It’s the next day, I hear my annoying alarm go off, and the sound fills my room until I can find my phone which was lying under my blanket. I continue to try and get up from my bed, while my head is telling me to just lay down and go back to sleep, I hear my dad in the kitchen making his morning coffee before work. 

I have to start getting ready now because I’m going to catch a ride from my dad today for school so I can get there early for math tutoring. To be completely honest I’m not the greatest at math which is why I have to go tutoring, it’s just all the numbers and letters that get me so confused. 

My parents always ask me what job I'd like to have when I’m older, I’ve always told them maybe a doctor or a lawyer but right now I have no idea. 

My dad drops me off at school, it’s still really early which you can tell because of the number of kids at school right now, none of my friends are at school yet they usually get here like 15 minutes before the bell rings; I walk into the library where the morning tutoring is held, the only thought in my mind while walking in is why my grades matter. It's not like I’m going to become a doctor or a lawyer, I'll just find a way to work with my dad. Another thing is that I’m only in 8th grade so I have plenty of time until I have to find a job, so what’s the rush. 

It’s finally 7:50 and I have 10 minutes until my first period starts, I grab all my things and leave from the library when I get a text. 

Bennedette: hey where are u ??  

Me: I’m barely getting out of the library.

Bennedette: K meet me at the stairs

Me: ok omw :) I’ll meet u there. 

I head downstairs to meet Benny who had just barely got here. 

“Hey,” I say before I let out a yawn

“Hi” “Why were you in the library?”

“I had math tutoring this morning because my parents saw that my math grade is going down.” “So they told me I have to attend tutoring twice a week from now on or they will take away my phone.” 

“What teacher do you have for math?”

“I have Mr. Sanchez for math.” “I have a D right now in his class” 

The first bell rings which means it’s 7:55 and we have five minutes to get to our class we began to walk upstairs. I have my first-period class which is Math, I think you can tell that it’s not my favorite class because 1: I don’t get it 2: when I don’t understand something it’s not fun. I checked the time on my phone one last time before entering the class, it’s only 7:58. I look to my left and right nobody is there, I run downstairs, but then I see the school security. I’m going to get caught, but then the “cool kids” who were still downstairs caught his attention so I decided to run, I felt excitement and adrenaline rushing through my body. I had no idea where I was going to be for the next 6 hours, but I did know that when my parents find out Ima be grounded for the rest of my life. 

I finally got out of the school without anybody noticing until my teacher takes attendance and sees that I’m not there. But for now, I try not to think about what will happen when my parents find out, instead, I go into the shopping center and buy myself a boba drink and sit with my thoughts on why I made this decision. 

Was it really because I don’t like math? Or was it because I have no idea what I’ll become in the future so why start now? 

Only a couple of hours had passed and I was already regretting my decision, there was a Target near buy so I decided to go and see what snacks I can get with the money I have left. I had eight dollars and seventy-five cents left to spend but I just bought a bag of chips for a dollar twenty-five, just in case. 

I hear the sound of my phone, I freeze, It’s gotta be my mom it has too. 

I slowly grabbed my phone from the back of my pocket and checked, I had this sigh of relief when the message was just a friend asking where I was at lunch. 

I honestly just didn’t feel like explaining to her all that happened during those few minutes before class so I just saved it for tomorrow morning. 

***

It’s finally time to go walk home, I reach for my AirPods in my backpack and turn on my music, while I’m walking I just feel all this guilt because my parents work for everything they buy me and the one thing they ask for in return is that I do good in school, and I’m out here ditching because I don’t like a class. They don’t deserve this. 

When I’m at the front door of my house I hear my dad’s car pull up to the driveway, he must have got out early from work today. 

“Hey, Mija” How was school today? 

I feel the guilt and fear just hit me when he said that. 

“Ummmm it was okay” I finally got the front door open. 

 Trying to rush out of the conversation I say, “So I’m going to catch up on some homework” 

“So I got a call today in the middle of work which is why I’m here earlier than usual.” 

“You didn’t go to any of your classes and you skipped school.” 

He wasn’t just talking, he had started yelling now. Why exactly did you do this? Is someone or something bothering you in school? 

I didn’t say anything to him, I stood there in silence while my tears were running down my cheeks. I couldn’t answer the questions because I myself couldn’t figure out why I did it. 

His eyes narrowed “You know what give me your phone and laptop and go into your room.” “We’ll discuss your punishment when your Mom comes home from work.” 

3 years later… 

Oh, how times have changed. I’m currently a junior in Highschool and I never skipped school since that one time in eighth grade. Ever since that day I’ve been doing a lot better in school, I’m currently a straight-A student with a 4.3 GPA. I’ve gotten better at math and don’t have much trouble anymore which is one good thing that happened the past three years. 

It’s been hard to talk about but three years ago today we found out that my Dad had cancer in his blood cells (leukemia). After he was diagnosed you were able to see him losing the hope that he carried in his eyes. He spent most of his days either in his room lying in his bed or the hospital bed. 

These years weren’t good for the business. My Dad had stopped going to work, he was the one who made the most money even though my Mom would work, so it made it harder for them to pay the bills for the house and the hospital. 

She started to work shifts every day which meant that after I got home from school I would be keeping an eye on him while I did my homework. 

“Do you know how proud I am of you?” he said in a soft tone.

I pull my attention away from my homework and give him a small smile. 

“Do you remember that one time you snuck out of school?” “Just because you feel like we would never feel proud of you” 

My eyebrows curled upwards, “How did you know?”

“Nobody just sneaks out of school because they don’t like a class unless you really hate it.” “I felt the same when  I was your age I felt like my parents were never proud of the small accomplishments that I would achieve.” “I just never thought I would make you feel the same, which I never tried to do but I guess I did.”

“You and I both know that I don’t have enough time to see you graduate Highschool, get your first boyfriend, and your first day of college. 

My eyes started to overflow with tears, “Dad…”

Tears were falling down his cheeks, “But I want you to know that no matter what career or job you might pursue I will always be proud of you. I’ve always been proud of you. 

***

It was the next morning. I had gone to school and in the middle of my Math class, I had gotten called to the office. I didn’t know what to expect but I never would have thought to receive the news I did. My Dad had passed away… my tears welled up in my eyes.

“Do you need anything?” “water or maybe even an apple,” said the lady at the front desk.

“No… I’m fine…” I felt my throat closing up when trying to speak. 

My Dad had passed away… now I just have the memories of him to replay in my head. But, now I know that my Dad was proud of me, and he loved me no matter what.