Chapter 7

Waking up the next morning, I lifted my head slightly and instantly felt the muscles in the back of my neck tighten up. Cracking my eyes opened as I tried to rub out my muscles, I came face to face with the pages of my history textbook. Hitting rewind on my brain, I realized that I had fallen asleep trying to study the night before.

Over the weekend I had come to terms with the fact that, even though I was going to apologize and try to talk it out, Parker probably wouldn’t want to waste his time helping me in history any more.

I was more than likely going to have to rely on my own cramming and studying for the time being.

Picking up my textbook yawning, I realized that page nineteen now had a wonderful spot of drool right smack dab in the middle of a picture depicting a scene from World War I.

“Gross,” I muttered, wiping the side of my mouth before pulling my sleeve over my hand and wiping the page clean as well.

Sighing, I flipped the book closed and tossed it on the floor beside my school bag before grabbing my training clothes to get ready for my morning run.

Half an hour later I was jogging up my driveway, slowing my heart rate down and steading my breathing. I had taken my usual route through the forest path, but even though the sun was rising up through the trees, it seemed as though I was alone at the pond that morning.

It was strange to me, the fact that when I turned my head to see Parker resting up against his usual trees with a sketch pad and pen, that he wasn’t there. It confused me, and for a second I even thought about seeing if he had moved to a place where I wouldn’t run into him constantly, but afters shaking off that crazy thought, I just continued running.

We were still off because of our faulty tutoring arrangements, and even though I promised myself that I’d talk to him today, I realized that maybe it was a good thing I didn’t run into him so early in the morning. Maybe the fact that I hadn’t seen him in a few days would boost my confidence when I did confront him.

Maybe, in my mind, our conversation would go smoothly and we would get back on good terms.

Oh who was I kidding, this was probably just going to blow up in my face later on.

After washing up and making myself a quick breakfast, I jumped into my car and headed down the, now familiar, roads of Byrendale until I reached the high school.

I had barely taken five steps towards the school building in front of me before I heard my name being called. Before I could even turn around however, a body barreled into my side. Tumbling off balancing, a set of hands steadied me quickly, and as I got my footing back, I looked to the side to see Saige with a guilty smile on her face.

“Sorry,” she said, stepping to the side as I shook my head in amusement.

“Sorry for what?” I asked as we fell into step. “Sorry for almost knocking me down to the pavement, or sorry for getting us kicked out of that arcade?”

“I thought we agreed never to talk about that again.” she replied, pulling a face which told me she was peeved I had brought it up.

I laughed as I noticed the tips of her ears turn pink in embarrassment. “Well I’m sorry, but I just can’t the picture of you yelling at six year old out of my head.”

“What was I supposed to say?” she asked stubbornly. “We were clearly still using the foosball table, so why did he think he could just walk up and ask for it?”

“Um, maybe because we’d been using it for almost an hour because you felt the need to keep calling rematches every time I won.”

That’s right. Even though Saige had been going to the arcade since she was a little girl, or so I assumed, after warming up in a quick game in which she won, I went on to win the rest of the matches, which seemed to bring out her competitive side.

“Hey, there had to be some plausible explanation to why you were constantly winning.” she countered.

“Yea,” I replied with a sneaky grin, “It’s because I’m clearly better than you.”

“Whatever,” she said with an eye roll, nudging my hip before dropping the conversation. “So, when do you think you’re going to talk to Parker?”

Shrugging I readjusted my bag on my shoulder as I walked into the school and started to make my way in between the throngs of teenagers. “I’ll probably just head to the art room at lunch,” I replied, “You know, give myself some time to figure out exactly what to say before jumping into an apology.”

And that’s exactly what I did.

As my Calculus and Biology teachers stood up at the front of the class and taught, I copied down the notes while letting myself wander off in hopes of figuring out the right thing to say to Parker. So far I had a short apology worked out, but I figured that the rest would just come to me in the spur of the moment.

Packing up my bag as the lunch bell rang, I decided to just get my apology over with now instead of waiting for my nerves to kick in.

“Good luck,” Saige said encouragingly as she headed off in the opposite direction towards her locker. “I’ll be waiting in the cafeteria to hear how it went.”

Nodding with a somewhat nervous smile, I took a deep breath to push down any nerves or second thoughts that were building up before turning down the hallway that led towards the art room.

Instead of knocking on the door like a normal person would, I turned the knob immediately and headed inside.

