had a responsibility and a duty to study hard and try our very best and all that stuff.
As the bus pulled up to the front gates of the school my heart began to beat a little faster and I started to think about what would lay ahead in the coming year. New teachers, maybe new friends, definitely late night study sessions and hopefully good grades. I was excited and nervous and scared all at the same time.
But then we stepped off the bus and saw that the school gates were chained shut. Hundreds of kids and their parents were standing out the front of the entrance.
The principal was speaking through a loudspeaker. He kept saying sorry. Sorry for the confusion and the disorganization.
He said, "School has been cancelled across the state by order of the Government and the World Health Organization."
Chapter 2
Even though there must have been close to a thousand kids all gathered around the main entrance of the school, the mood was pretty calm. I had expected everyone to lose it, for parents to angrily demand an explanation, for the students to cheer with excitement. But this wasn’t the case.
One time when I was in the eighth grade the school was evacuated because there was a fire in the staff kitchen. Apparently one of the teacher’s aides had put a pizza box in the oven and forgot about it. Five minutes later the box caught on fire. The whole school was evacuated. I’m pretty sure the entire New York fired department turned up to put out the burning pizza box. The kids thought it was hilarious; even some of the teachers thought it was funny.
But this was different. Looking back, I think people somehow knew it was more than just a precaution.
Maria had walked off to find Jack and Kim. I told her I’d meet her back on the bus and save us some seats. I was pushing my way through the crowd of students when I felt a tap on my right shoulder. I turned to the right but no one was there. I turned to the left and saw Jack standing there with a giant, excited smile on his face. "Isn't this great?" he said. "One more day of summer vaykay!"
Jack was always in a laid back mood. He never really stressed about school or exams.
"Aren't you worried that something is wrong?" I asked. "Or that we’re just going to get more homework tomorrow to make up for the lost time?"
"It's the first day. They’re not going to make us do homework on the first day. That’s just cruel. Everyone knows that a student’s mind needs time to warm up after doing nothing for two months."
I would’ve agreed with him but for some reason I was feeling uneasy. It’s not like I’m psychic or anything. I had no idea why classes had been cancelled but it didn’t take a genius to figure out that it wasn’t the school who had chained the front gates together.
"So where’s Maria?" he asked. "I thought you guys caught the bus together this morning?"
"She went to find you and your sister actually."
"But I sent her a text to meet at the bus."
"Maybe she didn’t get it?"
"Yeah maybe," he said as he checked his phone. "Anyways, now that school is out for the day, how about we meet up at the beach? We can squeeze in one last surfing lesson for the summer."
For some reason Jack had made it his life's mission to teach me how to surf. He said if they can put a man on the moon, he could teach me to surf. I wasn’t so sure. And I wasn’t so sure if I wanted to go to the beach. I was still trying to figure out if Kenji had somehow broken into my house last night. And if he did, how the hell did he find me? I guess I was still a little freaked out.
"How are you enjoying my surfing lessons by the way?" Jack asked. "Am I a good teacher or what?"
"You're great. I can almost stand up for longer than two seconds. That's a new personal best for
As the bus pulled up to the front gates of the school my heart began to beat a little faster and I started to think about what would lay ahead in the coming year. New teachers, maybe new friends, definitely late night study sessions and hopefully good grades. I was excited and nervous and scared all at the same time.
But then we stepped off the bus and saw that the school gates were chained shut. Hundreds of kids and their parents were standing out the front of the entrance.
The principal was speaking through a loudspeaker. He kept saying sorry. Sorry for the confusion and the disorganization.
He said, "School has been cancelled across the state by order of the Government and the World Health Organization."
Chapter 2
Even though there must have been close to a thousand kids all gathered around the main entrance of the school, the mood was pretty calm. I had expected everyone to lose it, for parents to angrily demand an explanation, for the students to cheer with excitement. But this wasn’t the case.
One time when I was in the eighth grade the school was evacuated because there was a fire in the staff kitchen. Apparently one of the teacher’s aides had put a pizza box in the oven and forgot about it. Five minutes later the box caught on fire. The whole school was evacuated. I’m pretty sure the entire New York fired department turned up to put out the burning pizza box. The kids thought it was hilarious; even some of the teachers thought it was funny.
But this was different. Looking back, I think people somehow knew it was more than just a precaution.
Maria had walked off to find Jack and Kim. I told her I’d meet her back on the bus and save us some seats. I was pushing my way through the crowd of students when I felt a tap on my right shoulder. I turned to the right but no one was there. I turned to the left and saw Jack standing there with a giant, excited smile on his face. "Isn't this great?" he said. "One more day of summer vaykay!"
Jack was always in a laid back mood. He never really stressed about school or exams.
"Aren't you worried that something is wrong?" I asked. "Or that we’re just going to get more homework tomorrow to make up for the lost time?"
"It's the first day. They’re not going to make us do homework on the first day. That’s just cruel. Everyone knows that a student’s mind needs time to warm up after doing nothing for two months."
I would’ve agreed with him but for some reason I was feeling uneasy. It’s not like I’m psychic or anything. I had no idea why classes had been cancelled but it didn’t take a genius to figure out that it wasn’t the school who had chained the front gates together.
"So where’s Maria?" he asked. "I thought you guys caught the bus together this morning?"
"She went to find you and your sister actually."
"But I sent her a text to meet at the bus."
"Maybe she didn’t get it?"
"Yeah maybe," he said as he checked his phone. "Anyways, now that school is out for the day, how about we meet up at the beach? We can squeeze in one last surfing lesson for the summer."
For some reason Jack had made it his life's mission to teach me how to surf. He said if they can put a man on the moon, he could teach me to surf. I wasn’t so sure. And I wasn’t so sure if I wanted to go to the beach. I was still trying to figure out if Kenji had somehow broken into my house last night. And if he did, how the hell did he find me? I guess I was still a little freaked out.
"How are you enjoying my surfing lessons by the way?" Jack asked. "Am I a good teacher or what?"
"You're great. I can almost stand up for longer than two seconds. That's a new personal best for
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