Kevin again, was surprised. Sarah sat blankly, not sure what was so special about taking some harder and more advanced classes. But Kevin took an advantage.29

“What are you planning to take next year?”30

“Me? Oh, uh. I was thinking Psychology, or Physics, College Algebra, Contemporary Literature, Trigonometry for a semester, Recent U.S. History for semester, ya know. Whole bunch of crap. A lot of easy stuff too.”31

Kevin made a mental note of some of the classes she would be taking. Somehow, he would atleast be in one of them. 32