LAND OF MISTASIA
PHILLIP & WHIZZY TRILOGY (BOOK 1)
SUMMER COULDN’T COME SOON
ENOUGH
Chapter 2
It was the last day of 8th
grade and my mom was driving me to school. I only lived a block away on Violet
Lane, but it was raining out and my mom didn’t want me getting wet.
So I jumped into the back
of our dirty, black car, set my worn out backpack in the seat beside me and
buckled up.
“All buckled up,
Phillip?” My mom still treated me like I was in Kindergarten sometimes. I think
it’s because I’m an only child…so to her I will forever be her little baby boy.
The one problem with that was now I was nearly six feet tall and closer to
driving the family car to school myself than learning how to walk or go potty.
Most of the time I just let it go. She didn’t mean any harm.
“Yes, mom.” I replied
trying not to sound too annoyed.
She started up the
engine, which sounded a little rough. This car was nearly as old as me, but we
couldn’t afford a new one. We weren’t very wealthy…that was why I had also been
using the same backpack all through middle school and most of my clothes were
too short. I had gone through another growth spurt this school year and now
most of my shirts looked like I had no sleeves and my pants showed my ankles.
The school bully, Billy
Lawton, always teased me. “You expectin’ a flood, Harper? Looks like you’re
worried about getting’ your pants wet.”
I hated Billy! He picked on me everyday, but today would be his last
shot until high school. We were about to start summer vacation and it couldn’t
come soon enough.
It didn’t take very long
for us to arrive, only a minute or two. My mom turned right onto Orange
Avenue…the one main road directly through Greenville. All the schools for our
town sit next to each other on Green Circle. The high school, where I will go
next year is in the middle with the elementary on the left and the middle
school on the right. These buildings were pretty old. My mom and dad both went
to school here too.
As we pulled up in front
of Greenville Middle School the sun tried to peek out from the massive dark
gray clouds that had consumed the sky. For a slight instant a sliver of
sunlight dashed toward the ground like a spotlight on a stage. It only lasted
for a few seconds and then the sun was swallowed up by another uniquely shaped
cloud. It looked like a taco, which reminded me that I had forgotten to eat
breakfast this morning and was hungry.
I always had a hard time
eating breakfast because my stomach was turning in knots.
“Bye, Mom!” I yelled as I
started to open the door. The car door bumped the car next to ours. My stomach
flipped. I hurried out to check the beautiful, expensive, white car for damage.
Somehow there was no mark, just some dirt. “Thank God!” I was relieved.
“Everything alright,
Phillip?” My mom questioned through the passenger window. She had a worried
look on her face.
“Fine. Everything’s
fine.”
“Please, be careful.” She
always worried about me. Especially since I was quite clumsy. “Sometimes I pray
that you will just come home in one piece, honey.” She smiled at me and waved
goodbye.
I stood on the sidewalk
as she drove away. Then I remembered that there was some crackers in my
backpack; I was hoping food would cure my stomach pains. I rummaged around
inside my bag as it started to rain harder. Fumbling around, I dropped my
notebook on the wet sidewalk. A gust of wind began blowing the pages open.
“Darn It.” Quickly. I gathered my notebook and backpack and ran towards the
school. Running was a problem for me. My big feet and general lack of
coordination seemed to end any attempt at speed or grace. Today was no
different. A long strap from my backpack dragged on the ground, and of course…I
stepped on it. I tumbled like a twisted ballerina, which for a 14-year-old-boy
isn’t the way to go. I landed very ungracefully on my belly. I could hear
laughter rise out of the entryway. I looked up to see three 7th
grade girls who had just witnessed my non-athletic moment. My stomach turned
like someone was ringing out water from a sponge. “This day can’t end soon
enough.”
A loud voice from behind
barked at the giggling girls, “What are you geeks laughing at? Huh? Oh, thanks
for the help!” I didn’t need to turn around to recognize his sarcastic voice.
It was my best friend, Michael Whizzenmog the third, but I called him “Whizzy”.
“You alright, Phillip?” He asked while helping me get back to my feet. He shot
another evil look at the girls who now moved inside.
“Thanks, Whizzy.” I moaned.
“Man, you are all wet. Did you bring another shirt?”
“No,” I replied. “Don’t worry about it. I’m fine.”
We walked inside Greenville Middle School for the
last time. It would have probably been a good feeling had I not looked like I
showered in my clothes. Everyone stared even more than normal as I walked down
the hall toward my locker. You see I’m the tallest kid in our school…that is
why I can’t wait to go to the high school next year. I stick out like a tree in
a field of shrubs. It doesn’t help that my best friend is on the shorter side.
Whizzy has always been rather small. He only comes
to my chest. Even his twin sister, Rachel is taller than him. That hasn’t
helped his demeanor either. You know how the smallest dog barks the loudest?
That’s Whizzy. You would think that I would be the one protecting him, but it’s
always been the other way around.
After collecting my stuff, Whizzy and I went to his
locker. While he cleared out junk from the past school year, I watched the
usual daily gatherings in the hallway. It was the same everyday.
A group of 6th grade girls stood together
in a huddle, yet no one talked. Laughter would erupt periodically as they
texted one another on their cell phones. The blonde-haired girl with braces
held her hand over her mouth so no one would notice her smile, but everyone
knew she had braces. Her friend wore the same ponytail. It never changed. I
wondered if it was real hair or just a wig that she put on every morning.
“Did you study for the math exam?” Whizzy asked.
“Yeah. It should be pretty easy.”
“I don’t know. I just don’t get it.”
“Whizzy, we have been studying this all year. How can you still not get it?” I didn’t
believe that Whizzy had even attempted to look at the study guide for this
exam. He hated math…well mainly our teacher Mr. Quinch. “You should have asked
me for help.”
“I know.”
I laid my head back against the lockers waiting for
Whizzy to gather his book when I saw his sister, Rachel Whizzenmog, walking
toward us with a group of her friends.
She was beautiful. Her reddish-brown hair came down
to her shoulders. She had emerald green eyes and had developed a young woman’s
figure over the past year. The whole school had noticed that. Unlike Whizzy and
I, Rachel was very popular. The funny thing was that Rachel and Whizzy almost
didn’t even talk. They ignored each other most of the time, and when they did
talk it was more like arguing. I never understood them. How could twins dislike
each other so much?
I watched her almost glide up to the locker beside
her brother’s. As she walked past, I pulled my head forward to watch not
knowing my hair was caught in the locker hinge. I pulled a tuft of hair out. It
hurt.
“What are you doing? Are you checking out my
sister?” He slapped me in the chest. “You traitor.” Whizzy walked away quickly
leaving me at the lockers with Rachel and her entourage.
“Hi.” I said to Rachel with a smile.
She laughed. She had always considered me a dork,
partly because I was an awkward klutz and partly guilt by association. Being
Whizzy’s best friend hadn’t endeared me to Rachel.
My stomach flipped again. Luckily, I hadn’t eaten my
crackers because I probably would have thrown up. I dashed off behind Whizzy.
We sat in our 1st hour math class
awaiting the bell to ring. It hadn’t been the worst start to a day this year,
but it hopefully wouldn’t get worse.
“Only seven hours left. Summer couldn’t come soon
enough!”
Copyright Held by: Christopher M. Purrett
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