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Everything after the trial went by in a blur; celebrating with her family (they went to a Thai restaurant), celebrating with her friends on Saturday (Sierra and the girls hung out at her house—she and Luke celebrated over text, deciding to do the in-person celebration on Monday), then emailing all her teachers on Sunday about her classwork and what she missed (she really didn’t like that one, but it was necessary), not to mention all the calls and questions from the press that entire weekend. By the time Monday came around, the euphoria of the win had worn off, leaving Sierra exhausted.
Still, she had missed too much school and wasn’t about to add another day to that list.
She came to school early, as always, and this time, she relished in the fact that she didn’t have to head for the suspension room. Sure, that might have been where she befriended Luke and had gotten to know the “troublemakers” better, but it wasn’t a room she wanted to see anytime soon.
“Oh my God, Sierra, hi!” Em came in from behind her and gave her a hug. Sierra laughed and hugged her back. “Em! What are you doing here?”
Em raised a teasing eyebrow. “Wow, that’s what I get for coming to school early, just to accompany you?”
“Wait, really?” Sierra hugged her again. “Thanks Em, you’re the best.”
“Lexi wanted to come, too, but her mom was too busy.”
“Aw, that’s too bad.”
Em nudged Sierra’s shoulder. “So, what do you want to do? Take a tour of your former prison cell, or are you gonna tell me everything going on with Luke?” She smirked. “I know you didn’t want to talk about him in front of the others, but now that we’re alone, I’m bursting to know everything. So? Spill!”
Sierra giggled then nodded. “Alright, ok. So, it started on the first day of suspension. . .”
The rest of the day went smoothly. Some classes were teaching things she didn’t quite get, but she was a quick learner. Throughout her classes, she was constantly asked questions by her curious classmates, and to be honest, she was getting tired of it. Still, she endured, and eventually word got around.
During health, she exchanged secret smiles and glances with Luke, which Em quietly teased her about. Lexi was a bit confused at first, but quickly caught on and joined Em.
Finally, however, came the period she was anticipating the most. Social studies. By this point, they’d already moved on from the Mayan unit, but Sierra was still hung up on something: her Mayan pot. For all she knew, it was probably thrown away. But still, if Ms. Gibbons had kept it, Sierra planned to take it home and try to see if she could fire it herself.
She walked into class and made to go sit with Lexi, who was already at their table. However, Ms. Gibbons called out to her, “Hey, Sierra, can you come over here for a moment?”
Sierra walked over to her teacher’s desk. She said, “Good morning, Ms. Gibbons.”
“Good morning, Sierra! I’m so glad to see you back in class; I missed hearing your thoughts and comments.”
Sierra smiled. “Thank you. Um, there’s something I want to ask you about, actually. Do you still have my Mayan pot?” Please say yes.
She felt a swell of relief when Ms. Gibbons nodded. “Yes. That’s actually why I wanted to talk to you.” She ducked down and opened one of her desk’s drawers. From it, she pulled out Sierra's pot, and to her surprise it looked solid.
Sensing her silent question, Ms. Gibbons smiled and said, “I took the liberty of firing your pot. It looked ready, and I didn't want you to miss out. The rest of the class already painted their pots, but you can just do that at home. Oh, and you don't have to turn it in–I already gave you an A.” She accentuated her statement with a wink.
Sierra could have hugged her right then and there. Instead, she took the pot, then thought again and placed it back on Ms. Gibbons’ desk. “Do you mind if I keep this here, and then pick it up after school?”
“Sure. Now, get to your desk, we've held up class long enough.”
Sierra nodded and did just that. The lesson went on, and while Sierra thought the Inca were interesting, her mind was still on the Mayan pot. She couldn't wait to go home and paint it (and if she remembered correctly, her mom had a nice paint set). After another moment of wandering thoughts, she tuned back into the lesson.
“So, do your parents know you're here with me?” Luke asked with a smirk, taking another sip of his hot chocolate.
Sierra rolled her eyes goodnaturedly. “Of course. They know I’m at a cafe with my friend.”
He laughed. “Yeah, but do they know you’re with your big-time suspension buddy, Shep-turd?” Luke grinned at the face she made. “Yup, didn’t think so.”
