It was a sunny fall day, the chilly breeze rustled the remaining leaves on the trees. As he trudged along, Josh admired the vibrant reds and yellows of the scattered leaves, but all he could think about was the emptiness of his stomach. As he rounded the corner Josh spotted Mr. Cunningham raking his yard, he waved at the cheerful old man and continued on, weaving between the occasional person and stopping to say hi to Mrs. Vadley’s dog Jack.

This morning had begun terribly and it was only getting worse. The morning had started by sleeping in and rushing to get ready for his day, next there was nothing for breakfast and now he was going to be late for school.

As Josh came to the school he looked at the sign, he swore it was the ugliest sign in all of Toronto. It was pale pink with a picture of a beaver wearing a jersey that read “Birchmount High School” and carrying a chewed up hockey stick.

As he entered through the front doors his friend Alex jogged up beside him, Alex was in same class as Josh, but looked as if he was a year older than he actually was. They walked down the hall for a while then Alex split off to go see Nick, a 9th grader that often spent his time talking about hockey. Josh hated hockey, he didn’t understand the point of chasing a flattened ball on ice. He had taken lessons when he was younger but now his parents could never afford to do that.

When the bell rang Josh met up with Alex again and they sprinted to class. Up first was homeroom and then English. English was Josh’s favourite subject. Most kids like PE because you get to play hockey but Josh found English to be less sporty.  

School was going good until his stomach started to grumble and he felt light headed. He stopped at the water fountain to get a drink but that didn’t seem to help. As he entered the class he read the chalk board, “Test day!” Oh no! He had forgotten all about the test. While Mrs. Riché droned on about exponent laws and fractions, Josh was distracted by his hunger.  Although he couldn’t focus he tried his best to absorb the needed equations and to pass the test.

At lunch, Josh entered the cafeteria, he went and found where Alex was sitting. When he sat down Alex, Trevor and Nick where talking about hockey for the millionth time. Josh opened his backpack to grab his lunch but was disappointed when there was only half a sandwich. He quietly ate what he had, grateful that there was at least something. After eating the sandwich he walked over to the garbage can to get rid of his trash. While doing that Carl his math TA walked over. Josh was surprised to see him, so he took the chance to talk to him. The two of them talked for a little while and then left the cafeteria on their way to class.

Just as the bell rang Carl stopped Josh and looked him in the eyes and asked “What was wrong in math class today? You looked distracted” “I…I just didn’t sleep well ” Josh lied.  After saying goodbye to Carl he entered the class hoping no one else would ask him the same question. The rest of the day went by as usual, school, homework and sleep. 

The next day in math class he was just about to leave when Mrs. Richè called his name, he stood by her desk for a minute while she re-arranged papers and books. When she was done she handed Josh his math test and right on the front there was a big red circle that enclosed the letters C- . Mrs. Richè had a concerning look as she asked “Josh, what happened, you're usually and A student?” Trying to come up with and excuse he replied “I just couldn’t focus.”