Beautiful Souls by Sarah Mullanix Page B

delicious bites of the still steaming eggs. I added, “I wanted to go over my work and double check a couple of Trig answers before I left.” I hoped this would give my mom a believable excuse for my unusual behavior of being prepared for school on time, instead of the usual daily occurrence of running late.
                       She nodded, and I took another bite of eggs, gulping down my barely chewed bite when I thought realized she had actually believed this substitute for the truth.
                       My mom stood up from her chair, coffee still in hand and asked, “Do you want some juice?”
                       I simply gave her a nod since my mouth remained full of scrambled eggs, and she headed over to the refrigerator. She took out the carton, poured the juice into a glass, then sat it in front of my plate which now only held a few final bites. She grabbed one with her bare hand and popped it into her mouth, while I quickly scarfed down the rest, obviously more hungry than I had originally realized.
                       “Dad already leave for work?”
                       “Yeah, about an hour ago. You know how busy this time of year is for him.”
                       “Yeah, I know.”
                       My mom rinsed her coffee mug and dropped it in the sink. The clanking noise made me jump a little, fueling the adrenaline already rushing through my body.
                       “You ready to go, hon? I’d like to get down to the shop a little earlier today,” she said, as she tossed a couple items into her purse and pulled out her car keys.
                       Apparently, my early start to the day was a welcome change to my mom.
                       “Besides,” she continued, “I think someone’s already waiting for you outside,” she smirked.
                       “Yeah, yeah,” I rolled my eyes, and walked over to grab my school bag from the floor where I had dropped it when I first entered the kitchen.
                       We walked outside together, and my mom locked up behind me. She gave me one last wave as she hopped in her car and backed out of the driveway. I stood for a moment, sending her a return wave, before I climbed up to the passenger seat.
                       I had actually forgotten that Leo was picking me up this morning till my mom reminded me. I presumed he wasn’t going to get us to school as quickly as I wanted to get there, though.
                       My anticipation of getting to finally speak with Zoey was getting the best of me, and I just prayed that Homeroom would pass at the speed of lightening. I needed to see her to figure out this mysterious linkage we seemed to share, or at least the link I felt with her.
                       We pulled into Leo’s usual parking spot, just a few places down from mine, about ten minutes later. I glanced over and could see my Bug shining in the morning light, covered in melted droplets from the early morning frost.
                       I jumped out of Leo’s truck, slammed the heavy door, and headed straight for the front hall of the school. Leo followed closely behind.
                       I could hear him calling my name, trailing me by just a few feet. I couldn’t force myself to stop. I was too tangled with thoughts of doing whatever I needed in order to impel this morning on and make my way to first period Trig class; the one I shared with Zoey.
                       “Becca!” Leo called again with such a pleading sound in his voice that it made me feel terrible for the way I had been ignoring him, and I immediately was overcome with sympathy for the grief I caused and could clearly see in his eyes. I finally stopped and turned around