"Yo, Isaac!" Someone called my name from behind me. I flinched, pulling a book out of my locker and knocking it into my backpack. "Jake." I said simply.

Jake walked up to me and slapped my shoulder. There was a girl with him. The only thing I noticed about her was the streak of pink in her black hair. "You alright man? Haven't really talked in a while." 

I cringed. I had been purposely ignoring Jake. I didn't want him to hear any of the screaming in my head, or worse, try to make sense of it. I already had Cecilia to do that, and frankly, I didn't need her doing it either. No one should have to handle what I have to handle. 

"Listen, man...I'm sorry about your dad. I really am." He said to me. I looked up, surprised. I hadn't mentioned my father to Jake. Cecilia must have told him. Damn her. Unfortunately, when I looked up, my hat flipped off of my head, revealing my face. 

Jake stared at me, his eyes wide. "Isaac?" 

I hastily grabbed my hat and put it back on to my head, then swept my backpack off the ground and walked away from Jake.

"Isaac!" Jake started running after me. Fortunately, I had always been faster than him. I started running too. I eventually lost him around a corner and dove into a classroom. 

Lucky for me, there was a class in there. (Could you sense the sarcasm? You better have been able to, otherwise that sentence wouldn't have made sense. Even though half of what I tell you doesn't make sense because I'm so damn confused...you know what, let's drop it.)

"Uh...sorry." I said lamely, peeking out of the window and seeing Jake's back to the door, his girl gripping his elbow tightly. I yelped and dropped back to the ground, earning several weird looks from the kids...though the weirdest look by far was from the teacher. 

"Um...can I just stay in here for a little bit?" I asked, getting clumsily to my feet, avoiding eye contact with anyone except the teacher. The teacher raised his eyebrows, and I knew his answer before he spoke.

"Sorry, but you're going to have to--"

"Don't make him go yet, Mr. Greene." Someone said. I cringed. It was Cecilia. 

"Really, Ms. Kee? Is now the time for some kid to be breaking into my classroom and--"

Cecilia cut him off again, something that I thought was dangerous. This man, Mr. Greene, looked like a seasoned professional. Definitely a teacher that would be strict with you. Someone who wouldn't hold your hand. His face was angled and had a few creases, showing off his age. His hair was grey, but he still had all of it.

"Mr. Greene Isaac hasn't been in school for a while, and I'm sure a good amount of the teacher are under the impression that he's a delinquent skipping classes and doing drugs, but not all teenagers are like that. He just lost his father. He's confused right now, okay? Cut him some slack." She kept her voice steady and brisk. Mr. Greene, obviously impressed, nodded his head. 

"Well Mr....uh..." He tilted his head. "Isaac Carter, sir." I said. 

"Well Mr. Carter, I suppose you're lucky that someone here is looking out for you." He said. "And I'm very sorry about your father."

"Yeah, so am I." I said quietly, then realizing that this wasn't the proper response, I corrected myself. "I mean, thank you, sir." 

Mr. Greene nodded and turned back to his chalkboard, scribbling quickly and beginning to talk about the history of only-God-knows-what.

I stayed for a while, checking behind my back every now and then to see if Jake was still standing outside the door. I wasn't sure why he had been standing there so long, or why he hadn't bothered to check in the classroom. Maybe he knew that I wasn't stupid enough to walk into a room where a class was in session. 

Well...he thought I wasn't stupid enough. I suppose I've proved that I am stupid enough. 

What I don't understand, though, is why this class was in session in the first place. The first bell hadn't rung yet...and that was just the first bell. There were three of them at our school, and the time between the first and third was an hour. Most people didn't even get to school before the first bell, unless, like me, they wanted to catch up on homework. Either that or they had clubs. 

And this was definitely not a club, but why would there be a class this early?

My curiosity got the best of me, and I decided to ask.

"Er, sir?" I raised my hand on instinct. Mr. Greene turned around, annoyance clear on his face. "Yes, Mr. Carter?" 

"Why is this a class?"

Mr. Greene narrowed his eyes. "For honors students." He said simply. "It's an extra class that they have the authority to add on, if they so wish. It's early in the morning, but it gives them college credit."

I nodded once, a small flame of pride glowing in my chest. Mr. Greene turned back to the chalkboard and continued scribbling his notes.

I glanced over my shoulder. Jake and that girl were no longer in the hallway. Relieved, I thanked Mr. Greene for allowing me to stay in the room and left as casually as I could. I didn't start running until I knew he couldn't see me.