Writing Six Minutes a Day

[Shinmaru]

The bell rang loudly, a piercing cry through the classroom. Everyone looked around, startled. Evidently, the bell had caught them by surprise, even though I knew they had been waiting for it the entire time. From the back of the classroom, it was easy to notice each student's furtive glances at the clock every few seconds. Nearly everyone in the room had been engaged in some sort of asinine conversation over the past hour...the teacher didn't seem to pay any heed to what everyone else was doing. Pretty typical, though I have to admit, I took advantage of it myself, at times.

As everyone else shuffled a slow march towards the door, I stretched a bit cracked my back. My vertebrae were still a tad sore after sitting still for so long. I got up slowly and stooped down to pick up my backpack. I slung it over my shoulder, the heavy weight upsetting the balance of my shoulders for a moment. After correcting this, I strode slowly towards the classroom door. The teacher said good-bye to me but I barely heard it; my mind was already elsewhere.

I stepped outside and looked skyward. It was extremely gray and gloomy...it would probably rain later on in the day, which wasn't really a problem for me. It would be a nice change of pace from the nonstop heat; the hot rays of the sun got really oppressing and overwhelming after a while.

As I continued my stroll, I spied a couple making out in a corner. They seemed completely oblivious to everything going on around them. The couple were practically engulfing each other - it didn't seem to me like they cared who or what saw them. Obviously, getting to class wasn't the highest of their priorities. Of course, once security passed them and began to cajole them towards class, they would most likely become embarrassed enough to listen. I never really knew what happened since I neither cared enough nor had the time to stick around and watch. This sort of stuff was pretty trivial to me, anyway. I never watched this stuff for more than a few seconds. These people were quite boring.

I continued my walk, taking long strides and not really paying attention to the people around me. I was bumped into quite often but it wasn't really my problem; if they had cared enough to not bump into me, they would've evaded me. As I approached the end of one of the school buildings, I saw a group of people conversing in Spanish. I had taken two years of Spanish, and I was half-Mexican, after all, but I still didn't understand a word that they were saying. Which was just as well, I suppose, since I doubt I would've given a crap about what they were talking about, anyway. They were most likely gang members or something...you never knew about that sort of thing around here.

I was about to cut across the grass towards my Calculus class, when I realized I had to take a leak. I looked down at my watch...I still had about four minutes until the bell rang. I figured that would be enough time. Even if I was late, the teacher would still cut me some slack. I don't know why but all my teachers seem to like me. I think it's because I know when to shut up, stop complaining and do my ******* work. Judging from the way most teachers become bitter and cynical around these parts, I think my assessment is pretty accurate.

I walked over to the bathroom, avoiding people in order to get to there quickly. Truth be told, I didn't even have to go very badly, but there's only one bathroom open in the whole damn school, so lines develop pretty quickly. It's kind of sad to see a bunch of people crowded in front of a bunch of dirty, yellowed stalls in the hopes of being able to take a piss before class started but you took what you could get. I took one look at the line in front of me and decided it wouldn't be worth it. I could always ask my teacher for a pass so that I could go to the bathroom later on; he pretty much let anyone go to the bathroom no matter what. Nice guy, I think.

I stepped back outside. The clouds were beginning to part a bit, so some sun was shining through. Not very good news, in my opinion, because I really couldn't stand the sun. It's a truly great irony...I hate the sun and I pretty much live in sun central, Southern California. If there's a God, I'm sure He's laughing his *** off right now. I'm laughing with you, buddy.

The faint beams of sunlight streaking down on the ground seemed to highlight all the trash that was littered across the campus. The head of security, Mrs. Rogers, always seemed to be buzzing around the campus getting on people's cases for leaving trash around everywhere. Not that she made a difference...I think, when it came to trash, most people were just as indifferent about it as I am about most things. What was odd about that is that I always threw my trash away...it was just one of those things that I was used to doing. Either way, Mrs. Rogers wasn't really making any sort of difference on anyone around here.

I checked my watch once more...two minutes left. I quickened my pace a bit, just out of habit. My third and fifth period teacher, Mr. Vetter, frowned upon people being late to his classes. If you were late, he made you clean out the kiln room with his dirty mops, which wasn't really a fun thing to do. I pretty much forced myself to be on time to his classes, since I didn't want to end up mopping anything. It never really occured to me that I was heading towards Calculus and not Ceramics or Art History but I suppose that little detail didn't really matter.

I passed the two phones, which were in a little structure that looked sort of like a cage. The cage was locked and there was a white dog inside. It looked sort of like a wolf but I figured that it wasn't one. It didn't really matter one way or another to me, since I'd never been able to figure out dog breeds in the first place. The only ones I knew were the obvious ones like labradors, dalmations and those other breeds that people recognize from random Disney movies. I just labeled this one a mutt and thought nothing else of it. The pound would be coming by later on to pick it up, so it wasn't like the dog would be there again tomorrow.

I finally approached the building with my Calculus class in it. There was a large puddle where the asphalt stopped and the narrow strip of concrete that ran in front of all of the classrooms began. All of the other people were trying their damndest to avoid stepping in the water but I walked through it without a second thought. This action got me a few odd looks but they were looks that I probably would've gotten later on in the day, anyway. People had a tendency to look at me sort of weird; they're probably afraid because I'm so different from them. Or maybe they just don't want to admit that I might be sort of like them. Who knew, really? All I know is that I didn't really care. It's just one of those things you only think of in retrospective.

I reached my point of destination after stepping through a couple more puddles and walking around a few more people. Room 108, Calculus AB, 2nd period. I stepped inside. The classroom was much warmer than it was outside but that didn't stop people from complaining about the cold. I didn't really see what the big deal was - I was wearing a t-shirt and shorts and I was actually quite content. And then, there were the others, all bundled up in jackets and pants and scarves, still under the impression that it was cold. Either they were weird or I was. I'm still not sure, but oh well. I slung my backpack off of my shoulders and onto the floor. It hit the ground with an audible thump and I sat down in my chair, ready to coast through another Calculus lesson. Just like always. Just like everyday.

Just another six minutes in between classes.

EDIT: Changed a couple things, made the story a bit less vague. Thanks for the suggestions, Mitch.

[Mitch]

[size=1][color=red] Well, I guess this shows we're really alike writers. I enjoyed this piece more than I've enjoyed a lot of things I've read in here lately.

I'm too burned out at the moment to say anything that's going to help you out. . .hm. I'd get rid of parts of it where you said "and such," and maybe the "anways" you had (if you'd want to). The "and suches" are vague. Just get rid of them all over in there, it'll help out a bit.

Otherwise. . .I think the piece was interesting. You managed to take the mundane. . .and make it just as mundane, but interesting all the same, which added a touch of something else to it. The mundane's like that in a writer's hands.

Yeah. I'm pretty burned out. The "and such" thing is the best thing I could say that'd help you. Otherwise I thought your word choice was good.

I'll definitely be waiting for more.[/size][/color]

[Mimmsicle]

[size=1][color=#800000]I love stories like these, where you are given a few minutes of a characters life. There were a few repetitions that I spotted, but I'm not giving them any time of day (heh). [/color][/size]

[size=1][color=#800000]You did great in describing the feel and surrounding, there was a good flow to the story telling and as with your other work - I really enjoyed it.[/color][/size]

[size=1][color=#800000]Thumbs up, Shin. Really.[/color][/size]

[size=1][color=#800000]- Mimmi[/color][/size]