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Untitled Story Chapter 5 I was asked why my classroom was bare and why I wasn't going to be teaching there anymore, but there's really no way you can explain shrinkage to a group of six year olds. It was a bittersweet day, June 3, the last day of school, and ironically my 27th birthday. I stood, leaning against my empty, hollow desk, my eyes closed and my right hand behind my neck, my left hand clutching my right side. I just stood there, counting away the final 45 minutes of the day, of my job, listening to the racket and ruckus of a room of 20 or so excited caffeine and sugar filled six year olds. I took a deep breath and opened my eyes and looked around. My eyes gazed to Chris and at that same moment he just happened to look up, at me. I gave him the best smile I could muster at the moment. They knew it was almost time and it seemed they got louder and louder as the seconds ticked by. I quieted them down and posed a question. "What do you guys hope to do or have planned for the summer?" I asked. We went around the room, sharing the objectives we wished to accomplish. I got all kinds of answers. Answers ranging from 'go fishing with my Dad' to 'take a cruise' to 'play with my dog' to perhaps the silliest one: 'get a boyfriend and a tan'. 'Yeah, you and me both, kid', I thought to myself. When it came to Chris' turn, he just quietly replied "I'm going to Los Angeles." That kind of struck a sympathetic chord in me, so I gave him another smile.The bell had rung, the kids had stampeded out, and there I was, left alone with my two remaining boxes. I put the small one on top of the larger one, and picked them up. It was a little heavier than I anticipated but nevertheless, I started to make my way out of the building. "Whoa!" I heard someone say as the top box began to topple over. Whoever it was grabbed it before it fell, and now I could actually see what was in front of me. Low and behold, who was it holding my box, none other than Brian Littrell himself. "Need some help, there?" he joked. "I didn't think I would, but..." I laughed. "Let me get that," he said, while making his way to the metal doors at the end of the first grade hall. "Thanks," I said, slipping past the door. "No problem. Have you seen Chris?" "Um, nope. The bell rang and they all got up and stampeded out the door, probably couldn�t make out a face in a crowd like that if I tried." I laughed. He just smiled. "Here, let me take that one," he said after he sat my smaller box on the ground and took the larger one from my hands. "Thanks," I said, again, as I picked up the one he had sat down. "Where are you headed?" "Faculty parking lot, behind the quad." We walked in silence for a bit until I couldn't contain myself anymore. I kept thinking about what Chris had said about going to LA for the summer and the awkward silence was antagonizing so I spoke up. "So, when is Chris leaving for California?" I asked, praying I wouldn't get a hostile answer, hoping he wouldn't think I was prying. "Next Friday. I bet if you asked him he could tell you how many days, hours, and seconds." he replied, with a little laugh. "Sounds excited. Must be alot of fun up there." "Yeah, he has a blast. Guess I would too if I had a Mom that spoiled me rotten already there waiting for me." he laughed. "Well, she's a Mom, what do you expect?" He just shrugged his shoulders. We walked a bit more, trying to spot Chris in the maze of primary school students that swirled around us. "Do you own black 4-door?" I asked. "Yeah?" he replied quizzically, then looking in the direction of the public parking lot, rolling his eyes when he spotted his car that was parked in a space on the front row. He then turned his head and looked at me with an exasperated expression. I just smiled. I thought this was quite funny. We had been searching for Chris for the last fifteen minutes only to find him in about the same area we began looking. Chris had already made himself comfortable in his Dad's car. "I swear." Brian muttered under his breath. I saw Chris looking at us so I waved at him. He gave me a small wave back. "Well, there he is. Tell Chris I said bye' and 'have fun'." He smiled. "Okay. Thanks." I returned his grin. "No problem. Bye." "Bye." he replied, nodding his head. I turned around and started making my way back to my car. |