“Okay, so I know you’re probably still a little bit upset with me,” I started, my eyes closed in concentration as I didn’t want to see his immediate reaction to my apology, “But I just wanted to say that I’m really sorry….”

Trailing off as I opened my eyes, I realized that, although I wasn’t talking to an empty room, Parker definitely wasn’t anywhere to be seen. Instead, a confused blonde woman was seated behind the usually empty desk at the front of the room, and she was currently staring at me in a way that caused a surge of embarrassment to pass through me.

“Umm… hi.” I squeaked out.

Seconds of silence passed before the woman cracked a smile and replied. “Hi,” she paused, looking down at the papers on her desk, “I’m assuming you’re looking for Parker?”

Nodding sheepishly, I readjusted my bag as my fingers started to fidget with the strap. “Yea, I’m sorry about barging in like that. It’s just that he’s usually in here alone and I thought I’d be able to find him and apologize for something, but I guess he’s just avoiding me.”

The woman, who I was assuming was a teacher at this school, shook her head and smiled at me. “I didn’t think Parker talked to anyone at the school other than Saige and a few of the teachers that are on his side.” she spoke thoughtfully. “I do know, however, that he wouldn’t purposely ignore somebody, especially a nice girl not unlike yourself. Plus, I don’t think he’d skip school entirely just because he didn’t want to run into you.”

“Wait, what?”

“Parker’s aunt called into the office this morning to say that he’s sick at home, so unless you got him so mad that he decided to play hooky for the day, I don’t think you have to worry about him ignoring you.”

“Oh…” I said, and ounce of disappointment seeping into my voice. I was ready to apologize to him today, and now, by the time I would get around to actually talking to him, I would probably lose the confidence that was slowly diminishing as the time ticked by. “Sorry about barging in like that.” I continued as an afterthought, still embarrassed about how I had suddenly appeared in the room.

“It’s okay dear, usually Parker would’ve been in here and I would normally be in the teacher’s lounge, but I thought since he wasn’t here today I’d take the hour to mark a few assignments.” she explained.

“Wait, so you just let him use this room during lunch?” I asked curiously. “I thought he snuck in or something because students aren’t allowed to be in the classrooms during lunch without a teacher.”

“Well you obviously know him dear,” she said, “He’s been through a lot in the last couple of years, and a lot of it was unnecessary and very stressful on him. Over the years I’ve always saw that Parker had a passion for art, so for the past couple of years I just let him escape the judgements of the students and focus on what he loves. I trust him as a student and I don’t see a problem with giving him a place away from the students who haven’t thought to give him a break.”

Smiling at the teacher, I nodded. I was just about to turn around and meet Saige when she spoke up once again.

“Give him a chance.” she said wisely. “A lot of people have given him grief for what happened to his sister and what he’s been going through the last couple of years, but he’s a good guy that deserves a friend to lean on.”

As she turned away from me and went back to marking the assignments strewn across her desk, I took in her words. I knew, by only a few quick interactions with him, that Parker wasn’t the guy that most of the students at this school saw him to be, but what was still nagging me was the reason.

Why were all the students here judging him so harshly?

With my mind whirling and the clock ticking, I turned and exited the classroom, keeping my thoughts inside as I headed to meet up with Saige for lunch.

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It turns out that when I questioned Saige about Parker’s sickness, she didn’t even know about it herself.

“Usually he’s gone before I even wake up.” she had replied, “I don’t see him in the mornings at all so I didn’t think that he would’ve been curled up in his bed rather than out who-knows-where.”

It occurred to me that she didn’t know that he went to the pond in the mornings to draw, but I kept my mouth quiet in case Parker didn’t want that knowledge floating around.

The week passed quickly and without much hassle. With my thoughts about Parker’s past and my need to work things out between us pushed to the back of my mind, I was able to focus on my upcoming track meet and train a couple of extra hours after school each day.

As Saturday drew closer it was as if my training and my school work took up the majority of my days. If I wasn’t stretching, jogging or on the track, I had a textbook open while I was reviewing for upcoming tests and catching up on the work I was behind on. I barely even had time to remind Saige about my meet, which she was so adamant to attend, but as the day came and the clock struck eight, she was here in my room waiting for me to get ready.

“So, how do I look?” I asked, stepping out of the bathroom with my track suit on whilst striking a pose.

