Again and Again

Here We Go Again

"Emily!" Tiffany shouted, hurrying her way down the hallway toward my locker. The blonde ponytail on top of her head bobbed in a hot pink scrunchy as she gripped the straps on her backpack.

"What's up?" I laughed, watching her stoop down to catch her breath when she finally reached me.

"Two," she breathed, "two new guys in school today."

I stood up onto my tippy toes to get a better look around, hoping to see an unfamiliar face among the crowd. We hadn't had a new student in our class since kindergarten, two on the same day was big news.

"They're in the main office," she chirped, popping up to her full height.

"Two?" I asked excitedly, "are they brothers?"

"Twins!" she squealed, getting the attention of a handful of people passing by. It was only a matter of time until the whole school was talking about it.

"Really?" I laughed.

"Not identical, though," she continued, "but I heard they're cute."

With a snap I shut my locker and interlocked our arms, letting our friendship bracelets jingle against each other. "Are they still there?" I muttered, biting my lip. Maybe we could just stroll past the office casually and get a peak.

"Don't know," she said, picking up her pace in their direction as if she had read my mind. "Sam told me she saw them when she was leaving the nurses office, that was only a few minutes ago."

For reasons I couldn't figure out I began anxiously fluffing at the ends of my auburn hair that hung around my shoulders and smoothing down the hem of my skirt. It's not like it really mattered what either of these boys looked like, we'd be graduating in a matter of months and I had already been accepted into college hundreds of miles away, but I couldn't resist the pull of something new and exciting around here.

"Come on," Tiffany said, tugging at my arm as she shoved aggressively through the throng of students around us, some walking past, others trying to get their own 'casual' look at the new kids.

Under the florescent lights we propped ourselves up against the wall outside the main office, surrounded by the smell of trapper keepers and floor cleaner. The tempered glass windows made it impossible to see anything but vague shapes moving about. As time ticked by a few members of the crowd began to disperse, leaving only a couple of people besides Tiffany and myself. When the clock on the wall hit the one minute mark before the bell would ring for next period, I finally started to feel foolish.

"Let's just go," I scoffed. Dropping my arms to my side I pushed off the wall, turning to face Tiffany, "we're going to be late." But for some reason I couldn't get my feet to agree with my head.

"No," she insisted, "I'm not going until I get a look at them." She crossed her arms across her chest, her mouth forming into a hard line, and I knew she wasn't going to budge, being late for class didn't bother her at all.

Scanning down the hall I could see at least a dozen people still scattered, sifting through their lockers or sipping from the drinking fountain. I guess I was the only one worried about punctuality. With a huff my shoulders sagged, one time wasn't a big deal, I hoped. Behind me a door shuddered, causing my spine to stiffen and I watched Tiffany's mouth fall open.

A little too eagerly I spun around to get a look, spotting them directly across the hall from me. Before I had a chance to react to their ridiculous good looks I locked eyes with them, first the taller blonde one, who's face seemed to light up in a soft familiar way, then the other one, who's sad eyes brightened for only a split second before returning to smooth confident expression. They stood in front of the office door motionless, watching me. The taller ones hand still gripped the knob, the cool blue of his eyes was handsome and inviting, wrapping me up like a warm blanket. Next to him his brothers dark hair contrasted against his green eyes, watching me in a way that felt almost possessive. His gaze broke first, shifting from me to his brother. The glare he shot at him was accusatory and annoyed and I suddenly felt compelled to look away, like I had done something wrong.