I glance over my shoulder sneakily. Mitchell is still standing there, still staring. Making up my mind, I quickly shut my locker and turn around, walking towards him.
His trademark nervous smile crosses his face.
“You look pretty happy today,” I say.
“I am. It’s a pretty great day,” he murmurs, his lips twitching slightly.
And he just stops.
I can’t help the rush of disappointment that floods me. Here I go again, thinking a boy likes me when he probably was staring at some pretty girl...someone like Debra.
Just as I’m about to excuse myself before the embarrassment becomes too great, he opens his mouth.
“Wanna go out?” he asks, his lips pulling up at the edges into his amazing lopsided smile.
Mitchell just asked me out!
He just asked me out! I wasn’t imagining things! He was actually looking at me!
Then I realise he’s probably still waiting for me to say something. Silly me!
“Sure,” I whisper, smiling in spite of myself.
The expression on Mitchell’s face clears up immediately and that’s when I realise he was nervous. Mitchell Preston was nervous of asking me out!
High school definitely is a strange place!
“I mean like on...like on a date type thing?” he clarifies suddenly.
I giggle at him. “Yeah I got that,” I say.
There’s this endless moment where the both of us stare into each other’s eyes. Despite the thousands of kids brushing past us, it’s like Mitchell and I are the only people who matter.
Almost subconsciously, my mind wonders back to a year ago, when Mitchell’s best friend asked me out as a prank.
That was reality for me. Beautiful people don’t want short, awkward, chubby girls.
But looking into Mitchell’s eyes, I can’t help thinking things would be different this time.
