School, of course, came the next day, as if to crush any hopes and dreams of freedom or time to think over what had happened the previous night. Not that it ever did anything different.

Period 1. Homeroom. Not with Hayley.

Period 2. Art. The teacher didn’t seem to know why I wasn’t in Special Ed. I reminded her by spouting out the first twenty-eight numbers in the Fibonacci Sequence, and then explaining the reason why Schroedinger’s cat was both dead and alive. Not with Hayley.

Period 3. Science. Learning about the senses. Can’t wait till we get to the optic nerve. With Hayley!

Periods 4-6. Not with Hayley, so not important.

Lunch. Several fries stuck in hair, but Hayley beat the kids responsible. Man, I love her.

Period 8. Language Arts. Hayley’s there, so all I could do was listen to her breathe from across the room while Mrs. Warburton went over the finer points of Animal Farm.

And the bell rings. And I’m free. And I’m with Hayley.

Ahh…I’m with Hayley.