Company Matters

I might have slept through my alarm, but I knew someone would be waiting for me. Light from a neighboring building, my school actually, shined through the open shade. Not now, I told it, I've got somewhere to be. I grabbed my water bottle before heading into a still-dark morning to find the gym, bright as the noonday sun. My workout partner and I, we talked through the hour. Neither sprints nor planks wore me down because of the company I kept.

When the dismissal bell rang, I might have started on that crate of ungraded notebooks if not for the invitation I accepted. My laptop seemed to say, So soon? before it went black, and I zipped my backpack tight for a while. The scent of brewing tea greeted me at the door, and the welcome was as warm as the kettle. This group of readers and I, we chatted round the table, and my book wish list grew longer with every word. Neither grading or groceries mattered then because I was in the company of friends.