Yours Always Book 1

3

Running a mile in normal clothes was hard to do. By the end of my 15 laps, my clothes were sticking to my body, and I felt disgusting. “Move it, Ivy,” Liam shouted.

I started on the rest of the tasks Liam had given me, and by the time I was done, my whole body hurt. “Come on, kid, up the rope,” he demanded. Because Liam was my friend, I felt like he was always harsher on me.

The rope was going to be the worst; my arms felt like jelly, and I knew this wasn’t going to end well, but I started climbing it anyway. I made it to the top, but halfway back down, I fell. My breath hitched in my throat, and I closed my eyes tightly waiting for the impact of the floor. Instead, I felt arms wrap around me and opened my eyes to Liam catching me.

He took me over to the stands and set me down. "I knew you could do it," he said with a smile.

I sat up and made myself comfortable while trying my best to get my breathing regular.

"Why do you have to be such a hard ass, Liam?"

He looked at me and said, "Because you don't get rewarded for only completing half a task. You're rewarded for completing every task that was given to you. At least you finished. There was another student that didn't even make it through the 15 laps."

I looked over, and there were a few students sitting down on the ground; others were sitting in the stands with us. There were about ten more students that were still trying to finish up the workout.

"I am so tired now. I can't wait for this day to be over," I huffed.

"Working out is good for you. I want you to do a workout at least three times a week. Think of it as long-term homework."

I shook my head, stood up, and walked over to the water fountain. I got a quick drink and went back to Liam, who was still sitting in the stands watching as everyone completed or failed the rope climb.

"Happy birthday, by the way. Your birthday present is that you don't have to deal with me anymore until next year," he joked. “Just kidding, come to my office before you go. I got you something.”

"You are my favorite teacher. I'm going to miss you. What am I going to do when I need to talk to someone?"

"You can call or text me anytime; I will help with what I can," he said, handing me one of his business cards.

I shoved it into my pocket and smiled at him.

“Thanks,” I replied.

Liam blew his whistle once again after everyone finished with the workout. All of us students gathered in the middle of the gym and waited for Liam to speak.

"Okay class, you all did well today, and I would like you all to continue exercising three times a week if you can. Have a fun summer, and stay out of trouble. See you all next year." He spoke in a soft voice, one we rarely got to hear.

The entire class said, “Yes, Mr. Jackson,” in unison.

After that, everyone started making their way into the locker rooms to change. I followed Liam into his office as he asked me to. He handed me a gift wrapped in red with a white bow tied around it. I smiled at him, and he smiled back.

“Open it,” he said.

Inside the box was a beautiful glass wolf. I couldn't believe he remembered my favorite animal. It came up in a conversation one time. I was just about in tears because of how much I loved his gift.

“Thank you so much, Liam.” Liam may be a teacher, but he was another of my best friends. If more teachers were like him, I'm sure the dropout rate would go down.

“You're welcome, Ivy. Go, get ready; the bell is about to ring.”

I gave him another smile and hugged him just as the bell rang for the next period. I walked back to my locker and pulled out my history book for Mr. Thomas's class. The worst teacher I have had this year.

Mr. Thomas was one of those creepy people; he always made me feel uncomfortable. The way he spoke was chilling. When he touched your shoulder, it was terrifying; he was scary. He looked like someone who would have bodies hidden in his basement.

When I turned around to head to room 203, I bumped into my old friend, Rosie Carter. Rosie was so tiny she didn’t see me coming, and she fell right on her ass, letting out a cry.

"Oh s**t. I'm sorry, Rosie," I stuttered while sticking out my hand to help her up. She grabbed my hand, and I lifted her.

"Hey, Ivy. Long time no see. If you wanted to talk, all you had to do was say so; no need for all this violence," she said, laughing and wiping some dirt off her butt, then fixing her short black hair.

"Are you all right?" I giggled.

"Yeah. Happy birthday," she said, looking into my eyes for the first time in six months.

"Thank you. Would you like to come to our birthday party?" I asked, hoping she would say yes. Rosie and I never had a falling out. We just grew apart when I stopped being popular, but I wanted to start hanging out with her again.

"Yeah, I would love to. Just promise no more surprise attacks," she joked.

"I promise. I'm not sure if Jimmy is already coming because of Oz, but if not, you can bring him along as well," I said, walking away.

She nodded her head and turned to head her own way.

I made my way to history class and walked into the room. I hated being the first one in, so I just went straight to my seat. Mr. Thomas was in the process of setting up a movie on the TV, which I was thankful for because he didn't notice me. His first name was Chris, and he was an average-looking guy. He was always trying too hard to get the girls’ attention.

He had black hair and light green eyes. Unlike Liam, who always wore basketball shorts and a muscle shirt, Mr. Thomas was in a suit so small that you could see his toned body through it.

That was his way of getting the girls’ attention. It worked, too. As the rest of the students made their way into the classroom, the girl's eyes lingered on him. They took their seats, and then Mr. Thomas stood in the middle of the room.

"Today, you are watching a video or, at least, trying to. I know with it being the last day that no one is going to pay attention. I ask you to keep quiet because, unlike you guys, I still have two days left of school. Also, no falling asleep. I don't feel like waking up students."

With that said, he went back behind his desk after starting the video. I wish all teachers were as understanding and as nice as Liam, but sadly, many have big attitudes and even bigger egos. Thankfully, all we had to do was watch a movie.

I was a little excited about the movie. It was a documentary called The Way of the Indians, which I always found fascinating. However, I did not get to enjoy the film as much as I would've liked to because my phone kept buzzing in my pocket. I looked at it from under my desk and saw there was another email from the same person as earlier.

From: yoursalways102@gmail.com

To: ivyturner120@gmail.com

I miss you already, Baby.

I didn't bother emailing the person back. If it was one of Oz's friends, I didn’t want to play his game; football players were the worst sometimes. Even though I was pretty sure it was a birthday prank, I forwarded the message to Colin, along with the one from that morning. I added a quick note about the rose as well, covering all bases, and asked if he could tell me anything from the emails.

The bell rang for the next class, which was science, my worst subject. It was the last class of the day, and I was hoping it would be easy like Mr. Thomas's class. Only forty-five minutes left, and I could go home and be done with this place for the summer.

Another movie, this time about bugs, and eventually, the last bell rang.

I went back to my locker, grabbed my bag, and slammed the damn thing shut. As I walked out of school, I scanned the parking lot for Blake, who had parked my car right where I left it. Danny was there as well, and it looked as if they were arguing over something.

"Hey, thanks for letting me use your car today. I put gas in it, and you were low on oil, so I put more in," Blake said when I made my way over, pretending as if nothing was going on.

"Thanks; I will pay you back the money for the oil." I decided to let it go. Clearly, it was none of my business.

"Nope, it's fine. I will see you tonight – my mom's here to get me," he replied, giving me a hug and walking away.

"Danny, do you need a ride?" I asked.

"No, I'm good. My dad is over there waiting for me," he said, pointing to the other side of the school lot.

"All right. I will see you tonight, right?"

"Yeah, I will be there. Come hug me, Princess," he replied, wrapping his arms around me and kissing the top of my head.

When Danny was gone, I opened the driver's side door and got in. I made my way back to my house as quickly as I could. I was so ready to start my summer.

"Goodbye, Riverview High School," I shouted as I pulled out of the parking lot.

Even though I was excited about leaving this place for a summer of sleeping in and doing whatever I wanted, I knew I’d end up missing it and be just as excited about coming back for senior year.