“I’m coming!” I heard her yell back. I packed Luna's lunch and made sure she had her shoes on. “Let’s go,” Gram said, approaching us from her bedroom. “Are you excited for your first day of a new school year?”
“I am!” Luna exclaimed. “Aren’t you, brother?”
I chuckled lightly. “Sure, Lu.”
We all headed out to the car together. Throughout the entire car ride, Luna was non-stop talking about seeing her friends, meeting her new teacher, and all the new activities she’d be able to do because, apparently, second graders had all the fun.
We pulled into the parking lot, and Luna rushed to unbuckle herself.
We walked into the building; Gram went to talk to the principal, as I led Luna to her class to meet the other students and teachers. The class was a bit chaotic with the teacher talking to a few parents.
I noticed someone who looked my age. I had never seen her before. “You’re really pretty, are you my teacher?” Luna asked the mystery girl.
She smiled brightly at Luna. “I’m not the teacher, I’m Avery. I’m dropping off my little brother over there.” She pointed to a boy sitting at a table. “What’s your name?”
“Luna, like the moon!” she explained animatedly. “This is my big brother, Grant.”
Avery stuck her hand out to shake. I put my hand in hers. “Are you new to town? I’ve never seen you before.” The luxury of living in a small town was that everyone knew everyone else.
“I was new at the end of the school year this spring, so this is my first fall semester.” She smiled shyly.
She was cute.“Well, welcome back. I’m sure we’ll be seeing each other around since I’ll be here to drop off Luna.”
Her smile widened. “I look forward to it.” She adjusted her attention back to Luna. “Thank you for the kind compliment. You look very pretty today, too.”
I gave Luna a quick hug and followed Avery outside. “Maybe I’ll see you around school,” I said quickly.
“That would be nice. See you around, Grant.” Avery walked toward her car, which was in the opposite direction from ours.
I headed to our car to wait for Gram. She soon approached and said, “We’re all set. I’ll pick you both up today since I have the car, but you’ll be able to drop off and pick up without me moving forward. Do you have everything you need for your first day of senior year?” I grabbed my backpack from the car.
“Yeah, I’m all set. I should probably get going, or I’m going to be late for my first period.”
“Get going then,” Gram said, kissing my cheek. “I love you, honey boy.”
“I love you, too.” I kissed her on the cheek and jogged across the street to the high school. Gotta love small towns. We could technically walk to school, but it was still a little over two miles from our house.
I couldn't help but think about Avery throughout my morning classes. She was cute, kind, and clicked well with Luna, which could be a battle on its own. I trusted Luna’s judgement, though, so seeing them getting along so well made me want to get to know her. Hopefully, she would be in one of my classes, or we’d have the same lunch period.
I hadn’t seen her in class, so when lunch time came around, I went to look for her. And that’s when I saw her. She sat under a tree having lunch by herself. I took a minute to take her in. She had glowing bronze skin under the radiant sun, long dark brown hair pulled up into a high ponytail, and when she looked up, I noticed her hazel eyes. She really was pretty. I hadn’t dated much while helping Gram with Luna, and most of my social life revolved around the guys on the basketball team. I decided to walk over to her. At the very least, it looked like she might need a friend.
“Hello again,” I said, slowly approaching.
She looked up, taking her earbuds out. “Hi, Grant.”
“What are you doing over here all by yourself? Don’t tell me you haven’t made any friends yet.”
She laughed. “No, that’s not it. This is the only hour of the day I can truly have to myself. I’m here early to help with kiddo drop off, and then after school, I help my mom with my brothers and sisters.” She took a bite of her sandwich.
“Wow, sounds like a lot. And I thought I had it hard taking care of Luna.”
“Your sister?” she asked, leaning her head to the side.
“Yeah, our parents aren’t around, so it’s Gram and me. I help her out a lot because she’s done so much for me throughout the years, and I want to make her life a little easier.”
Avery smiled. “That’s really kind of you. I help my mom so much with my younger siblings for a similar reason. She’s a single mom who raised us all by herself. There are five of us in total.”
“We’ve definitely had to grow up quick, huh?” I shifted from one foot to the other. I enjoyed how easy it was to talk to her. “I’ll let you have your hour to yourself. I just wanted to say hi.”
