Hype

~Chapter 11~

            All I wanted to do was run down and scream into their faces.  Maybe that would knock some sense into them.  I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.  Public school?  My parents are going to try and send me to a public school?  After everything they’ve done to keep us away from them−paying thousands of dollars a year in tuition for Mercy so that we wouldn’t be shoved in one of those trash heaps, and all of a sudden it’s okay?  I had to find a way to end the madness. 

           I can’t go there.  I’m going to have all my stuff stolen, just like Reverend Dave said.  Almost everyone is a thief, a druggie, or a non-believer.  Not to mention that if I say I’m a Christian, everyone is going to hate me.  Reverend told us over and over again that everyone in the public schools despises Christians.  Were my parents insane?  I’m not going to make any friends.  Are you kidding? 

          Why would I want to be friends with any of those people?  Two months…two months…I don’t care how long it is.  It’s going to be pure torture.  I’m just a sheltered Christian kid…I’ll never make it in a gigantic public school.  My head was spinning. How could Mom and Dad even say such a thing?  Newpoint High.  That is my last option?  There’s got to be some other solution…

           After hearing that, I ran upstairs to my room.  The room was in total darkness besides that faint glow coming from the butterfly nightlight we had.  Faith still gets afraid of the dark sometimes.  I don’t mind having a nightlight in my room when I’m eighteen.  It comes in handy when I have to get up in the middle of the night and don’t have to worry about tripping over something on the floor, which I have done numerous times.  Anyway, I  attempted to not make a lot of noise as I crept into bed so I didn’t wake up Faith.  The pain in my leg was starting to fade even more now, and I figured that after my endless day, I’d fall asleep in no time. 

         Fifteen minutes passed, then a half an hour, then two hours.  I just laid there, wide awake, all night.  I remember seeing the sun start to rise.  That’s when I fell asleep.  I heard Faith get up for school soon after that.  There was noise and commotion downstairs in the kitchen as well.  But that’s normal for us.  Breakfast in my house can’t just be a simple bowl of cereal.  Oh no−Mom has to do a ton of work and go all out.  Pancakes, waffles, scrambled eggs, it’s always something different. 

        I feel bad for all the kids that don’t have parents who make them breakfast.  They just make themselves a protein shake or something, while my mom is serving me hot food.  She’s always had a love for the culinary stuff.  She used to be a chef before she married Dad and decided to be a stay home mom. 

           Alright.  So, now we’re on to April fifth.  Noon: that’s when I got up.  Eleven-fifty eight to be exact about it.  Two minutes before noon.  Give me a break, okay?  I didn’t fall asleep until after five am.  So I got up and went downstairs.  Mom was on the computer, then got up to heat up some pancakes for me.  I went over to the table, still hobbling, but not as much as yesterday.  The microwave beeped and Mom set the pancakes down in front of me.  She started to head back into the computer room, but turned and sat down with me instead. 

            “I talked to your father about your school situation last night,” 

            Should I go along with it or just say the truth?  “I heard.  Looks like I’m heading to Newpoint, aren’t I?” 

            She cringed.  “Well…I’ve been trying to contact some of the other private schools around here…they just won’t take a senior this late in the year.” 

            I swallowed the bit of pancake I had in my mouth.  “So, we’re left with either online, or Newpoint then?  And you don’t think I should do the online courses, do you?”