Trisha bounded down the crowded hallway, disregarding the busy hustle of the other students in the hopes of a more interesting sight. Her pale green eyes sparkled in excitement. She craned her head to try to see through the crowd. Ah, there!
“Danny, I’m over here!” She waved her hand to be seen. A second girl began weaving through the crowd in her direction. Bouncing impatiently, Trisha pushed back a lock of blond hair that had escaped from her ponytail. School was finally out for summer, and she was eager to dump all her school stuff at home so that she could go biking with Danny.
Just as her friend reached her, Trisha took one last look around the school. There were a lot of memories she was leaving behind for the summer, but strangely she felt no sadness. There was the classroom she’d learned to paint in… and right next to it the social studies class in which she’d been teased mercilessly. Behind the school was the field her soccer team, which she had been captain of for the past three years, had practiced on. But, there was also the bus stop where the bullies had waited for her almost every day this year. There was as much bad as there was good about this place.
Danny must have seen Trisha’s glance, because she wrinkled up her freckled nose and made a sound of disgust. “Why are you standing here? Let’s go, Trish, before they change their minds and lock us back up,” she joked. Throwing her arms out in a dramatic gesture (and hitting several other students, who weren’t at all happy about it), the red-headed girl called out “Farewell, Fairview Elementary! I shall miss you! Until about a week before school starts again, that is,” she added at a lower volume.
A quick grin lit up Trisha’s puckish face. “I don’t think I’ll ever miss this school,” she declared decisively as the pair passed through the double doors and out into the warm summer sun. A faint breeze ruffled Trish’s hair, causing a stray lock to fall into her eyes again. “Someday I’m going to chop all my hair off,” she muttered, eliciting a laugh from her friend.
Their bus was already waiting, the engine idling in a dull roar like a thousand bees. Trisha bounded up the steps, but slowed before walking down the aisle. She had too much experience with people deliberately tripping her, and she didn’t want to take a fall today. She didn’t want some jerk ruining her good mood on today of all days. All the way to the back of the bus went Trisha, Danny following behind, both of them ignoring the other kids. The bus slowly pulled away, bringing the school year officially to a close.