Lost in the Love Letter

ch. 5 - new beginnings

Dominic: "No, you're fine. And you have no reason to stress. I'll be with you all day and will make sure to minimize your embarrassing moments."

Mandy gave a small laugh. 

The pair continued to walk down the hallways. Mandy was on his right side, and tried to seem more chill, and less uptight. 

Dominic: "So what are your hobbies? Like, what kind of extracurriculars did you have at your old school? You transferred from California, right?" 

Mandy: "Yes I did. And, I sorta did all kinds of stuff there. But my main thing was ASB. 

Dominic: "Oh that's awesome, I didn't realize I'd be giving a tour to an ASB gal!"

Mandy: "Trust me, me either haha. This is the last thing I expected." *she leaned her head down, reminded of the thoughts of her home town.*

Dominic: "I bet you miss it there."

Mandy: "I do."

They made it to their first class of the day. It was English. Well, it was actually AP Literature. Mandy still managed to get a hold of the summer homework and books as the prestigious student she was. She and Dominic sat down in the middle section of desks, so that they could still converse without the teacher noticing that much. 

Mrs. Wallace: "Good morning students, and welcome to your first day back! Now, please pass up the summer homework that was assigned and complete the worksheets on your desks with a partner. "

Mandy and Dominic passed up their work and began to examine the worksheet. It was just a small questionnaire about the summer book they read. 

Mrs. Wallace: "Okay so although this is an AP class, your only homework and task for this period today is to complete the worksheet by tomorrow. So when you finish, you can just hang and talk with friends!"

Mandy finished the homework quickly and Dominic finished soon after. 

Dominic: "Oh, so she's a whiz kid?"

Mandy: "Haha, I wouldn't call it that. I prefer the term 'diligent'."

Dominic: "Haha! Okay, so let me see: Nervous, California, ASB, diligent... what else? Do you play any sports?"

Mandy: "Not too many, especially since I moved... I did volleyball and basketball for a bit... I also did Mixed Martial Arts for like.. 11 years haha." 

Dominic: "Oh no way! You better not go all Karate Kid on me though"

Mandy: "Haha! Of course not." 

They spent the free time in class to talk more about the school, and their interests. She really liked Dominic. He was easy to talk to and so kind. He was really funny too. Mandy was introduced to tons of people throughout the day, and made quite a few new friends. There were a few girls, Arianna and Lauren, who stayed with her and Dominic for most of the day too. In the new town, people were much more nice, unlike the sort of snarky people in her old town. 

 A few more classes had passed, and lunch time came around. Seniors have the privilege to go off campus for lunch, so they got something together, and came back to the campus to eat it. 

*in the cafeteria*

Mandy: "I can't believe there's a Chick-fil-A so close to the campus!"

Dominic: "I know; It's so convenient! Let's go sit with Arianna and Lauren."

They walked over to Arianna and Lauren's table, where there were 3 other students. 

Lauren: "Sup guys! Oh, Mandy this is Kaela, Ryder, and Mason."

Mandy: "Hey haha."

Mason: "Oh she's better than you described, Dom."

Dominic: *Mandy and Dominic shared an awkward look* "Haha, glad you think so."

Dominic whispered to Mandy:  "Mason is a little... bold. Sorry about him."

Mandy: "No worries, I can handle him haha."

So she sat down with Dominic and started conversing with the group. She grew to like Dominic more and more. She admired the soft, dark brown curls in his hair. His piercing blue eyes lit up his whole face, and was complimented by his perfect smile. Mandy tried convincing herself that she wasn't fully "crushing", and just temporarily peaked because he's new. 

Once they finished lunch, they had some extra time so Dominic took Mandy to stroll through the halls, to kill time and continue to get to know each other. Dominic really began to enjoy spending time with her. 

Dominic: "So, just out of curiosity... are you seeing anyone?"

Mandy: "Haha, no."

Dominic: "Really?! How have you not snatched up anybody yet? If you're willing to share..."

Mandy: "HAHA! It's not that I haven't... I mean I've dated a little. It's just.. there was this one guy, and he sorta changed everything for me, so when that crashed and burned I just never really found anybody I truly loved since, ya know?"

Dominic: "I totally get it. I'm sorry about whoever that one guy was. But he missed out. And I really hope you find someone great. You deserve that. And hey... maybe you'll find someone here." *he playfully smirked*

Mandy: *they both laughed* "Maybe..."

They continued to walk and talk, joking as they roamed through the halls. Then, they heard a pair of voices echo in the building. They could tell it was 2 boys just casually walking around too. Mandy couldn't depict what they were saying, but something sounded strangely familiar about one boy's voice. 

Her mind drifted away from the voice she heard, and focused back on Dominic. They continued to laugh as they turned around a corner. 

And that's when she saw him.