What I Hate About You (#1 What I Hate About You)

Chapter 7

I decide to sit in the back of the classroom this time so I didn’t have to sit anywhere near Lindsay or Nathan. I didn’t want to sit near them if she is going to flirt with him. Mrs Callea is writing things up on the blackboard. I bet she will be happy that I chose to sit in the back rather than the front.

Some students enter the room. I didn’t look up at them. I keep focus on my sketch book.

From the corner of my eye, I see someone approaching me. I quickly close the book before they catch a glimpse of what I’m drawing. Once it’s closed, a single red rose is place down in front of me. I stare at it, not even daring to look up to see who has placed it there. I think I might know who it is, but I don’t want to look at him. I’m speechless. No one has brought me a rose before. Why would they give it to me? No one can ever like me. Maybe this is some kind of sick joke.

I can hear people nearby whispering, wondering how I’m going to react to this.

“Alright class, please settle down,” Mrs Callea says. “Nathan, please take your seat so we can get started.”

Her voice snaps me out of my cone of silence. Nathan. Nathan Bridges. Of course it was him. Who else would have place the rose there? He is still standing beside me, waiting for me to say something.

I force myself to look up at him. I didn’t know what to feel. I had a combination of confusion, shock and anger. I don’t understand why he went through all of this trouble to get a rose for me. Doesn’t he realise I’m not interested? How do I know if he is really interested in me? What if he uses me for one thing only and dumps me later? Is that what he is planning to do?

I stand up from my desk. Nathan still hasn’t moved. He stands there, staring down at me where he is a couple of inches taller than me, waiting for me to say something. We ignore Mrs Callea who is telling us to sit down. I eye him, trying to read his mind about what he could possibly see in me. He can’t like me.

I can’t like anyone. I will get hurt again.

I turn from him and look down at the rose again. It torments me as it sits there on my book. I remember every year when Dad used to bring home roses for Mum, especially for Valentine’s Day. Red roses are a symbol for love. Why is it a symbol for love? Love doesn’t even exist. If it did, Dad wouldn’t have left!

I let out a frustrating scream as I grab the rose, ripping the petals off the bud. I threw it at Nathan. He takes a slight step back, shocked to see me act like this.

“Alex?”

I narrow my eyes at him, my blood racing to my head as the anger came too much for me. My head spins a little as the rest of my body shakes. I shove him hard in the chest. He tumbles backwards into the person behind him, landing on the floor.

“Stay away from me, okay?” I yell at him.

“Alex Jennings, I want you to go to the principal’s office this moment,” Mrs Callea scolds at me. “I am fed up with your behaviour this week. If you want to use violence, you can get out of my classroom.”

I stand there staring at Nathan, not even sure why I had pushed him in the first place. I just got so angry, thinking about the way Dad left Mum that I didn’t even think what I was doing. But at the same time it doesn’t feel right with him giving me this rose. All of this feels like some kind of joke. Love is joke. People use you for one thing. I’m not going to let him brainwash me into thinking he is a nice guy.

Without saying anything else, I gather up my things, not making any eye contact with my classmates. I know what they are all thinking. Mrs Callea walks over to me and hands me a note to give to the principal.