Setting Up For a Fall

Chapter One - Mahal

Jeremiah Adams had always been good looking.  The son of a Caucasian father and a Filipina mother, he had exotic good looks that turned heads.  He was tall, lean, muscular, had a shock of thick brown hair, and brown puppy dog eyes that can melt any girl's heart.  In high school, he was a jock, a varsity player for the school's basketball team.  He was the starting point guard, a very good one at that, so he was quite popular at the school, especially with the ladies.  He always had some girl on his arm, and a few more always trailing behind wishing they were the girl on his arm.  And that didn't exclude Skye Garcia.  Yes, she thought that the popular jock was a very handsome boy, but she wasn't crazy enough to think that she would ever be on the receiving end of Jeremiah's attention.  She was quiet, thought herself to be plain and boring...in short, not his type based on the girls he dated or hung around with.  She looked okay by her own estimation; she didn't dress in the latest trends, but she didn't look outdated and out of place either.  Her dark hair was long and silky, her skin fair and her cheeks naturally rosy, her eyes warm and expressive, her lips pink and full.  She was the studious kind; books were her best friends.  That wasn't to say she didn't have human friends.  She was nice and friendly, had a smile ready for anyone who crossed her path.  Although she was nice and friendly, she was still oh so painfully shy. 

On the first day of sophomore year, she parked herself on the lab table in the front of her chemistry class, ready and excited for the year to begin.  She busied herself with reading ahead a few pages of her chemistry book, not minding the other students filing into the classroom, chattering before class began.  Jeremiah was the last one to enter the classroom just as the bell rang, and the only seat left was in the very front of the class.  He rolled his eyes and groaned at his misfortune.  He took the seat next to the pretty girl he hadn't seen around school before.  She didn't seem to notice him, too entranced in whatever she was reading.  He cleared his throat to get her attention.  Skye looked up at the person sitting next to her, and her eyes widened.  She closed her book and cleared her own throat for it seemed to be as dry as the Sahara Desert all of a sudden.  She felt her heart thump wildly against her chest as her intestine seemed to coil around her stomach and squeeze.  That smile could be the death of her.  She had never seen a smile so breathtakingly beautiful.

"Hi there," Jeremiah said courteously.

"Hi," she replied softly, unconsciously tucking stray hair behind her ears.

"I'm Jeremiah," he smiled at her, perfect set of blindingly white teeth greeted her.

"I know,” she replied dumbly.  She heard him chuckle, and she mentally kicked herself.  “I mean, I’m Skye,” she corrected.

“Skye,” he repeated, letting her name roll off his tongue.

Their introduction to each other was cut short whent their teacher began speaking about classroom rules and going over the syllabus in the front of the class and all eyes turned to pay attention.  It turned out that whoever they were seated next to was their lab partner for the rest of the year.  Jeremiah lucked out because he soon found out that he had the brainiest girl in school as his lab partner.  At first he thought he would only get along with Skye for good grades, but as he got to know her throughout the school year, he realized that she was more than just her brilliant mind and know-it-all brain.  She was witty, jovial, and generous.  Once she got over her initial shyness, she was a great conversationalist.  There was never a dull moment with her.  He'd learned a lot from her, she actually got him to be genuinely interested in chemistry.

Little by little, as they moved from mere classmates to actual friends, Skye’s crush on Jeremiah had given way to a true friendship.  They found out they lived on the same street, and soon he insisted on picking her up from her house so they can go to school together.  He had gotten his driver's license over the summer as well as inherited his mom's old but reliable sedan.  They went to school together but couldn't go together from school since Jeremiah was busy with basketball practice while Skye had her own after school activities to attend to.