Anthony and DeAndre stood in the snack line studying the menu. They'd stared at its sun-bleached images of ice cream and chips every day so far this school year. It was a ritual, matching their mood ... [+]
Tick-tock, tick-tock; the sound the clock would be making if it were actually working, but instead we're stuck at 5:47. It's only a practice test, but practice or not my pulse quickens and my body freezes. I just need to pass this class. I try not to let myself think too much, but my brain is moving too fast to decipher what's important or not. Kayla's plaid pants? Charlie whistling "To Life" from Fiddler on the Roof? Practice test? No. Tick-tock, tick-tock; my brain decides that what's important is to make up for what the clock failed to accomplish on its own.