Don’t You Forget About Me (Pt. 1)

“Tommy!”

A lanky sixteen year old boy suddenly turned around to face a booming voice.  An older man stood there with his arms crossed staring down the teenager.  The teenager looked down at the trash he had just thrown down, then looked back at the man.  He stood there with a firm glare not budging, and the teenager slumped down in guilt.

“Yes, Vice Principal Johnson…”

“Is that your trash?” he asked pointing to the garbage near Tommy’s feet.  Tommy nodded in response.

“Pick it up and throw it away properly,” Johnson continued, and the teenager quickly shuffled to pick it up.  “We will be here for a few more months, so we will keep the building intact.”

“Sorry, Vice Principal Johnson.”

“Just do better, Tommy.  I know you got some real potential.  I saw your artwork in Ms. Finch’s classroom.  Did you enter the contest?”

“Yes,” Tommy answered shyly, and Johnson patted him lightly on the shoulder.

“Awesome.  Now get going before you miss the bus.”

Brian watched the teenager race out the door.  It felt like the kids were making his hair grayer quicker these days, but everything had been chaos in the school as of late.  He had tried to keep things calm, but even his nerves had been rattled.  The afterschool meeting had been cancelled, and for once; Brian was very happy for that.  The gang was getting together tonight, and at least now he could unwind a bit before seeing them.

Suddenly, there was a vibration in his pocket, and he quickly reached into his pocket pulling out his phone.  Flipping it open, he saw his wife, Dottie, had sent a text.

Ally has picked up Cee at the airport.  Meeting tonight?

                Meeting cancelled, he texted back.

                Good!  So earlier meet up?”

                Yes, 7:30.  Can you call Julio’s for reservation?

                On it J, she responded.

He put the phone back in his pocket, and turned to head back into the office to get everything settled before the weekend.  Brian stopped looking in the direction of the library, and a nagging feeling tugged at him.

“Just a quick minute,” he said under his breath.  He made his way to the library and opened the door peering into the room.

“Hello, Mr. Johnson.”

Brian jumped for a second, but quickly located the voice.  An older women looked at him from under her glasses, and she held a book in her hand.  She looked back at the bookshelf, and went back to shelving her cart of books.

“Hello, Ms. Potter.  Sorry to disturb you, but I will be gone in a moment.”

The woman paid him no mind and he felt like he was fifteen once again.  He scanned the room, and he had been reorganized several times, but he could still see it with the empty tables up front.

“Hey Bry!”