Sitting, silently waiting, the minutes tick by my eyes were drooping why did this class have to be so boring. And there was still another period left! BEEP, BEEP, BEEP!Yea class; out 3 minutes of freedom I wondered into the hallway to talk to Alice. 'Hey Haley!' she shouts as I walk toward her locker,

'Hey whats up?'

'I Have to go to World Studies and I really don't want to,'she replied solemnly.
'Don't worry today's assignment is really easy, your just finishing your mandala,' I reassured her.

'Yay! Thanks Haley I'll see you after school.'

'Anytime ill see ya,' I shouted back as I skidded into the classroom and entered my seat right as the bell rang.


















The teacher droned on, eventually every kids eyes are glazed over as they zone out and completely dismiss the teacher that stands at the front of the room completely oblivious to her fading class. I am finally snapped out of my illusion as papers are passed back in the rows. I look over the paper, then unwillingly start to write my name and work on the newest form of torture. Not 10 minutes later I'm done with my assignment and turned in my seat to talk to Keltie. We sat in the very back whispering and laughing quietly as the teacher reads her book at her desk up front. Geez, still another half hour, this is prison! Last period of the day and we can barely talk louder than a mouse squeak! Savannah soon joins the conversation, 25 minutes left. Were we stuck in a time warp?

















Our giggling is interrupted by an office aid walking into the room. We quiet down fast as the teacher looks up and takes the note, she stares blankly at it for a moment then nods. We returned to our dull conversation in silent prayers that time would speed up just a little.

'Haley,' the teacher calls my name in that prison warden voice. 'oh no,' did we get caught. She wasn't going to be happy if she had busted us yet again. I strode to the front of the room my feet seemed to have a mind of their own because I was trying to turn and run.

'You need to go down to the office for a little bit.'

'could I get in trouble just for talking this cant be good' I had a horrible feeling in my gut that is was something more than that. I opened the classroom door and glanced back toward Keltie then the teacher who gave me a sympathetic glance as the door creaked shut behind me.
I cringed and walked forward, there it was again that horrible feeling that something was wrong.









I walked into the office and glanced around,

'just go down to the counselors office sweetie their waiting for you.' Mrs Noble said. What? Who was here? What is going on? I walked down the blank hallway and through the door. My mother and my brother were waiting there with Mr Johnston. Why is Caleb here he has chicken pox! The feeling came again.

'sit down Haley,' Mr. Johnston said in his overpowering Scottish accent. I sat down.
'Haley, listen,' what was wrong with my mom? ' Haley daddy died this afternoon.' What? Is my hearing OK? Was this a practical joke? Then I looked over at my brother, Mr. Tough guy. His eyes were welled up with tears. This was reality.




















My gut clenched, I lost control of all bodily functions, I felt my head spinning into eternity. Then they came, tears, overpowering me. My heart felt like it had been torn into confetti and was now being dropped down into and infinite black hole. My throat became sore and it was hard to breathe. I felt someone put their hand on my shoulder I couldn't even muster the strength to see who had laid out their hand to comfort me. I just got up and walked toward my locker as the bell rang my friends stared at me as I walked by. My face was red, tears were pouring down it, and my eyes became focused on some random object in the distance. I had no control; my subconscious must have taken over. In those moments I opened my locker,pulled out the right books, shut the locker managed to get outside find the car and get in.

A week later we were driving with my uncle to Summers funeral home. We attended the funeral here and 2 days later we got on a plane to Texas, the men who had worked at that exact same airline gave him a final goodbye when every man working down by the plane linked arms and followed the plane down the runway giving my dad his last hooray at southwest.
















We stayed at my aunts house until that fateful day; rain was drizzling outside I was in my black dress and my brother and sister were waiting in the car. I sauntered out to the car and hesitated on getting inside, if I went to this funeral and saw the body it would mean that my father was really gone and he wasn't coming back. No more Dallas Cowboys games to watch, no more reading the enormous amount of books piled into his room, and no more long talks with one of the strongest men I had ever known. My brother pulled me into the car.



















The rain was coming down in large solid drops now. We went out side and watched the Pallbearers bring the casket onto the stand on the dark green lawn by the cemetery grounds. We had a private viewing with my family, Billy and Connie. After wards no one was happy so my aunt took us out to lunch and we came back the next day.
The casket had been buried and fresh dirt was layed on it the. Flowers had been put around it and the sight was the most peaceful thing you could ever get from a graveyard. I stared down at my fathers name carved into solid rock. The rest of my family was on their way back to the car.















'Haley?' My mom called,

'Just a sec!' I shouted in reply. I stood there a yellow rose in my clutches.

'I'll miss you daddy,' I whispered.

' I love you.' I dropped the rose onto the grave and looked up at the sky sending down bombs of rain on my forehead I stared up hoping he was watching over me, I smiled and took off running in the rain.