Refreshed. Rejuvenated. I park my car in the student lot and walk toward the school with a little swing in my step.And then I run into Derek and Lowell.They’re both standing at the edge of the parking lot, looking straight at me. I freeze for a moment. No one else is around. No one to witness whatever is about to happen. I hate the helpless feeling that crawls its way into my stomach.As I come up to them, I veer to the right, trying to walk past, but Lowell steps in front of me, blocks my path.“Hey,” he says, and when I keep walking, more sharply, “Hey.”I stop and look at him. I try not to let it show the way my heart is beating, fast and hard, like it’s trying to free itself from my chest.“What’s that?” Lowell cocks his head to one side, gaze sliding down to the whiteboard tucked under my arm, and before I can jerk back, he reaches out and snatches it from me. “Hey, Derek, catch.”He throws it over my head to Derek. I lunge for it, but Derek jumps back, holding it out of reach and laughing at my attempt.“Oh, what do we have here?”
