NUTTY & NICE

”You don realize why your heart races ”

Mr. McCoy said while holding her hands between his hands. She couldn tell him. Couldn explain that she had a crush on him because of all the things that happened.

She didn want to lose what they had now. He looked so good, so handsome. His hair was styled to perfection and his eyes were the most beautiful blue she has ever seen. She could never get tired of staring at them.

”I am so happy that you won ”, Mr. McCoy continued and he squeezed her hand gently before letting go ”I am very proud of how far youve come ”.

It made her heart swell knowing that she deserved this. That, someone, loved her enough to take care of her when she needed it.

”Definitely different, clearer, brighter, even the air smells different ”

******

”The smell of Churros con chocolate ”

Her mom was standing beside her bed screaming at top of her lungs trying to wake her up.

It was 7 am sharp, time for them both to get up. She had woken her up because she didn have enough sleep and she needed to eat breakfast before heading to work to survive till that days class.

”Get ready for school ”

She groaned and buried herself under the covers. ”Why are you so loud? ”

Her mother chuckled and put the tray with breakfast on her lap ”Im sorry I just love waking you up so early. ”

”I have many works to do today ”, her mom whined.

”That too sweetheart but theres no more time to waste if you want to leave at 7! ”

She sighed dramatically not wanting to give in.

”Good morning mom ”

******

Her mom ELENA SOTO was a Seamstress who makes customized clothing such as dresses, blouses, and wedding gowns. She was working from home, her sewing tools were in the downstairs living room and all that is left here was their bedroom.

”Hey sweetie! ” her mom gave her a peck on the cheek and then placed a kiss on her forehead. ”Are you gonna be okay at school today? ”

”I don want to go to school, mom ”

Her mom stared

”Umm.. fine ”

Benny Soto was 15 years old girl studying in class 10 of Bayshore School for Girls, with long black hair tied into a ponytail and deep blue eyes that always look like glass, she was dressed all in the red checked skirt that reached knee on her slim hips and a white shirt with a blue logo on it and black tie that hung over it and a plain black sweater to top the whole thing off.

Her dad, Samson Soto was a renowned Emergency Medicine Specialist working in the hospital LITTLE OAK GENERAL HOSPITAL who died of COVID a year ago.

It left an impact on her life and she has been struggling lately since it affected her moms health too.

Now her mom and she lived alone which meant she needs to make sure everything is going smoothly.

They live in a small two-story house in the suburb of their city where there are a lot of students attending middle school and high schools. The neighborhood itself looks nice and peaceful. However, they
e also not far from the public park with the river nearby.

”Dear take your lunch and hurry ”, her mom said as she was packing her bag ready to go to school.

”You need to hurry ”.

She sighed again. Her mom always worried about her when it comes to school.

”Bye mom ”

She took out her bicycle from the garage and looked at the sun rising.

There were flowers everywhere on a warm sunny day, the sky full of blue stars which reminded her of the dream she had early in the morning.

******

The city of Oakmeet was built on the banks of a carefully crafted harbor and is truly a future-oriented curiosity. Its grace is matched by the backdrop of a fuming volcano which has helped shape the city into what it is today.

The climate these volcanoes brought were of great importance, but they were also influential when it came to architectural designs as the vast majority of buildings have been built with volcanic rocks and similar-looking materials.

The skyline is scattered with peculiar skyscrapers and each was more impressive than the next. Recreation is impeccable in Oakmeet city and it has attracted a lot of attention. Many different cultures have left their mark not just on the citys cuisine, but also on the citys identity. What historically was a city of little contrast has grown into a large melting pot and its this that unites the 3 million people to this day.

Its this multicultural identity that has truly left its mark. Hundreds of food carts, bistros, and bakeries offer a plethora of culinary choices and those who feel hungry for something else can enjoy city exploring arcades, city exploring, or one of the many other recreational venues.

******

A smile made its way to her face as she pedaled back to her neighborhood, humming a song that she heard once

She rode towards the local high school with a smile on her face until she reached her classroom which was on the second floor.

