Page 1 of Escape

PROLOGUE

Huck

“Time to get up, Huck. If you snooze any longer, you’re going to be late.”

A frustrated groan escaped as I rolled onto my back and peeled my eyes open. My mom was standing in the doorway to my bedroom. “I can’t wait for the day I no longer have to do this.”

Her face lit up, something I thought should be impossible—perhaps, even illegal—at this hour of the morning. “I’m sorry to say that today is not that day, kiddo. But on the bright side, you’ve only got seven months left until you graduate.”

“I could just stop going, though,” I suggested. “There are a lot of people who’ve dropped out of school and still become wildly successful.”

“That’s wonderful for them. You aren’t going to be one of them. And considering you’ve come this far, you should want to stick it out,” she reasoned. “You don’t quit when you’ve done all this work and are right at the end.”

“I’d rather sleep in,” I grumbled.

It was my mom’s turn to let out a sigh. “I’m sorry, Huck. You’ve got to go to school. And your breakfast is going to be ready in five minutes, so like I said before, it’s time to get up.”

The last thing I wanted to do was get out of my bed, but if I didn’t do it, my mom would continue to stand in the doorway and give me crap about it. So, I sat up. “Alright, I’m coming.”

My mom’s voice was entirely too cheerful when she returned, “I’ll meet you in the kitchen.”

After she walked away, presumably to the kitchen to finish preparing breakfast, I begrudgingly tossed the blanket from my body and got out of bed to get myself ready. I knew I probably shouldn’t have given my mom such a difficult time when it came to getting up for school every morning—as a single mom, she worked her tail off to provide a good life for the two of us—but I was ready to be done with school.

I was in my senior year at high school, but it was only November. Nothing sounded less appealing than having to wake up every morning to learn things I never intended to use in my life. I was ready for the real world.

Unfortunately, my mom saw things differently, and she pushed me every day to keep going. I loved and respected her enough to limit my complaining to the morning.

Once I’d gotten myself ready, I met her in the kitchen, where she made another attempt to get me excited about school while I ate breakfast.

“Look, I know you’ve had enough of school, but I promise you’re not going to regret this, Huck,” she said. “You just have to stick it out for a few more months.”

“I know. I just wish I could sleep in or take the occasional day off,” I explained.

“I’m really surprised at your lack of enthusiasm. I thought you would find ways to be excited about everything this year, since you aren’t going to have this experience again. Maybe, instead of looking at it as something dreadful, you could go to school today and find something that excites you. In fact, I’m going to challenge you to do that very thing. Tonight, at dinner, I want to hear all about one positive thing from school today outside of your friends that you believe you could just hang out with while not in school. Deal?”

I groaned. This sounded torturous. Even still, I promised, “I guess.”

My mom smiled brightly at me. “I can’t wait. Alright, finish up, so we can get you there on time.”

Feeling starved, I didn’t hesitate to honor her request. While I ate, she finished packing lunches for both of us, and before I knew it, we were out the door. I was still working to save up for a car, and since my mom had to go to work, she would drop me off at school on her way there.

Since I’d promised my mom I’d try hard to find one positive thing about school, I attempted to make that happen as quickly as possible. Sadly, homeroom left a lot to be desired. Worse, I didn’t think I was going to find what I was looking for in my first period class, either. Aside from having two of my closest friends, Sam and Mikey, in that class, there wasn’t going to be anything else enjoyable.

My physics teacher, Mr. Lewis, started the class with an announcement that proved my suspicions to be accurate.

“It’s the first day of the second marking period, so I’ve decided to switch things up,” he began. “There are going to be three different projects I intend to have you all complete between now and the end of the year, one every marking period. You’ll need to do these projects with a partner, who may or may not remain the same throughout the remainder of the year. That will depend on how things go for each of you on this first project. The project will count for sixty percent of your grade.”

Initially, while I felt aggravated about needing to do a project, I thought it might not be so bad that I’d be able to complete it with a partner. I’d pair up with one of my friends, and we’d try to make the most of it.

Once again, my hopes were shattered.

“I’ve already taken the liberty of pairing you up, and I’ll share those in a moment,” Mr. Lewis revealed. “Once I’ve given you the name of your partner, I’m going to pass out envelopes to each group. Each envelope contains a different project, and the two of you will need to work together to have it completed before the end of the marking period. I will provide time once each week, likely on Friday mornings, for you to work together while in class, but depending on how you choose to tackle the project, you might need to find time to meet outside of class, either after school or during study hall periods. Now, with all of that said, here are your partner assignments. Jessica Adams, you’re with Deena Stewart. Katrina Andrews, your partner is Michael Powell…”

Mr. Lewis continued sharing the names of the partners in each group, moving through in alphabetical order. After he got through those who came before me in the alphabet, I braced myself for my pairing. Because the reality was that I’d noticed Mr. Lewis had been putting people together who wouldn’t have necessarily chosen to work together if we’d been given the option to select our partners.

“Huck Davidson will be with Josie Day,” he finally declared, before continuing to the next pairing.

I didn’t pay attention to anything after he’d named my partner, because I was simply annoyed.

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