Silver Lining

The hustle and bustle of the typical high school life punctured the serenity of his thoughts. As Isaac dreamt longingly of meeting Yoda from Star Wars or becoming a champion at chess club, he was abruptly awoken by the reality of his world. There were the seniors, better known as the bullies. The juniors who were simply stressed, the sophomores who felt all means of apathy and finally the freshmen, the children that are still finding their way in the maze of unknown paths, places and people. Unfortunately, Isaac was still a freshman. Confused and oppressed.

A tinny, four-beat bell propelled everyone to their homerooms. When he found his seat at the front of the class, Isaac met eyes with his only friend, Daniel Harbour. Unconventionally, Daniel was trying a new look; sunglasses, as he strutted to his seat while getting weird looks from the others.

‘Hi… Daniel?’ I tilted my head quizzically. Daniel flexed his sunglasses to the girls before greeting me,

‘Oh, hey Isaac. What do you think? Huh?’ Confidently, he swaggered down the middle aisle of the seats like he was in a fashion parade,

‘They look… Umm… Unique?’

‘Come on, you have to try them! All the girls are looking at me!’ Daniel replied confidently,

‘Look Daniel,’ I said bluntly, ‘The only reason they’re giggling and staring at you is because you look like a clown and-’ Isaac’s mind interrupted him as Katrina walked in elegantly through the door, a skirt as always, and most of all, just his type.

‘Isaac... Hello?... Hello!… Yoda is coming to school!’ Daniel yelled in Isaac’s ear,

‘Huh? Where? When? Issac enquired as he jumped out of his chair in excitement. The entire class exploded with unrestrained laughter that even Mr Burkens couldn’t control. Him being the stern teacher he was, despised being a mere peasant that had no control and slapped his hands on the desk and roared the seven-letter word ‘SILENCE!’In an instant, all students had sat up straight and greeted the teacher like he was their leader. While class was in-session, Isaac diligently took notes, tentatively listening to every word Mr Burkens had to say, however in the back of his mind, he was still dreaming longingly of the moment Katrina ambled into class. He knew that this year was the year he would make his move. But how? He did know that now was not the right time and zoned back to the conversation in class.

The lunch bell had rung and as Mr Burkens dismissed the class, Isaac jumped out of his seat and rushed to the cafeteria, avoiding eye contact from anyone. He still had a sense of humiliation after his best friend practically bullied him into embarrassment. Besides, Isaac had a burning tenacity to finally sit at a table in the cafeteria instead of the floor. Unfortunately, it clearly wasn’t his day. As his pupils scanned the entire area, not a single space was vacant. ‘Oh well,’ he thought to himself optimistically, ‘There’s always tomorrow.’

Resting at the back of the cafeteria, Isaac nibbled on his home-made sandwich, scanning the room for Katrina. Soon, Daniel joined him on the floor,

‘Look man, sorry for the humiliation back there’ Daniel pleaded politely, ‘I didn’t know that I would embarrass you like tha-’

‘It’s okay,’ Isaac interrupted, distracted,

‘Really? Ohh… I see, you’re still thinking about Katrina aren’t you?’

It’s nothing… Anyway,’ Isaac zoned back to the conversation,‘Am I still hanging at your place after school?’

‘Heck yeah!’ Daniel exclaimed, ‘We’re going to play so much Dungeons and Dragons!’ They both agreed gleefully. Isaac then put his food away, running to the oval hoping that none of the bullies saw him. He perched himself on a tree stump and gazed longingly at Katrina once more. He couldn’t believe such a wonderful human being existed and knew that she was out of his league! Eventually, the tinny bell rang once again and everyone headed to their final class. Katrina stood up and that was when both hers and Isaac’s eyes met. He was stunned once more by her pretty look and he could’ve sworn he was dreaming when Katrina responded with a sweet smile. It was at this point that Isaac knew that if he played it cool from then onwards, he had a slight chance of winning her over.

Him and Katrina were the furthest from the classroom and so the only seats available were the seats at the very front row. Reluctantly, Isaac seated himself, setting out his stationery for Science. The teacher, Mrs Harvey, mentioned in the previous lesson that she had a surprise for them today. Anticipating this lesson, Isaac patiently waited for Mrs Harvey to begin the lesson. It looked like he wasn’t the only one waiting patiently, because Mrs Harvey was waiting for the chatting to turn into silence. Pin-drop silence. As seconds turned into minutes, the class grew quieter until Mrs Harvey could finally begin her lesson,

‘Okay Good afternoon 8A,’ the teacher announced, ‘Today I will finally unveil the surprise you’ve all been anticipating!’ What Mrs Harvey didn’t know was that by the eighth grade, almost nothing is worth anticipating unless it has something to do with sitting on an I-Phone all day. Only one person actually enjoyed Science, Katrina. Science wasn’t Isaac’s strongest point as he would normally achieve straight B’s, ‘Starting today, the annual Science Fair competition is starting and today, you’ll be choosing your partners and doing some research on a hypothesis you could prove! Well, what are you waiting for!’ Unfortunately for Isaac, Daniel was going with Jeffrey and the poor boy was lost once again. It seemed that every time there was a group activity, he would be with someone he didn’t know or like,

‘Is there anyone left?’ Mrs Harvey asked the class. Isaac shot his hand up and scanned the classroom for any other hands. As he walked up to the ‘boy’ he thought he was partnered with, Isaac was handed his big opportunity, a girl partner. Not just any girl however, Katrina,

‘He..He...Hey Katrina,’ Isaac muttered, ‘Let.. Let’s sit over there.’ At this point, Isaac realised that he struggled to even put words together, let alone have a full conversation with her. Gaining his composure, Isaac pulled out his laptop and began researching,

‘So what are you going to research?’ Katrina politely asked him as she opened her I-Pad. What should he say? Well, most importantly, what will he study? Unsure, he replied honestly by saying,

‘I’m not sure but I think I’ll study the battery and the internals,’

‘Sounds good,’ Katrina replied, ‘I’ll study thermodynamics,’ Isaac had no idea what that meant but he knew that saying that would not make a great impression, so he simply gave her a thumbs up. After that rough start, they both were collaborating respectfully and productively, taking notes together and having a good giggle every now and then. After what felt like a dream, Mrs Harvey commended everyone on their respectful behaviour and dismissed everyone home. As they were discussing the project together and heading out of class, the dream turned into a fairytale when Katrina asked,

‘Maybe tomorrow you can come over to my place and study, it is a conducive environment and I’m sure we’ll get lots of work done,’ Amazed by what she had just said, Isaac replied with confidence,

‘Sure, why not? We can be ahead of the class as well,’ Katrina giggled and told him her address. He knew he’d remember it until the day he died. The two of them waved each other goodbye and Isaac then danced to Daniel,

‘Sorry Daniel, can’t come over today,’ he said quickly,

‘What? Why not?’ Daniel replied confused,

‘I got to study at the library because I’m going to Katrina’s house and studying with her tomorrow. I need to sharpen my knowledge in Science because she knows everything there is to know. Please!’

‘Fine,’ Daniel replied reluctantly, ‘But only if we play on Sunday,’

‘Done,’ Isaac responded, ‘See you then!’

Isaac then dashed to the library to borrow some Science textbooks. It was going to be a long night. But would it be worth it? Yes. Yes it would.