Darkness Before Dawn (pages. 1-40)

Summary:

Keisha is a junior at Hazelwood High preparing for next year. The most exciting and important year of your high school years and being able to take on the responsibility of being a senior. She had recently been dealing with the break-up from Andy, her ex-boyfriend but the end result of this smacked her dead in the face. Receiving a phone call from her girlfriend Rhonda on afternoon that Andy has committed suicide, Keisha's entire world in now turned upside down. How would she be able to move on without him? They've always been with one another since kindergarten. It couldn't possibly be easy for her to make-up eleven years of memories with anyone else. She couldn't understand why he would do something like this to her, he knew that they could talk through any problem either one of them were having. He himself had been dealing with the guilt of his friend Robbie's death after he died in a drunk driving car accident and where Andy was the driver. The break-up just made things even harder for him to move on. During an end of the school year picnic, Keisha spots her principal's, Mr. Hathaway’s son and takes interest in his looks but has learn not to fall for an older man. She carries on the rest of the picnic, reminiscing on the things she and Andy would do with each other while they were there. Senior year has arrived and it feels so good for Keisha besides the fact that she's not able to enjoy it with Andy. While at the morning assembly, the students are introduced to the new volunteer to help coach the basketball and track teams who turns out to be Jonathan Hathaway, Mr. Hathaway’s son. All of the female students are flattered by his manly armor. The assembly ends by Mr. Hathaway speaking on the two deaths with Robbie and Andy and assures the students that if anything is wrong, they can come to anyone in the school.  

Quote:

"He was a mascular , slim, and strikingly good looking, for his hazel eyes decorated perfectly his honey-bronzed face"

Reflection:

I've noticed that when describing Mr. Hathaway's son the author puts a clear image in my head of what he looks like. Additionally, when talking about how hot it was on the first day of school, the description was so crisp to the point where I could somewhat sense the heat myself. After I read this portion of the reading, I sat back and just thought for some time how would I react to this whole situation if I were in Keisha's position. One of the most happiest years of my life becomes a nightmare but only its reality. I don't know how I would exactly react but I do know that I would never be the same person I was before that person in my life died.