With fake scrutiny, Saige’s eyes bunched up in concentration as she nodded her head. “You look like you’re going to turn into a popsicle the minute you step outside.”

The overly sarcastic dullness of her voice made me immediately crack up in laughter. Although she was technically right, I had grown used to the cold winds and harsher temperatures that came with running track near the end of the season. It was almost November and all that I was wearing was a thin long sleeve shirt with my track singlet on top, as well as a pair of leggings that stopped halfway down my calves.

My laughter calmed down as I headed over to my track bag, grabbing my track outfit and pulling the hoodie and track pants on over my clothes. “Yea,” I shrugged, “But I’ve been in meets when the weather was ten times worse. Imagine starting a race in shorts and a t-shirt, but by the time you crossed the finish line you were shivering and covered in a layer of snow from a sudden blizzard.”

“I’d rather not.” she grimaced, pulling a face as she stood up. “You my friend, better hope it doesn’t miraculously snow today or else there is a very good chance that I’ll just up and leave in search of warmth.”

Chuckling as I quickly threw my outstanding equipment inside my duffel bag, I zipped it up and tossed the strap over my shoulder before replying. “It won’t snow,” I promised as we headed out of my room, “Because if it does, I’ll personally deliver hell to Mother Nature herself.”

Going down the stairs, I heard Saige laugh lightly behind me as we met up with my dad in the living room.

“So, you sure you’re not mad that I can’t make it today?” my dad asked, turning his head as he heard our footsteps. “I could always call into work and tell them there’s an emergency.”

Yesterday he had told me that he couldn’t be on the sidelines for my first meet in Byrendale because he had to work on the case he had just been assigned. There was a lot of research to be done, according to him, and I didn’t want him to miss something important or be looked down upon at his new job, so I told him it was fine.

And honestly, it was.

Saige would still be in the sidelines cheering for me, and I was glad to have one person at home who was on my side as well.

“Come on dad,” I said, walking over to him while rolling my eyes. Kissing him on the cheek and hugging him, I continued. “You know you could never do that. Plus, you can always get a full report tonight at dinner on how I did.”

“You’ll finish first, I know you will kiddo.”

“Thanks dad,” I smiled, kissing his cheek one last time before heading off to the meet.

After a couple wrong turns and few red lights, I pulled into the parking lot of the venue with little to no nerves running through my system.

“I thought you knew where you were going?” I asked Saige as I cut the car’s engine and climbed out of the car.

“I said I knew where the track meet was, I didn’t say I knew exactly how to get here.” she stated in rebuttal. “I only come out here a couple times a year when my aunt wants to go shopping for new clothes or big Christmas gifts; Byrendale is where I spend most of my time.”

Even though this was the first track meet I was participating in, it was one of the biggest of the season for Freedyn High as all twenty high schools in the regional area had students competing for their spots in the actual regional meet in March. The two meets that ran after this would give the people who didn’t qualify today a chance to claim their spots, as well as athletes, such as myself, a chance to run two more meets to officially be part of this regional section.

“So, this is what a track meet’s like?” Saige asked as we headed into the stands to find a seat.

All around us there were athletes braving the November weather in hopes of making their track dreams come true. A lot of people seemed like their nerves were getting to them, as I could clearly see a few family members and friends playing therapist to console the athletes and get them stoked.

Finding a free bench on the stands, Saige sat down beside me as I replied. “Yea I guess it is. Eventually the announcers will call down the athletes participating in the first couple events so that they could sign in and get their race order, but for now we just sit and wait.”

Almost a half an hour passed before a voice finally came through the speakers to inform everybody that the events would be starting momentarily.

“Finally,” Saige muttered, rubbing her bare hands together to try and warm them up. “You didn’t tell me that it’d be a long, cold thirty minutes before anything even started to happen.”

“Sorry,” I giggled, apologizing as I reached into my bag and threw her a set of hand warmers. “But at least you aren’t the one dressed in a simple tracksuit.”

“True,” she said gratefully, tugging the ends of her fur coat closer to her body to keep warm as another voice came through the speakers.

 “Welcome, everyone, to Pre-Run Regional Track Meet!” the announcer started in an over-enthusiastic voice.

“A little over peppy, ain’t he?” Saige muttered, and although I felt the need to laugh, I just smiled and nudged her, telling her to keep quiet.

“Athletes from the twenty district high schools are here today to prove that they have what it takes to earn a spot in the regional meet early next March, and looking down at all the athletes, I can definitely see the faces of champions.”

