"It's been a long day, always ain't that right." -Long Day, by Matchbox 20 (A/N you can probably see my slight Matchbox 20 obsession lol)

August came, and with it even more extreme heat. Evelyn found herself staying inside more often, taking advantage of the air conditioner. She didn't use Instagram nearly as much, and she and Tim kept coming up with prank ideas, including (but not limited to) covering desks in plastic wrap, setting random balloons everywhere, and switching students' water bottles around. It was an eventful week, especially considering Tim was moving too. On his last day in the state, they called and talked for a while, about nothing in particular. It felt good to have at least one friend, since her other friends had abandoned her. Still, her worry wasn't completely gone.
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"Evelyn, wake up! It's school shopping day!" Her dad woke her up one morning, a week and a half before the start of school. She groaned and got up, changing into a graphic tee and jean shorts after a quick shower. Evelyn ran downstairs and poured herself a bowl of cereal, just as her mom came downstairs.

"Good morning, Evelyn!" Her mom said brightly. "Ready for school shopping?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," she muttered in response. "How many notebooks are they gonna drown me in?"

"Oh, come on. You'll be fine!" It took a lot of encouragement before Evelyn was finally ready to go. Her mom pulled out the supply list in the car, and Evelyn skimmed through it on the way to the store:

Seventh-Grade Students will need:

•6 blue or black pens
•4 red pens
•5 college rule notebooks
•1 12-pocket expandable
•1 1-inch binder
•5 pencils
•1 backpack

More items will be given at the start of the year, and items will need to be replaced throughout the school year.

The list wasn't too long. Evelyn speculated that about 45 minutes of shopping would be more than enough time to get everything and stop for ice cream on the way home.
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They left the store two hours later. Evelyn was fuming. "Ugh, Mom, did we really have to look at every single notebook on the shelf? I only needed five, and it's not like the paper's gonna be different in each one," she groaned as they walked back to the car.

"I know, honey, but every notebook has a certain style."

"Mom, that literally made no sense whatsoever."

"Oh, never mind, but you took half an hour to pick your backpack without my input."

Evelyn didn't say anything. That bit was true; it had taken quite a while to settle for the dark blue backpack she picked. She just hoped that her stuff fit the private school aesthetic, just in case. Apparently, there wasn't a uniform, but the dress code was on the stricter side. She'd worry about that next week.

When she got home, she told Tim about her shopping experiences. Their conversation was an interesting one:

Tim: Hey! How was nerd shopping?

Evelyn: not u 2! -.-

Tim: geez, ok. But what was it like?

Evelyn: u have no idea how it feels to b drowned in notebooks

Tim: I'll bring those flowers that feel like paper to ur funeral XD

Evelyn: wth- TOO SOON

Tim: jk lmao

Evelyn: u sure?

Tim: ...no

Evelyn: whatever

Tim: so u still freaking out bout school?

Evelyn: duh. Hbu?

Tim: I found some friends on a soccer team so yeah

Evelyn: oh that's nice!

Tim: yea but the coach is a demon tho :(

Evelyn: oof :/ ill bring soccer balls to ur funeral

Tim: ._. Not as funny as mine :)

Evelyn: finee >.<

Tim: muahahaha

Evelyn: um ok

Tim: lol yeah idk

Evelyn: dang it I gtg :/ c u later!

Tim: bye!

Evelyn ser her phone down next to her bean bag. It was a long day. It didn't seem right that it was only 2:00 in the afternoon. She pulled out a book and read until dinner time. And she waited for next week to come.