Genesis

Even though it had rained all night, the sun shone brightly, barely above the mountains to the east. The pink from the sunrise had already faded into a beautiful and dewy morning. Sunlight warmed Winslow's face through the bus windows, and she watched birds singing in the trees as they drove past. If she listened carefully, she could hear them over the hum of the bus and the chatter of the students around her, but it got harder as more kids boarded. That was one of the perks of being the second stop on the bus route; she always got a window seat in the morning, and she could enjoy the quiet before the other seats filled up.

The school bus pulled into the drop-off lane, splashing a bit of water over the curb as it slowed. Tsss Fwoosh… The bus stopped in front of the school's main entrance, the brakes hissing. The doors opened and Winslow waited patiently for the other students to disembark. She didn't like trying to fight her way into a gap in the line; it was easier to just leave last. She thanked the bus driver and put her backpack on, dropping into the shallow pool on the asphalt below. She clutched her textbook to her chest and made her way to the building, her feet splooshing in occasional puddles. Even though the morning was sunny, a bit of a breeze tousled her hair and made her wish she'd brought a jacket.

Suddenly, someone threw their arms around her from behind, tugging her backwards and saying, “There's my girl!” with a laugh.

“Hey, Reid.” She laughed and wiggled out of his arms, continuing onward.

Reid walked alongside her. His hair was usually a mousy brown, but it looked darker since it was still wet from his morning shower. Winslow wondered how people could stand to leave the house with wet hair. She also noticed that he had his blue hoodie on. Maybe she'd steal it later if she was still cold by lunch…

Reid nudged her arm. “School's only been going for like two weeks and I'm already way behind in history.”

“Everyone is. That class is gonna kill us all.” It was true. Winslow always got good grades, but she had never really needed to study before, and most of her homework was finished before she even got home from school. This class, her first AP class, had changed that. The workload was a lot heavier than she'd expected and she hadn't found a good rhythm yet. It certainly didn't make the transition to actual high school any easier. She kind of wished her district would put ninth graders in the high schools instead of junior high, because then at least she'd be done with that transition already.

“We should meet up after school and work on the reading together,” Reid offered with a smirk.

Approaching the doors, a stocky, vaguely familiar boy glanced back at the two of them. He held the door open, waiting.

Winslow made eye contact with the boy as she thanked him, but her heart skipped a beat and she turned back to Reid. “We both know you'd get distracted immediately.”

Reid shrugged in self-defense. “It's not my fault you're hot!”

She playfully slapped Reid on the arm, and he offered to take her book. It was heavy and she appreciated the offer, so she handed it off to him. She trotted ahead a little and held the next door for the boys in return. 

Reid passed wordlessly but waited on the other side, and the next boy avoided looking at Winslow, but muttered a ‘thanks’ with pink cheeks as he passed.

“You're welcome.” Winslow recognized him from last year's math class. She smiled to herself, already feeling warmer as she let the door shut behind her.

“It's too bad we only have seminary together this semester,” Reid complained as they met up again, his eyes watching the other boy walk away.

“Yeah, I’d be able to force you to pay attention in history if I were actually in the same class as you.” Winslow touched his arm gently and he looked back at her, indignant.

“I pay attention! The reading is just boring!”

“It's still doable,” she countered with a little patronizing smile.

Reid laughed and shrugged it off. They both knew he could have been doing the work if he bothered to try. “Whatever. At least we have lunch together every day. You can force me to do my work then.”

Winslow rolled her eyes and said, “Yeah, right…” but she knew it would be her responsibility, whether she wanted it or not.

She got to first period early and was turned around in her seat, chatting with her friends. Marcella and Gwen sat at the table behind her. Each table only seated two, which made being in a trio kind of annoying, but they made sure to include Winslow in the conversation whenever they could.

The bell soon rang and she turned forward to see the boy from earlier walking near the front of the room. He looked at her, then quickly looked away, scanning the other tables.

The three boys at the tables next to Winslow's group saw him and all got noisy with cheers and applause.

“Eyyyyy Kiernan!! You finally fixed your schedule!”

The boy moved down the aisle towards them, chuckling, and said, “Yep, both band classes are set.”

“And you're in this class with us?”

“Yeah!” He started high fiving and fist bumping them, and they all continued their excitement that he had arrived. Winslow laughed a little bit and turned around to find Marcella and Gwen chuckling, too. Really, though, it was nice to see a group of guys actually care about each other like that.

