Love at a Second Glance

So It Begins

After the typical morning announcement, everyone began to talk about their summers. I didn't know anyone in the class, so I just stayed to myself and began sorting the pictures on my phone. Then, all of a sudden, Mr. G stood up.

"So, how about a quick countries quiz to get everyone's day going?"

Groans spread across the room as Mr. G quickly weaved between the desks to pass the one-page test out. I looked down at mine and noticed something. None of the questions had to do with the real world. Mine had questions like "Which part of England did Harry Potter meet the ghosts of his parents?" and also "Where is the Shire located?". Confused, I looked around the room and saw the puzzled looks on everyone's faces. Celine looked at me and gave a shrug. Mr. G cleared his throat as he returned back to the front of the classroom.

"Three minutes left. You guys better hurry up! This will be the first grade in the gradebook."

I quickly put down what I knew from my book knowledge, and set my pencil down. Everyone soon did the same, and Mr. G quickly picked up the tests from each table.

"As you might have noticed, that didn't really have anything to do with the countries in the real world but rather the fantasy world. That was on purpose. The test was meant to just refresh your memory on various fantasy worlds in works of literature and movies. Here's the kicker: Your first project will be about a country that has ties with the fantasy world and present its history. You have to incorporate both elements of the fantasy world and also the real world in a fun and interesting way," He narrowed his eyes. "Emphasis on fun. No slideshows or posters. This is your last year in high school, so use your knowledge from the past 11 years to make something interesting."

He passed out slips for a country, and I looked down at my slip of paper. England. I pulled out my phone and wrote down the fantasy world I thought of: Harry Potter. This was going to be an easy project.

A kid in the front of the class then asked, "When is the project due?"

"Oh, right," Mr. G thought for a second. "How about... at the end of the semester? That should be plenty of time to make something elaborate. To make this more important, this project will be worth 1,000 points in the grade book." Nervous looks were exchanged, and Mr. G added, "Don't worry, your other stuff will add up to way more than 1,000 points by the end of the school year. Assuming that you did all your work."

He then went into the room behind the whiteboard and dragged out two quite tall double-sided bookcases with all sorts of fictional novels. The books were very out of order and had no organization, with Shakespeare right next to John Green and Roald Dahl.

"I never organized them because quite honestly I can't be bothered. Alright, have fun researching! The teaching starts tomorrow because my cat ate my teaching notes." He reclined back in his chair and shuffled through the tests.

Everyone shuffled towards the shelf and began to look for books. I looked for the first Harry Potter book (or any, for that matter), and realized that they were placed near the top. I tiptoed, trying to reach it, but I could barely reach it because of me being just short of 5'6". As I kept trying to reach it, a voice spoke up behind me.

"Would you like some help with that?"

I turned around and realized that he was the guy that sat next to me on the bus earlier. I didn't take note of what he looked like earlier, but it was now that I started to take note of his visuals. Flowy, medium length black hair with a slight middle part, and the typical jeans-with-hoodie outfit that really contrasted his visuals. What a guy, I thought to myself. As I stared blankly into his piercing, light green eyes, he nervously shifted his stance.