Rejected 22 Times

Chapter 24

Chapter 24  

Alexis' locker remained wide open as she collected her books for her first class. My head rested against the locker next to hers as I waited for her to finish. The hallway was filled with chatter as other students were grabbing their materials for their first class as well. Glancing over at Alexis, I noticed that she had one too many books in her hand.

"Why are you carrying all of those books?", I asked her as she struggled to shut her locker with the huge pile she was carrying.   

"These are my books for my first, second, and third class", she informed me as if I should have already known.  

"And the reason you are carrying them all right now is?"  

"I don't think I can make it to my locker between classes, so I bring all my books with me just in case, and then I grab my afternoon books after lunch."  

"You're crazy", I laughed as she rolled her eyes at me.  

"It's better to be safe than sorry", she spoke as if she was full of wisdom.  

"You know who you sound a lot like right now?"  

"Liam", she answered for me.   

"I was going to say Mia, but I guess so...", I tried to say but was cutoff by Alexis.  

"No. Liam. He's standing with Millie right over there", she told me as I followed her stare.  

Liam was leaning against the wall as he spoke to Millie. His stance seemed uncomfortable as he stood with his hands in his pockets and his shoulders hunched over. Her eyes were locked on his, but he kept his attention focused at the ground. Suddenly, his eyes flickered over this way.  He tried to study my expression, which I'm sure was a mixture of confusion and disappointment, and he almost looked... apologetic.   

But that quickly changed. Confidence overpowered him as he stood up straight, removed his hands from his pockets, and combed his fingers through his hair. He touched Millie's arm with his hand and began to laugh as if Millie had actually said something funny. His eyes kept darting back over to where I stood to make sure I was still watching.  

"Come on Alexis. I don't want to stand here all day", I stated abruptly as I began to walk in the opposite direction from where Liam was.   

"Sophia..", she began to say as we walked.   

"I don't want to talk about it", I might have said a little too aggressively.  

She nodded her head in agreement but didn't say another word. She simply followed me down the hall, and we walked the short distance to my first class in silence. I mumbled a goodbye to her once I stepped into my Literature class, and she then took off to go find her class.  

Not long after I took my seat, Liam walked in with Millie. The smile he wore was obviously fake, but he still continued his petty charade. Sighing in frustration, I crossed my arms on the desk and rested my head on top. The class hadn't even started yet, and I was already wishing for it to be over. I found myself doing that a lot, wishing for time to go by faster.  

Just then, the school bell rang, and the rest of the class scurried into their seats. "Everyone turn to Chapter 2 and start to read the chapter", Mrs. Robertson instructed us. Reluctantly, I opened my textbook to Chapter 2.   

This was going to be a long day.  

A long day turned into a long week, and by the time Thursday rolled around, I was about ready to pull my hair out.  

Every single time I saw Liam with Millie, it created a knot in my stomach, and I had this urge to just... punch the girl. Of course I would never do that, but I felt so... envious every time she touched Liam. They seemed to grow closer over the course of four days, and they were practically inseparable.