Chapter 6 Not All Roses. . .

She quickly picked up a bowl and filled it with water , one pour. . .there was still fire and then a second , a third ...fourth and the fire went out . That was a close one , she could have burned down the whole house.

Laura lay in a fetal position on the loveseat , she couldn't help but think about her father , if he was in the ICU then he was probably on oxygen and oxygen cost alot , she didn't have to work in a hospital to know that . The brain trauma wasn't severe but life wasn't going to be the same after he came out of the coma. Her mom worked as an auditor in a small company and wasn't earning as much as her dad so. . . how was she going to cope with the bills ,there was also the mortgage to pay. Another tear trickled down her left cheek.

The door handle squeaked and granny Osborne walked in dressed in a pair of light slacks and a beige cotton shirt .

"What happened in here?"She said scrunching up her nose and fanning away the smoke in the air .

" I'm sorry granny Osborne, I forgot to take out my food from the microwave" Laura said, hoping her grandmother wasn't going to get too angry.

" Oh well" her grandmother said from the kitchen , inspecting the damage closely.

" That means I'll just be changing the wallpapers sooner than I expected" granny Osborne said lightly, running her fingers along the burnt surface .

" Did you hear about dad?" Laura asked in a small voice , her tall structure leaning by the door frame of the kitchen.

" Yes honey I did . He's going to be okay . Okay?" Granny Osborne said ,cupping Laura's face . She kissed her cheeks and hugged her granddaughter. The stayed together in the same position for sometime untill Laura left to sleep.

They're certain times when our minds are split into two ,one part taking away more of your attention and the other , well some part of your focus too.

Maths class happened to be the best time to think not only because it was boring but because there was alot to think about . Laura stared dreamily at the white board, counting the number of times seven appeared on it ,eight times. That was alot considering the fact that there really wasn't alot of writing on the board .

She could still see her dad's frail and limp body on the hospital bed. He looked very peaceful,like a baby in his hospital gown , looking through her phone screen at his lifeless form, she'd told him she loved him and didn't want him dead and she hoped he'll make it. Hope was all she had lately. . . she even started praying to God ,again. If he was there at all she needed him now.

The bell rang for the third period,which meant physics and ofcourse Mr Prowse . Principal Harley , a bald short man in a tweed suit which was too hot for the weather at the moment walked in with a cherub faced middle-aged woman, she was all smiles but you could still see her nervousness boldly written on her face.

" Ehemm" principal Harley coughed ,trying to get the students attention . All eyes turned to face the round figure .

" This is Mrs Stanley ,your new physics teacher. I expect you to be nice to her " he paused as if examining what he said." That's impossible ,but you could at least treat her the same way you did to Me Prowse" he said ,gave a little bow to Mrs Stanley and quickly left the room.

Mrs Stanley looked at the faces of her new students and they looked back at her with blank expressions , waiting for her to say something.

" So" she said finally." Where did your last teacher end with you guys ?" She said clasping her hands together and leaning against the desk , patting her auburn hair into place .

" On a project?" A female voice shrieked behind where Laura sat .

" Isn't that a bit early? " She said ,not asking anyone in particular.

" Then that does it. It's cancelled" she said with a tone of finality .

Gasps

Fuck

Great

In general there was a loud groan in the room .

"And I'm not changing my mind"she said curtly ." You stopped at mechanical wave properties. So can anyone tell me it's five properties and explain them with examples?".

Silence

" Guys come on. . . anyone?"Mrs Stanley asked again.

The fact that no one knew was really getting on Laura's nerves. Now they were probably going to go two lessons back because she'll think the whole class wasn't serious or something.

Without thinking,her hands shot up , bringing a small smile to Mrs Stanley's face .She nodded at Laura.

"Put those hands down barrel brain " a familiar male voice said from behind Laura causing the class to break into giggles.

Steve? Really?