Blue Iris Summer

BLUE IRIS SUMMER

Andrew rolled onto his back opened his eyes and turned his head. The clock on the nightstand read 3:16am. It was cold in his bedroom and he could hear Mrs. Everton’s twinkling wind chimes through his open window. The clanging annoyed him.

Living next door to his third period science teacher was not cool. At all times he had to be on his best behavior at Granger Ranch High School but also at home, now his not so safe zone anymore. Mrs. Everton was constantly looking at him with her piercing weird colored eyes one hazel and the other blue. He really disliked her blue eye. Usually she called on him in class when he was not paying attention. “Andrew, what causes a supernova?” That blue eye seemed to pierce through his soul and know his every thought. “Uh, dunno” he would reply. She would stiffen her lips and narrow her blue eye. “It was in chapter six of last night’s reading assignment” she would respond. Then Mrs. Everton would answer her own question as she paced back and forth never taking her blue eye off of him. “Supernovae are very rare and occur when a massive star explodes, it is a dramatic end to a star’s life, after the core of an aging star…” her voice would trail off as he would drift back into his own thoughts.

Now, lying on his back he thought in less than five hours he would be riding the school bus on his way to fail science class. Failing science class and attending summer school would ruin his plans to hang with his friends.

When his parents told him and his younger sister Sarah they were moving he never expected their new home to be next to Mrs. Everton the “space weirdo” as the kids in his seventh grade class nicknamed her.

Irritated by the endless clanging Andrew quickly swung his legs, his feet hitting the cold wooden floor. He rose to close the window. The irritation disappeared, as he was surprised to see Mrs. Everton on her front porch staring into the dark navy blue sky littered with stars.

Mrs. Everton turned her gaze towards the window as if she knew he was standing there. Her thin pant leg eerily danced like slow moving waves as she turned to walk back inside her home her gait stiff and awkward.

“Pop Quiz!” Mrs. Everton yelled as she burst into the classroom, “I shall give a second chance to those students who did not do well on the last exam, and for those who did this will show how well you retain information”. She walked past his desk and placed the quiz face down and whispered “did you get enough sleep Andrew”? Andrew did not answer only giving her a sideways glance knowing she had seen him at the window.

At that moment he only wanted to pass the pop quiz. Not wanting to spend another minute in her presence much less a whole summer sitting in her boring science class staring at that blue eye.

Andrew was anxious as he changed classes. He could not wait until the next day to learn his fate. Each time the bell rang he would walk to the next period; Mrs. Everton would stand at her classroom door watching the students. Each time she would catch Andrew's attention with her blue eye and nod her head. Near the end of the day she flagged him down and said “Andrew, I would like to talk to you before the end of the day regarding your final grade in science class.” Andrew's heart pounded in his chest as hr replied “Yes, Mrs. Everton” and slowly walked away. He was doomed and she knew it.

Later as he approached Mrs. Everton’s classroom door he saw Mr. Graham the school janitor mopping the hallway. He pointed and chuckled in his gruff voice in the direction of Mrs. Everton’s door “happy go lucky goes in, sad summer school comes out”.

Mrs. Everton met Andrew at the door as Jonathan his classmate whizzed by. The look on his face told everything he needed to know, he had to attend summer school. Andrew's heart sank even farther as he knew he would share the same sentence.

“Sit down Andrew” Mrs. Everton said. You are my last student, my husband and niece are on the way. You’re twelve correct”? Andrew nodded as she continued. My niece is about your age she will be spending the summer with us” as she shuffled her stacks of papers. “You need an eighty-three to pass my class Andrew.” Mrs. Everton slowly pulled Andrew's future from her stack of papers and gently placed it in front of him. He glanced down and his heart leapt. An eighty-five! Andrew jumped from the seat with a loud “alright”! He was so happy he would not have to look at that blue eye all summer. The chair fell to the floor and as Andrew turned to pick it up he noticed four pair of legs. Mrs. Everton said, “Robert you made it, Iris you’ve grown so much! Mrs. Everton turned to Andrew and said “Andrew this is my niece Iris.” Andrew straightened himself and thought “wow pretty” and repeated her name like he was in a trance “Iris”. Iris had one blue eye.