“Chloe, we’re going to be late!” Aileen called from outside the house. I tugged on my sneakers, grabbed my bag, and hurried out the door. Aileen was already in the car, drumming her fingers on the steering wheel with impatience. “Seriously, if you want me to pick you up for school, you should at least be on time.”
“Geez, it’s not even that late,” I replied, reaching out to pull her into a quick hug.
“Well, have fun explaining that to Mrs. Gregory,” she said, a small smile playing on her lips. But Aileen was right. Mrs. Gregory wasn’t exactly a fan, and she took any excuse to make that clear. Being late to her class felt like a guaranteed disaster.
Do I exaggerate? Perhaps a little. But one couldn’t deny her animosity since I’d taken her summer class. It was exhausting. And Mrs. Gregory had no legitimate reason to dislike me. I was a good student – I always completed my homework, and I studied as much as I could. I’d even tried everything, requesting a transfer from the principal, but he’d dismissed my concerns, praising Mrs. Gregory as one of the school’s best teachers. But why don’t you see for yourself?
I entered the classroom and slid into my usual seat. Fortunately, Mrs. Gregory wasn’t there yet, granting me a few precious moments to relax. I was drifting toward sleep when someone tapped my shoulder. It was Colin, Mark’s best friend.
Speaking of Mark… Yes, I had a boyfriend. His name was Mark, and he was eighteen, just like me. Honestly, our relationship was amazing. Mark was caring and sincere, making him the perfect first boyfriend. Plus, he was incredibly handsome. We’d been together for almost a year, and we couldn’t have been happier. The only irritating aspect of our relationship was Mark’s friends. Not that I hated them, but as members of the football team, they could be arrogant and cocky – qualities Mark didn’t seem to mind.
Trying to be polite for Mark’s sake, I turned and smiled. “Hey, Colin.”
“Wow, you look tired today,” he said with that familiar, arrogant smirk. Deep down, I just wanted to turn back around and ignore him, but, determined to be the perfect girlfriend, I resisted.
“Charming as always, I see,” I answered, letting a touch of sarcasm slip into my voice.
“Calm down, I was just kidding. Of course you look beautiful, princess.” He reached out and brushed his fingers across my hand, planting a small kiss on my knuckles. I rolled my eyes.
“I hate to interrupt your little flirtation, Miss Anderson,” Mrs. Gregory’s voice cut through the air. As always, my lovely teacher found a way to embarrass me in front of the whole class.
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Gregory,” I mumbled, avoiding eye contact as my cheeks flushed.
“Anyway, today we’ll be discussing Harper Lee’s novel, *To Kill a Mockingbird*. For those who actually read the novel over the weekend, what do you think the main topic of the story is?” I raised my hand, along with a few other students. “Miss Anderson?”
“In my opinion, the novel mainly discusses the issue of intolerance. As seen through examples like Boo Radley and Tom Robinson, people are judged based on appearances or unfounded rumors…”
Mrs. Gregory cut me off. “Okay, thank you.” Actually, I was proud of myself. At least she hadn’t insulted me. A few other students offered their thoughts – racism, coming-of-age, small-town life – until Colin raised his hand.
“I think the novel is about discrimination and tolerance. People are being judged way too easily.” Was he serious? He’d just paraphrased my answer a few minutes earlier. He hadn’t even read the novel.
“Very good, Mister Miller. I’m happy to see that some people actually engaged with the material and gave it some thought.” From the corner of my eye, I saw Noah trying to stifle his laughter. Mrs. Gregory noticed him as well. She turned around, frowning. “Mister Shaw, is there something you would like to share with the class?”
Noah seemed caught off guard. It took him a moment to regain his composure. “I – I was just admiring how Colin’s answer really outdid the rest of the class,” he said, bursting into laughter again. This time, he wasn’t subtle about it.
“Is there anything else?” Mrs. Gregory asked, her voice dangerously calm.
“No, that’s all I wanted to say.” Noah pressed his lips together to suppress another laugh.
After another hour of torment, the school bell finally rang. I quickly packed my things, wanting to avoid… “Chloe, wait.” It was too late. Colin was already standing beside me. “I’m sorry about before. I just hated seeing Mrs. Gregory ignore your brilliant answer like that. So I wanted to give it another shot.”
“Jerk,” I blurted out, walking into the hallway. But Colin wouldn’t stop following me. He circled around me, a familiar annoyance.
“Oh look, there’s your boyfriend. You surely don’t want to fight in front of him, do you?” I decided to ignore Mark’s irritating friend.
As we reached the small group of friends, Mark instinctively wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close for a soft kiss. As I looked into his eyes, I quickly forgot about Colin. And that’s how I managed to tolerate Mark’s friends. As soon as I saw him and felt his lips on mine, everything else faded into irrelevance. It was just the two of us against the rest of the world.