Their teacher, Miss Foster, walked through the door, seeing the commotion. “Ah, Kiernan's here! Everyone, he just transferred in from the 4th period class.” Cocking her head, she asked, “Do you have your textbook yet?”

The boy smiled sheepishly. “No, I wanted to wait until I knew I was actually gonna get in an AP class, and I didn't get it finalized until this morning.” His friends quieted down in the teacher's presence, but Winslow could see them whispering to each other.

The teacher sighed. “Hmm, okay...” She had been very adamant that the class is a lot easier when you have access to your own textbook for taking notes and doing the assigned reading. “Um…” She glanced around, eyes eventually landing on Winslow. “Can you share with him until he gets his? You've got that empty seat next to you.”

“Of course, Miss.” Winslow slid her stuff over so it was just on her side of the table, now. Sitting alone, she'd gotten used to taking up more space.

Kiernan looked at his friends, then set down his stuff beside her. “Hey.” He offered a crooked smile, taking a seat.

In her peripheral vision, Winslow saw one of the boys, Russ, return to his seat at the table next to them. Like her, he had been forced forward while his two friends, Antonio and Jacob, were together at the table behind him. It occurred to her that Kiernan could have shared his book with Russ, but he sat with her anyway.

Their eyes met again. She felt a small flutter in her chest. “Hi.”

“It's um, Winslow, right? We were in that advanced math class together last year with Miss Wilder. I don't think we ever really talked.”

A voice from the boys’ table piped up. “He totally wishes, though.” Winslow wasn't sure which of his friends said it, but Kiernan shot the group a dirty look.

She laughed it off. “Yeah, I remember you.”

“He’s blushing!” This time, it was definitely Jacob that chimed in. He was the loudest of the group, for sure.

Kiernan blushed harder and Winslow turned around, raising an eyebrow at her own friends. They, too, wore devious little smirks.

“I mean, they're not wrong,” Gwen said with a shrug.

“Let's get started!” Miss Foster began passing out some worksheets, and Winslow smiled to herself as she slid the book between her and Kiernan, flipping pages to that day's chapter. It would be nice to not sit alone. 

As class continued, the group of boys was more rowdy than usual. It could just have been because it wasn't a lecture day, or maybe they were that excited that their friend had transferred in. They kept trying to bring Kiernan and Winslow into their conversations, but she would shut them down in the name of staying focused. Kiernan seemed to be a lot quieter than his friends, and he didn't have an issue staying on task. He read quickly and shared impressive insights and listened intently to Winslow when she talked about the material. It was nice. He even told his friends to shut up a few times after they'd try to engage with Winslow or her friends, though it wasn't harsh or mean-spirited.

After a while, the boys had finally settled down a little, but then Russ shared a small anecdote and Jacob responded by shouting, “That's so gayyyy!”

Winslow scowled and turned around to face Jacob from her seat. “Ugh, don't say that!”

Jacob seemed caught off guard, but then he laughed. “All I said was ‘gay.’ You think that's a dirty word or something? You think the word ‘gay’ is bad?” His voice had a condescending edge to it, though it was supposed to be more of a tease.

Winslow frowned harder. “No, but you're saying it like it means something negative! You're using it in a derogatory way!”

“I was just joking around.” Jacob said, glancing at Kiernan and starting to seem more serious and apologetic. The boys all looked surprised.

“Then joke around in a way that doesn't hurt anyone.” Winslow turned back around and picked up her pencil, ready to move on and finish her worksheet.

“Come on, no one here is even gay,” Antonio placated.

Kiernan glanced over his shoulder. “You don't know that.” Winslow was a bit surprised that he'd stand his ground against his friends, let alone back her up in opposing them.

Marcella added, “Yeah. They could be keeping it a secret because of stuff like that. Or maybe they don't even know it yet!”

A moment later, Russ said, “Well, we know it's not Kiernan.”

Antonio and Jacob both shouted, “Oooooh,” and Russ beamed at the encouragement.

“Dude, just shut up,” Kiernan said, turning back around and shaking his head, only getting more laughs in response.

“Hey, Winslow, ask him what Russ means!” Jacob suggested much too eagerly, being met with more laughter.

Confused, Winslow glanced at Kiernan, who was red in the face and clearly exasperated.

“No,” she said sternly, glaring in Jacob's direction. “Just do your worksheets and don't be jerks.” She turned back around and scooted her chair closer to Kiernan, getting cheers and hollers from the boys in response, although they did mind their own business the rest of the period.