He went on to call out all twenty high schools in alphabetical order, read out the basic guidelines of the day, and name the order in which the events would take place throughout the day.

Although I was really only used to running three events at track meets, the 4000m, the 1000m hurdles, and the 2500m, Coach Trevor asked me if it would be okay to enter me in the 800m sprint to see how I would do. I was extremely skeptical at first, as I wasn’t much of a sprinter, but I decided to do it. It was another chance that I’d get today to run, which was something I loved to do, and I’d much rather try something new than sit in the stands and freeze.

As the events were called out, I took note of the order that my events were in today. My 2500m and 1000m hurdle qualifiers were both before eleven, with my 800m qualifier taking place at noon, and my 4000m qualifier run taking place just after one.

It wasn’t the best order I could’ve gotten, as my strongest qualifier was later in the day, but I didn’t dwell on it as the announcer finished his opening speech.

“Now, would the racer’s in the junior categories for 400m women’s, 200m men’s, men’s pole vault and women’s long jump please make their way to your respect stations to begin the day.” he said. “And remember, that although today is a big day for most of you, it doesn’t matter who wins and who loses, all that matters is that you have fun and try your best, as putting your best foot forward will already feel like you’re winning a medal.”

As the speaker sounded off and a bunch of athletes got out of their seats to head down to the track, most of the remaining spectators, including Saige and I, applauded his speech.

However, when the applause simmered down and I looked around me, I saw a few over confident athletes laughing and mimicking the speech. It looked to me that they were all from the same high school, maybe just old enough to be competing here today, and they thought that they’d sweep their events.

It was athletes like these that made my love for the sport diminish slightly as I saw what the thirst for win did to some people. I always kept a level-head, whether I won a race or messed up and crossed the finish line last, I never saw the need to rub my passion in others faces if I did well. Most of my old teammates were like me as well, but there were always those few athletes who didn’t enjoy the thrill of running against the wind, those few who didn’t care about crossing the finish line knowing you’d left your heart on the track.

All they wanted was a gold medal around their neck and somebody’s face to rub it in.

Before my gaze unfortunately connected with one of the cocky junior racers, I averted my eyes and started talking to Saige until my first event came up.

My first two qualifying races went smoothly, with me finishing first in both of my heats and gaining spots in the finals later this afternoon.

My 800m race however, didn’t go exactly how I thought it would.

Going into the race I didn’t have high expectations. I knew that I excel at longer events because I worked my hardest at building up speed and using my stamina to stay strong. That being said, I also knew that I wasn’t the best sprinter and I had to have a completely different approach to a shorter track as opposed to longer ones.

It took a fast start, an even pace, and steady breathing for somebody to give their all for the minute or two they were racing, and that was exactly what I intended to do.

As I stepped to my place in lane six, I didn’t look at my competitors. I didn’t focus on their strategies or their places, I simply cleared my mind. Taking a deep breath as I sank down into my starting position, my feet were resting in position, one foot in front of the other, my left leg bent up to help my take off, and my hands were bare as they rested on the cold surface of the track.

As I saw the official walk over to the sidelines, I knew that I had just seconds to psych myself up for this race. Counting down in my head, I readied myself for the gun shot.

3, 2, 1, BOOM!

The starting pistol went off and in that second I, along with the other seven other racers, pushed off with all my might. I was pumping my arms and feet as fast as they could go, working myself up to a speed that quickly put me, surprisingly, in the lead.

I continued running my hardest and breathing steadily as I rounded the corners of the track, not caring that the people in the lanes beside me were catching up, not focusing on the field events that were going on as I ran.

After running the track once, I was so close to the finish line, and even though I had lost my lead slightly, I was surprising myself with my abilities that I didn’t even know I had.

As I was just about to cross the finish line in the lead, a girl from an opposing high school stepped extended her strides and landed on the other side of the finish line not even a second before I did.

Slowing down and breathing hard, I wasn’t disappointed as I saw some of the girls teammates congratulate her on her win, in fact, I was happy myself.

Sending the girl a smile as she looked over to me, I walked over to the sidelines to grab my water bottle before heading back up to my seat in the stands next to Saige.

“Okay, I have never seen somebody run that fast before.” Saige said in amazement as I sat down beside her. “I mean, I saw your other two races and you were great, but you weren’t running that fast. It was like you were one of those cartoon foxes that got really mad after the gun went off and left the other racers in a cloud of smoke. And you totally had it in the bag until that bitch came out of nowhere.”