Bayshore was the only girl school in the city, but still not quite as popular as the other schools for boys. The maximum strength for each class was 40 girls.

The school building was a beautiful, white building with tall windows on all sides that could easily be used to catch the rays of the sun. The only thing that gave the school its recognition was the sports.

The school was famous for winning throw ball games among all schools and even got an award every year, which made some people wonder how does it happen.

In no time her smile changed to a big frown when she remembers it was the mathematics class early morning.

She doesn even look up as she walks down the hallways and into the classroom, opening and closing the door behind her.

******

It seems that the math teacher is late again this morning.

The classroom was as usual very noisy and all the girls were busy chatting among themselves as they waited for their teacher to come. The chairs were arranged in rows, so every student could be seen from their chair. They were all wearing the same school uniform.

No one seemed to be bothered by her winning the interschool match. She didn even care about the game itself. No, all that mattered was that shed beaten a rival school. Shed taken down a team that no one else had dared to touch or beat for years.

She thought today she will be showered with compliments when she will enter the classroom and even the notice board behind the classroom was also empty.

”Huh…what a bore? ”, Benny sighed as she walked between other girls.

She takes place at one of the desks next to the window and turns around looking at them with a smile plastered on her face like she hadn noticed what happened.

She didn even notice the other girl sitting in front of her on the seat was Emily until she heard her speaking.

The teacher finally arrives at the front of the room after having exchanged greetings with the other teachers. All the students rise from their seats when they notice her coming into the room.

”Today I will show your answer sheet ”, Madam Gloria Bell was saying as she placed the sheets on her desk. She was wearing black tailored trousers with a coordinated sweater and carried a big mathematics book ”Linear Algebra Done Right. ”

Madam Gloria Bell was one of the strict teachers in the school and even punished students with her harsh words.

Her voice would be like that of a hawk or a crow, screeching through the classroom as she called out punishment for someone who wasn listening to her.

”Oh dear, I just hope that I don get an F because of this, ” Benny said to Emily.

Benny always topped from the bottom and her marks were always the bare minimum to pass any exams. Benny didn mind the fact that other students had more chances but she did get a bit disappointed when her grade got lower than what she was used for.

She finished putting everything together after she was done and looked up at the room, ”well if anyone has any questions let me know ”.

The answer sheet was shown to students and they were told to calculate it by themselves and get it finalized before class ended.

”Thirty-eight..? ”

Again she calculated, this time more seriously than the previous times. She looked at her work then again at her partner.

”Thirty-eight? ”

”I need only two more marks to pass the maths exam ”

She scratches her hair and looks around trying to find a way to increase the marks.

”Hey, show us how much did you get this time ”, her friend Emily asked from across the table.

She shows them the paper with a small smile on her face as she watches their jaws drop when she looks at it.

”Well done you failed, what you gonna do this time ”, Emily asked who was just sitting before her.

”Please hand over the sheets ”, Madam Gloria announced.

She reached to Mams desk, holding her answer sheet with her face looking down.

”Benny, how much did you calculate? ”

”Um m… its thirty-eight ”, she said in a low voice so that no one could hear.

”Benny, tell me how much? ”

She looked around everywhere and was embarrassed to say it out loud.

”What are you doing, tell me fast ”

”Oh okay, its thirty-eight ”

This time her voice was heard by everyone in the class and the whole class went silent looking at her face and talking among themselves.

”It was an easy question paper still you failed ”, Madam Gloria mumbled as she wrote the marks on the top of the answer sheet.

”What is your problem with mathematics? ”

”You know the national examination is coming in a few months, are you serious or not ”

The teacher was screaming at her, pointing out her mistakes and everyones eyes stuck on her.

Her ears were burning and for a few minutes she kept on repeating to herself that it was okay.

It is normal to have bad grades and be punished but not at this point in your life when she won the interschool championship. She can lose it right now.