​

​

​

            Jeremy woke up to silence. He ran his hand through his brown hair and stretched in the early morning light. His mother Martha used to wake him up each morning by calling him down for school, but lately it had been quiet in the morning. Jeremy stared at the ceiling as he began to wake up. Cold November air was blowing through his open window and causing him to shiver. He pulled his blankets up to his chin to hide from the cold. His bed had a thin white sheet topped with a blue blanket and a fluffy quilt that helped hold the heat in. The quilt still smelled freshly washed, and the warmth it held in made Jeremy feel sleepier. His room was a bit plain, but it was cozy. The desk and dresser were made of brown wood, and a large red rug sat in the middle of the floor. The desk was mostly covered in papers and books, all homework that was still waiting to be done. Jeremy had begun the seventh grade at Evercrest Middle School a month ago and he was not enjoying the increased work load. School had become much harder after the accident last summer. On the 21^st of July, Jeremy’s father Daniel was killed while driving to the hardware store to pick up some supplies for his latest project. Jeremy sat up in bed and stared at his desk. The top was made of several planks of wood that had been nailed together. It was supported by four sturdy legs made of a light brown unsanded wood, with a crossbeam stabilizing the two left legs with the two right ones. Jeremy’s father had made the desk for him on his tenth birthday. Lately, Jeremy had taken to doing his homework at the kitchen table.

            “Jeremy! We need to get going! If we don’t leave soon, you will be late for school again. Do I need to come up there?” Jeremy’s mother called from down stairs.

            Jeremy picked up his backpack from the foot of his bed and began to walk towards the stairs. “Coming, mom.”

            “You better grab a granola bar before we go or you’ll be hungry!”

            Ever since Jeremy’s father died, every morning felt like such a hurry. There used to be time to sit down in the morning and have breakfast. Not much time, but there was time. These past several months had felt like constant chaos. Jeremy’s mom was always struggling to keep up with chores and errands around the house, even with Jeremy pitching in more than usual. Mornings were particularly bad. Jeremy had already been late to school four times this year, and the school was beginning to run out of patience with him.

            When Jeremy got to the bottom of the stairs, he saw his mom standing next to the door holding a granola bar. “Hey mom.”

            “Come on. We need to get going.”

            Jeremy took the granola bar and put his shoes on. “Mom, I want to ask you something before we leave.”

            “You can ask me in the car honey.”

            Jeremy finished lacing up his sneakers and then put on his coat. His mom held the door open for him as she waited, and then he stepped out into the crisp morning air. His front yard was glistening in the morning sun, beams of light reflecting off the morning dew that sat on his lawn.

            “Hurry Jeremy! We only have ten minutes to get to school. We cannot be late for the fifth time.”

            “I’m coming, I’m coming!”

            Jeremy got in the car and buckled himself in, and his mom started up the car. She quickly pulled out of the driveway and began towards school.

            “Mom, I wanted to ask you about the treehouse.”

            “Jeremy, you know that I have been very busy lately.”

            “I know mom, but I’ve been asking for years now.”

            “I just don’t think that it is possible, sweetie.”

            “That’s exactly what you used to say.”

            “I know. We may be able to build one someday, but with your father gone… I’m just not sure anymore.”

            “Ok.”

            They sat in silence for several minutes. After a while, Jeremy’s mom spoke up again.

            “How has school been?”

            “Good.”

            “That’s good. Did you make any new friends this year?”

            “I made a friend named Michael in my English class. He’s pretty cool. We both like Star Wars.”

            “That’s good. I noticed you haven’t been hanging out with any friends lately. You should invite Michael over sometime.”

            “Ok.”

            “I know that things have been hard lately, but we have to keep going.”

            “I know mom. I just wish he was back.”

            “I know. I know.”

            “Will things ever get better?”

            “They will eventually. I’m asking your grandparents to help pick up some of the slack around the house. Things won’t be like they were before, but we can get by with their help and support.”

            “Ok. That will be good.”

            The school quickly slid into view as they finished the drive in silence. Jeremy’s mother pulled up by the front gate and unlocked the side door.

            “Hurry Jeremy! If you run you may still be able to make it inside on time! There’s only one minute left!”

            “Ok. Bye mom.”

            Jeremy jumped out of the car and ran towards the school’s front office. Evercrest Middle was a large school full of red brick buildings. It taught children from first to eighth grade, so the campus was divided into several blocks, each supporting progressively older students. Right in front of the entire school was the front gate, which lead to the main courtyard that connected each of the blocks and the main office. As Jeremy sprinted through the front gate, he heard the 8 am bell ring.

            “Not again! I’ll be in serious trouble this time.”

            Evercrest Middle required its students to be in class by 8 am. Any tardy students must report to the front office before they head to their home period. Nearly out of breath, Jeremy walked over to the front office. The front office was filled with the usual early morning bustle of a school. Mrs. Logue, the receptionist, was standing at the front desk talking on the phone. Several students were lined up to talk to her. Other office workers were working behind the front desk, busy sorting papers or talking to one another. Jeremy got in line behind his fellow late students and waited his turn to talk to Mrs. Logue. After several minutes, he was at the front of the line.

            “Ah, Jeremy. Late again?”

            “Yes ma’am. I’m sorry.”

            “You know our school’s late policy, Jeremy. Five tardies means that you get written up for tardiness.”

            “I know.”

            “So, why were you late today?”

            “I don’t know. We left the house late.”

            “You need to get it together, Jeremy.”

            “I’m sorry Mrs. Logue. Things have been difficult ever since my father passed away several months ago.

