Little Inklings 2024

THE OUTSIDE By: Allegra Orlofsky ’28 I just need to get outside. That’s all I need to do. I just need to leave this classroom and go outside. Maybe I should ask to go to the bathroom, and then I’ll go outside. There are about 20,000 windows in here, they’ll see me. Just 20 minutes left of class. Tick tock tick tock. This clock is mocking me. Ok just pull it together. Should I count sheep? No, that’s stupid. “James? Are you paying attention?” “Yeah, sorry just spaced out” “What’s the answer to thequestion on the board?” I looked at it, and I could have sworn it was written in a different language. “Seven?” “Seven? James this is history” “It was a word problem. How was I supposed to know? “Please stay after class.” Great. Another thing keeping me from leaving this darned classroom. I should be home anyway. My mom and Steve could be home with my sister any second now. My sister. Woah. I’m going to have a sister. I wonder what that’ll be like? What if mymom forgets I exist? That’s a little too deep for a Tuesday afternoon. Okay, focus on something else. What’s going on outside? It was the preschoolers out on recess. I wish I were a preschooler again. I could draw all day and watch TV. That would be awesome. I wouldn’t have to worry about a thing in the world. I probably couldn’t play video games though. “Pst! James!” I turn my head and I see my best friend Marc. “What?” “You’re being called by the principal” “What do you mean, I didn’t hear anything?” “Maybe if you could pay attention for more than thirty seconds, you’d hear something. You’ve been different, dude. ” “Shut up.” I grab my stuff and walk to the office. What could it be? Did I do something? This sort of thing would never have happened in math or science or a class that makes sense. Maybe the class has nothing to do with it but whatever. On my way to the office, I should step outside. Now dear reader, let’s follow him to the said principal’s office. It takes a few minutes to walk from where James was to the office, so it would not have been considered abnormal for him to be late. He walked outside, passing by the science building and the cafeteria, took refuge under a tree, and started to ponder. Since his mother remarried, he had already been feeling rather left out, now that there is another baby on the way it would only make matters worse, he believes. It was nothing she or Steve had done, but he had been an only child for the first 14 years of his life. What now? Eventually, he makes it to the office. “Hi, I’m James Rhinehart.” “Hi sweetheart, yourgrandmother is here to pick you up.” “What, why?” “You’re officially a big brother!” 38