“Honestly, Luke, you don’t have to put it like that.” Despite her chiding, she still laughed. It was really crazy how many things could happen, how many things could change in just a week. If somebody had told Sierra Shepherd a month ago that she would make friends with (and start crushing on) Luke Bishop, as well as almost get expelled, she would have laughed it off.
Now though. . .she was actually glad that the lunch bag mix-up had occurred. Too many good things had come out of it for her not to.
One of them was currently pulling a face at her.
“What?”
“You were spacing out. What were you thinking about? Was it that pot thing that you didn’t finish or something?”
Oh, the pot! Sierra smiled as she told him, “Ms. Gibbons actually fired it for me! It wasn’t completely done, but it still looks nice. And, she said that she gave me an A for it.”
“Figures,” he said teasingly. “You’ll have to show me what it looks like, though. All I keep imagining is some pee pot or something.”
Sierra wrinkled her nose. “Eww, no! And besides, Mayans had their own toilets.” At Luke’s skeptical look, she elaborated: “They made pits in limestone bedrock, which they actually had indoors, and after they. . .did their business, they used lime water to flush it down the “pipes”. They had a whole plumbing system.”
By the time she finished, Luke’s eyebrows were touching his hairline. He slowly nodded, impressed. “Man, these Mayans sound really cool.”
“They are!” Sierra lit up as she continued, “They’re way more sophisticated than what anyone might think. Did you know that they invented the concept of zero? You see. . .”
Sierra stuck out her tongue in concentration as she tried to paint a straight red-orange line. She kept her hand as steady as she could, and grinned at the result.
She had decided to use only black and shades of orange for her pot, as they were the colors most commonly used by the Mayans. It was turning out quite nice, if she did say so herself.
Having finished using the red-orange paint, Sierra stuck her paintbrush into her cup of water and swirled it around a bit. While she did so, she pondered where to put the pot when she was done.
One thought led to another and before she knew it she was picking up her phone.
Can we meet up after school on Wednesday?
sure
Any reason in particular?
You’ll see :)
Okayyy =P
She had picked a nearby park as the meetup place. When she got there, she sat down on a bench and people-watched for a bit, giddily kicking her feet back and forth. It was fun seeing parents and their kids playing around in the snow, building snowmen and forts and the like.
Next to her sat a gift box she'd found in her garage. It was a bit bigger than the object inside it, but it would have to do.
Finally, she caught sight of Luke, who was walking nearby. She stood up and waved him over, still grinning.
When he reached her, they hugged. Pulling back, he said, “Hey Sierra. You look excited– is it ‘cause of me?”
“Kinda.” She pulled him toward the bench and they both sat down. His gaze was immediately drawn to the gift box, and he gave her a questioning look. Smiling, Sierra grabbed the box and pushed it into his hands.
Luke's eyes lit up with excitement and curiosity. Swiftly, he undid the bow and pulled off the lid. When he saw what was inside, his lips stretched into a smile. He took off his gloves and put them aside. Placing his hands around it, Luke gently lifts up the pot. “Wow. Is this the Mayan pot you made?”
Sierra nodded. He turned it this way and that, admiring her work. Then, he placed it back into the box and put the lid back on. He grinned at her, bright and sweet and butterfly-in-stomach inducing.
For the following hour, the two of them talked and laughed and played in the snow. Afterwards, Sierra was so out of breath she decided to just lay there on the ground. Luke laid beside her. “So,” he said to the sky, “we should probably start heading home now, huh?”
She huffed out a breath. “Yeah. Walk me home?”
“Of course.”
They walked to her home hand-in-hand. Luke’s other hand was wrapped around the gift box. Their clothes were covered in bits of snow that flaked off with every step. They walked in silence, but it was comfortable and Sierra was happy to be left to her thoughts.
Did this count as a date? I think it counts as a date. She felt giddy and like she could walk on air, which she didn’t think made much sense but she knew she didn’t care.
She was so lost in her thoughts that it took her a moment to realize that they had stopped. At the sight of her house, she couldn’t help but be disappointed; if only the walk was longer. . .
“Sierra?”
“Yes?”
Luke leaned down and pressed his lips to her cheek. The contact sent a shock down her spine. She looked at him with wide eyes and a slack jaw.
“Figured I should give you something back.” His nonchalance couldn't disguise his flushed cheeks, which Sierra knew wasn't from the cold. She couldn't make a comment about it, though, because her cheeks were just as bright, if not more.