After-School Felicity

“Class dismissed”A split second after the announcement, the once quiet room was now filled with noises of chair legs scratching against the wooden floor, shuffling of papers and books, and the happy chatters of students who were probably making plans as the long-awaited weekend was finally here. The school bell rang a few seconds later and Claire stood up before stacking her notebooks and books. A few classmates bothered to wave goodbye in her direction and she responded with a small hesitant smile.It was the first weekend of the school year and most students were suffering from severe summer vacation hangover. The weather was great, too— just enough sun so that it’s warm and the breeze was not as dry as the usual. So it was pretty much the perfect time to make plans, catch up and just enjoy the short calm before the storm. Claire had

Claire felt lucky that in all her classes, she managed to secure a seat beside the window. It was also a good thing that even though seating arrangements were never official, everybody just had the initiative to always sit in the same spot they sat on during the first day of school.She looked out the window and inhaled, breathing in the smell of the late summer breeze accompanied by the faint aroma of baked bread and coffee from the café across the street. From this distance, one would think that being able to smell the pastries they serve would be unlikely but because she was a regular customer, her nose could pick up the familiar scent from miles away.Claire wanted to freeze time and just take a break like this, but no, she could never. Even though she was living in a small town, she was living a fast-paced life.“Anyway”, Mrs. Myers’s vo

By lunchtime, Claire found herself sitting in a nearby café, across Stephanie, the gorgeous Hispanic girl that she had met in the library a few hours back. She held her large cup of black iced tea with both hands and took a small sip. Despite her protests, Stephanie insisted to pay for her.“How long have you been here?”Claire placed her cup on the table before looking up to meet her eyes. Tilting her head in thought, she replied, “Not that long. We moved here when I was ten, and I’m seventeen now”Stephanie nodded. She was about to respond when she was interrupted by the waiter with their lunch on a tray balanced with one hand. Both girls politely smiled as the waiter carefully set their utensils and plates on the table. When he was gone, Stephanie started eating her pasta, albeit, with poise.Cl

“How did you get my number?”Then he laughed. In Claire’s memory, the familiar laughter brought warmth, but ten years later, it almost sounded frightening. She felt herself starting to shiver at the thought of being near her father— she grew to hate him more as each day passes, and she didn’t realize that until this moment.“It didn’t take long to convince your mother”She didn’t think that she could get even angrier than she already was, but she did, much to her surprise. She watched her father beat her mother senseless, but despite all that, her mother still loved him and a few buttered-up words from him can make her forget where her bruises and her scars came from.Claire hated that, too. She hated how much power a man has over her mother just because she loved him.

Claire yawned as she made her way to the exit of the school building. The cold wind rushed past and she tightened her scarf around her neck. Autumn passes by quickly, and since it was undoubtedly her favorite season, she hated that. The leaves of the trees turning into different shades of rust, yellow and brown adorned the streets, and she loved the smell of Pumpkin Spice lattes from the coffee shop across the campus.Having been reminded of this, Claire then made a mental note to herself to pick up a cup for herself before going home.“Claire!”She looked up from examining the leaves on the ground to find her best friend Jess running towards her with a huge smile on her face. After class today, Jess told her that she was in a hurry and went ahead without her, so she was pleasantly surprised to see her.“Hey!”