Her last sentence caught me off guard, and the fact that I was drinking water when she spoke didn’t exactly work I my favour. I laughed, and instead of my usual laughter, all that could be heard was a light choking sound as I tried to swallow the water I had consumed in attempt not to have a live-action spit take.

“It’s fine,” I said, coughing a few times until my throat felt better. “I’m not the best at short track running. I’m actually surprised that I got second in my heat, I was thinking I’d be near the back of the pack.”

“Jillian, you’re good at every type of running.” Saige stated. “I can’t even jog a lap around a track in gym before slowing down to catch my breath, but you just run, and it’s like nothing it’s the most natural thing in the world for you.”

“I’ve been running for a long time,” I shrugged, taking another gulp of water, “It relieves stress and I find it fun.”

“Yea and you’re one of the few who do.”

Even if I had a reply to that, which I truly didn’t, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to speak as the announcer’s voice once again came onto the speaker to announcer the finalists for the 800m race.

“Well, I have to say, those last few races were absolutely amazing. If any of you were watching the same races that I was, all of you must be as impressed as I am, because we undoubtedly have some amazing athletes here today.” he said in his other enthusiastic voice.

“But unfortunately, only 8 athletes can compete in the finals for the senior girls 800m race, and those athletes are…”

I wasn’t completely focusing to the announcement as I turned to shuffle through the miscellaneous items in my bag to find a snack or two. Pushing over an extra sports bra and a couple empty sticks of deodorant, I grabbed a hold of a granola bar as I tuned back in to hear the names of the last couple finalists.

“Macey Hiltart, Samantha Petion, and last but not least,” he paused, trying to create a dramatic effect.

Rolling my eyes at the cheesiness that the announcer seemed to possess, I bit into my granola bar as he called out the last name.

“Jillian Thomas.”

My eyes went wide and my body froze for a split second as I realized that my name had just been called.

That couldn’t be right, could it? I couldn’t have done that well… and what about all the runners in the other heats?

It felt like minutes had soared by, but it must have been only a few seconds as I felt Saige’s arms wrap around my body in an attempted bear hug.

“Did you hear that Jillian?” she asked in an excited voice, and as I looked at her, she looked like a wild rabbit who had been given just a little too much of laughing gas. “You’re in the finals!

“Yea,” I said slowly, choking slightly on the piece of granola bar that was still in my mouth before smiling. “I guess I did.”

It was funny… my nerves never seemed to act up when I knew I had a race coming up. Whether it was weeks before a race or the second before I was about to take off, they never seemed to be an issue. It might have been the fact that I always did the same thing, ran constantly with a semi-fast speed for a few minutes and pushed my hardest, but now I knew that I wasn’t pushing my hardest.

I had become so used to running intensely over a longer period of time that I forgot that it took even more concentration to sprint full-out over a shorter distance.

As the day passed and I finished my other races, coming in first in the 4000m and the 2500m, with a second place finish in the 1000m hurdles, my nerves stayed calm, as they should. However, when I started walking onto the field after signing my name for the 800m finals, it was as if my heart was about to explode that very second.

I saw my coach off to the side, watching me as I warmed up my muscles once again, give me an encouraging thumbs up, which oddly enough, didn’t calm me down in the slightest.

Hopping in place and stretching my legs, I saw the other racers getting called into their respective lanes, and as my name got called, I stepped up to the line in lane 8 and took a deep breath.

The starting pistol went off seconds later and it was if every ounce of adrenaline that I had left in me came to life.

I don’t think I had ever run as fast as I did in that race, at least since I started running long distance back when I was eleven or twelve. It was like I was competing in a whole new sport, and my concentration and breathing was right on track as I crossed the finish line.

My level of focus had been so high that I didn’t notice my competition falling behind me or coming ahead of me. I just focused on what I knew my goal was, and that was to cross the finish line with all my might.

With my hands on my knees as I took in the cold autumn air, I looked up to see the times appear on the screen.

In shock, I saw my name, along with my time of 1:56:05, in the third place position.

It had never occurred to me before that I could compete in shorter track events, but after my experience today, it got me thinking that maybe I could step out of my comfort zone in track. Try new events and prosper as an athlete.

After receiving my 3rd place ribbon, I jogged up to the stands to see a very overly excited Saige waiting for me.