            “I am so sorry Jeremy, but this is school policy. I have to write you up for this tardy, ok? Try your best to be on time in the future. I would hate to write you up like this again.”

            “Ok. Thank you, Mrs. Logue.”

            “Have a nice day Jeremy.”

            Jeremy walked out of the office and slowly walked to his home period. He was feeling pretty down after getting written up, but English, his home period, always cheered him up.

            Jeremy dropped his bag off at his locker and then walked into his home period. His teacher, Mrs. Pollard, was already writing the day’s vocabulary words on the board. Jeremy quietly walked through the back of the room and took a seat next to Michael.

            “Hey Jeremy. Late again?”

            “Yeah dude.”

            “Tough. You ready for today’s quiz?”

            “Crap I forgot!”

            “Here, you can study my notes. Better late than never right? Besides I think this one will be easy.”

            “Thanks.

            “Don’t mention it. How have things been going lately?”

            “Not so well. My mom has seemed really stressed out lately and I have had a hard time focusing on anything.”

            “What’s wrong?”

            “I’ll tell you at lunch. I need to study right now.”

            “Ok, I’ll see you then.”

            The rest of the morning was a typical school day. Jeremy took his quiz, took notes, and then repeated the process in the next class. When lunch came, he found Michael waiting for him at a table.

            “Hey Jeremy, over here!”

            “Hey Michael. Tough quiz earlier huh?”

            “Tell me about it. Hey, what were you going to tell me earlier?”

            “Oh, right. I haven’t told you yet, but my father died in a car accident last July. That’s why I’ve seemed out of it lately.”

            “Wow. I’m so sorry to hear that Jeremy.”

            “Yeah. Everyone is.”

            “What was he like?”

            “My dad? He was the funniest guy ever. He always knew what to say to make everyone smile. He was also a great carpenter.”

            “Really? Like he made things out of wood and nails?”

            “Yeah. He was great at it.”

            “What sort of things did he make?”

            “He made me a desk for my birthday several years ago. I always asked to help him with his projects, but he never let me into his workstation. He finally agreed to at least make me something.”

            “That’s awesome! Do you want to be a carpenter?”

            “I don’t know. I never got the chance to try it. We were going to build a treehouse together. Just him and me. I even drew out plans for it, what the inside would look like and what we would do once it was done.”

            “But you never got to build it?”

            “No. And now that he’s dead, I don’t think I ever will.”

            “Can’t you try to build it with your mom?”

            “I’ve been asking her, but she’s been so busy ever since my dad died.”

            “Well there’s got to be something you can do.”

            “There probably is, but I don’t think it will happen any time soon. I just wish she could make more time for me! She’s always running around doing chores or going to work. Even though I help her with the work, it just doesn’t end.”

            “It’ll get better Jeremy.”

            “Thanks. Talking about all this really helps me feel better.”

            “Sure thing dude. I’ll see you later.”

            The rest of the day was similarly boring as the first half. When the last bell rang and Jeremy began to walk home, Mrs. Pollard stopped him in the hallway.

            “Jeremy. I noticed that you were late again this morning.”

            “I know. I’m sorry ma’am, it won’t happen again.”

            “You’ve been late a lot lately. Is everything ok?”

            “Things have been hard at home.”

            “I’m sorry to hear that. What happened?”

            “My father passed away several months ago.”

            “Oh my gosh, that’s terrible! I’m so sorry.”

            “Thank you.”

            “Jeremy, I’m here to talk if you ever need someone to listen. Anytime you want, just stop by my room.”

            “Thank you, ma’am. I will.”

            “Ok. Bye Jeremy.”

            “Goodbye.”

            Jeremy walked home by himself. He passed by the strip malls that lined the street leading to his house. The road was quiet besides for the occasional car driving by. The afternoon air smelled like freshly mowed grass. For the first time in weeks, everything felt all right.

            That evening, Jeremy’s mother came home and they ate dinner together.

            “Jeremy, how was your day?”

            “Good.”

            “Did anything happen?”

            “I was late again.”

            “That’s too bad. We need to work on that.”

            “I know. But my friends helped me feel better today. I think that we can get through this.”

            “That’s great, Jeremy. Make sure that you stay close to these people. They will help you more than anything else when it comes to troubles in your life. You are very fortunate to have found such great people.”

            “I will. Thanks mom.”

            "Once your grandparents move in, things will get much easier for both of us. I'm sure of it honey."

            "I’m glad that they’re coming to help us. It will be nice to have them in the house. What are they going to do while they’re here?"

            "They're going to live with us and help around the house until we get back on our feet."

            "Oh. Ok."

            "I know that it's a bit strange, but it's only temporary."

            "I guess we’ll get used to it."

            "We will."

            "Mom, I want to say something about the tree house."

            "What is it?"

            “I really wish I had built the treehouse with dad. It was our dream to build it together, but now we will never get to build it. I don’t know what I’m going to do without him.”

            “Jeremy, I didn’t realize that you were so upset about the treehouse. I really want to build it with you, but I just don’t know how to. If your father was here it may be possible, but I don’t see it happening without him.”

            " I know that it isn't easy to take care of both of us with dad gone. It's ok if we never get a tree house. I wish I got to build one with dad, but I don't think that I will ever have the chance to do that now."

            "I'm glad that you understand our situation honey, and I'm so sorry that I can't build that tree house with you. If I knew how I would definitely build it with you, but I don't have that option."

            "It's ok mom. I'm sure that we will manage to get through this."

            "We will. It may not get easier, but we will get through this."

            "I love you, mom."

            "I love you too Jeremy."