Shoot

Chapter 5: No.

*Three Weeks Later*

I pull my car into the parking lot, and it kills me to have to go to school when the sun is shining so bright and I'm in shorts and a t-shirt. I should be eating ice cream and hanging out with Meg, but instead I'm here in the hell hole.

I get out of the car and sling my backpack over my shoulders, then shut the door and lock it.

"Kate! Long time no see!" I hear from behind me.

"Hey, James!" I say as he walks over. We used to have AP biology together last year, and I swear to god this kid did not stop flirting with me the entire semester. It was innocent flirting so I don't mind, he only asked me out like twice and I could think of excuses on the spot but this is a whole new year.

"How was your summer?" He asks, his hair light brown and naturally highlighted from the sun. He leans on my car and smiles at me.

"It was good. Too short. How was yours?" I ask, only being polite. I don't really care. Of course, he decides to tell me every detail of what he did, from swimming in his backyard to dirt biking in the mountains with his older brother. Once he's finally done, I conjure up an escape really quick. "Oh, shit. I have to go to the office. They messed something up."

"It was nice seeing you again. Talk to you later, Kate." James says, and I smile and wave before walking inside to the general direction of the main office just incase he's watching me.

I turn the opposite way of the office and go upstairs to see where my locker is. Everyone is clumping in groups of friends, telling stories of summer and all the adventures under the sun. I've always been interested in other people, how they act and what they say, so it's no shock that I listen in on all of the conversations. I've gotten an earful of gossip in my high school days, not even intentionally wanting to.

"Hey, bitch," Meg says, slipping her arm around my waist. "Just think- next year this time we'll be in college. Five miles from each other, fucking shit up in the city. You at Colombia, me at NYU. It's gonna be awesome."

"Out of this school with all of these horny teenagers-" I start, but Meg cuts me off.

"You. You're a horny teenager. You're insulting yourself." She says, and I roll my eyes. "Alright, I have to go drop off some papers. I'll see you later."

"Bye," I say, watching her walk away.

When I finally get to my locker, it's close to a corner which I like, I hate when people are crowding my area. I put some binders and a few of the textbooks that I got at orientation on the shelf above me.

"Kate," I hear from next to me, and turn to look at Justin, a guy that I used to hook up with a bit. Tall, dark brown hair, almost black eyes, and a nice smile.

"Hi," I say, smiling at him. I've always found him hot, and he caught feelings for me so I broke off the hooking up. I miss it though. He was comfortable.

"How was your summer?" He asks, and I shrug.

"Pretty good, how was yours?" He leans against the locker next to me, crossing his arms over his chest. He's a little too strong for my taste, but it suits him so I don't mind.

"It was good. Want to come over tonight?" Justin asks, and I know what he's suggesting.

"Yeah sure, what time?" I put my hands into my jean short pockets, and he shrugs.

"Seven?" He suggests, and I nod.

"Sounds good," I say, and he slides his hand softly down my bare arm as he walks away. I turn to watch him go, watching his hands slip into the pockets of his khaki shorts.