Chapter 98: School Trip
Ms. Lail stood at the front of the room, a rare, genuine smile on her face.
"Alright, settle down, everyone."
The chatter subsided, but the excitement remained.
"As some of you may have heard through the grapevine," she started, picking up a stack of papers from her desk, "our annual school trip is coming up. It will be a week long excursion to the Lakeview Mountain Resort, starting next Friday."
A fresh wave of whispers erupted. Lakeview. It was the place everyone talked about, with hiking trails, a big lake you could boat on, and cabins that were way nicer than they had any right to be.
Ms. Lail held up a hand. "This trip is for all students from Grade 8 to Grade 11. It’s a chance to relax, have some fun, and maybe even learn something outside of the classroom. These are your permission slips. You’ll need a parent or guardian’s signature and the trip fee by this Wednesday at the latest. All the details are on the form."
She began passing the slips down the rows. The classroom was a sea of excited faces, students already leaning over to make plans with their friends.
Kofi took the permission slip when it reached his desk. He glanced at it for a second, his eyes catching the trip fee listed at the bottom. It wasn’t cheap. He folded the paper and put it in his bag without another thought for himself.
’A school trip.’
The idea was a good one. A great one, even. A week away from this town, away from that house. A chance to be in the mountains, to breathe clean air, to just... be a kid. It was exactly the kind of thing she probably needed, a small dose of normalcy in a life that was anything but.
But it was also an impossible dream.
’How could she go? She doesn’t have the money. And who would sign the permission slip? The aunt who wishes she was dead? The doctor?’