“You did great!” she exclaimed, jumping up and down with excitement as she threw her arms around me. “I thought you said you were good in long track races, but were just as good in that race.”

Her excitement seemed to rub off on me right away as a burst of elation went through me and smiled erupted on my face.

“Thanks,” I laughed happily.

“And look at this,” she continued, grabbing my third place ribbon from my hands, “I bet you’ve never gotten one of these before.”

I rolled my eyes as I grabbed the ribbon back and stuck it in the pouch where my other three were. “I’ve gotten a 3rd place ribbon before,” I corrected teasingly, “I’m not perfect you know.”

“Could’ve fooled me.”

I stuck my tongue out at Saige as I grabbed my track suit out of my bag and pulled it on once more.

“Oh, and somebody else showed up to watch you run.” Saige said, making me look at her in a confused manner as I pulled my sweater over my head.

“Who?” I questioned, as the only other person I knew who would consider coming to watch was more than likely still at work.

Saige didn’t answer; instead she nodded six rows up.

There weren’t that many people left in the stands, so as my gaze moved to the direction Saige was nodding, my eyes immediately latched on to the one person that I definitely did not expect to be here watching me run.

Parker Collins.

“I’ll just go wait in the car,” Saige said, grabbing the keys from my bag as she inched towards the stairs, “You go talk to him.”

I didn’t even get to ask her why he was here in the first place before she headed down the stairs and onto the field, leaving me more-or-less alone with a guy that seemed to be avoiding me.

Or maybe it was the other way around.

Packing up the rest of my track stuff, I threw my bag over my shoulder as I headed up the aisle.

“Hey.” I greeted awkwardly as I reached the row Parker was in, taking a seat a few feet away from him.

“Hi,” he replied as he turned to face me. He had a beanie on, which covered the top of his head and the tips of his ears, but by the pink tint that covered his cheeks and the way his legs were bouncing up and down, I could tell he was braving the cold to be here. “You raced great.”

Even though his compliment sounded genuine, it also sounded kind of forced in a way. “Thanks,” I accepted awkwardly.

“Sorry,” he said guiltily, “I don’t really know that much about sports.”

“So… why are you here then?”

It was as if my question caught him off guard, when really, he should’ve been expecting it. What kind of person showed to a track meet where they had no business at unless they wanted questions asked.

“Umm… I don’t really know.”

“You don’t know?” I asked skeptically, raising an eyebrow. “Well did Saige tell you I’d be here, because she didn’t seem to have the need to tell me you were coming this morning, or this afternoon for that matter?”

He shook his head in reply. “No, I asked my aunt where Saige was, because usually she’s just hanging around the house, but when she told me she was out here with you, I decided to take a little drive.”

“So… you were bored?” I asked, continuing after I saw him nod. “Then why not go somewhere and draw or something?”

“I did.” he replied, gesturing to the pen and notepad that was lying on the bench beside him.

Huh, I hadn’t seen those there a second ago.

“And…” he continued nervously, “I kind of wanted to apologize about the whole tutoring thing last week. I was a jerk.”

“Yea, you kind of were.” I replied bluntly, and I saw his cheeks darken in colour at my remark. “But, I also didn’t really help the situation. I could’ve actually put in an effort to understand the things you were telling me, or at the very least ask you to repeat things and explain them a little more clearly.”

“Yea, but I didn’t really give you a chance to.”

“So, I guess we were both in the wrong.” I stated.

“I guess so.” he agreed, and I nodded, not expecting him to continue. “But, if you still want it, I could meet you on Monday and we could go over some things again. Slower this time, so that you actually understand it.”

I was actually surprised he was offering to tutor me again. I mean, the first time I technically pressured him into helping me, but it seemed that, even after the disaster we had just last week, he was ready to forget it and move forward.

And if he was willing to move forward, then so was I, especially if it meant me passing history this semester with a decent grade.

“Deal.”

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TADA!

The seventh chapter of Defending Parker is finally complete, and I am so terribly sorry about not working on this sooner! I kind of abandoned writing for a while as I had final projects to turn in and exams to write in January, but when February fell upon us, it was as if my brain couldn’t just start writing again.

Hopefully this chapter isn’t too shaky as I worked hard all weekend to get it done, but if you do notice anything contradictory or fuzzy just leave a comment and I’ll try to clear it up.

This story is just getting started, and I hope you all are excited for what’s in store… I know I am :)