Read Jack Adrift for Free Online

“I’ll never love another,” she’d whimper.
    I didn’t write all this down because it was warped and I didn’t think she wanted to hear it. I figured what I was imagining would scare her. My own dream life made me feel weird and nervous, and it confused me that picturing my own death made me happier. I thought I might need a doctor. I hopped up. From where I was, I could see across the cemetery and school playground over to the teachers’ parking lot. There was Miss Noelle walking toward her car and by her side was the muscle-bound gym teacher. She opened her car door, they said a few things, then he leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. That was definitely not part of my dream. I felt weak. Maybe it was a mirage? Maybe my mind was playing tricks on me? I staggered out of the cemetery as stunned as Lazarus must have felt after he rose from the dead.
    Â 
    Â 

    I stayed in my room for the rest of the day. I didn’t eat dinner and I didn’t sleep well. In the morning I inched my way to school. Miss Noelle was full of enthusiasm as we began to share our “wished-for lives” in class. Most everyone was pretty straightforward as they read from their journals. There were five teachers, two presidents, a pirate, three rock stars, a great white shark, a fashion model, a veterinarian, an admiral, a fireman, a chef, and then it was my turn.
    â€œJack,” Miss Noelle said sweetly, “I saved you for last. Now would you please share your wish with us.”
    I just knew she was waiting for me to say something wildly imaginative. But I couldn’t. I hadn’t written a word. “Can I go to the bathroom first?” I asked.
    â€œHurry back,” she said, glancing up at the clock. “We have other subjects to cover today.”
    I ran for the door and down the hall. Once again I checked the hallway floor. No gum. The walls. The water fountain. The toilets. No gum. I took a quick sprint through the cafeteria and glanced under the tables. My heart stopped! There was a piece. As I reached out to remove it, Mrs. Nivlash came around the corner. I didn’t want her to think I was sticking it there so I quickly unstuck it, popped it into my mouth, and began to chew. It was crunchy with some hard cereal crumbs mixed in with it. I waved to her as I ran off. I used a shortcut back through the gym, spit the gum into a
trash can, and with a final burst of speed ran outside and checked the bus drop-off spots. It was all clean.
    By the time I returned to class, Miss Noelle was working on math.
    â€œSorry that took so long,” I said, and rubbed my belly as if I’d had a problem. “I’ll lead off next time.”
    She raised an eyebrow when she looked at me, and I knew she wasn’t going to let me off the hook so easily.
    For the rest of the day Miss Noelle treated me like a regular kid. She only looked my way occasionally. When I volunteered for snack duty, she called on someone else. I knew she was annoyed with me for letting her down, and before long I began to imagine the punishments she would give me. I’d have to wash the blackboards. Alphabetize her books. Water the plants. Clean the hamster cage. I was ready for punishment. I felt I needed it. It wasn’t right to have a crush on my teacher. It was unhealthy. Weird. I just didn’t know what to do about it. Should I tell her? Or not?
    Then just before the bell rang she said, “Jack, could you stay behind after class?”
    â€œYes,” I replied, feeling nervous as a cricket as I sat there scratching at myself and waiting for the room to empty.
    When we were alone, Miss Noelle sat sideways in the desk next to mine. “I’m still waiting to hear about your life as you wish it to be,” she said.

    â€œI wish I could give it to you,” I replied. “But everything I wish for seems so wrong.”
    â€œHow can a wish be wrong?” she asked.
    â€œTrust me,”