Things change [On Hold]

Chapter 1 - Wrong place, Wrong time

Chapter 1

I glared at my locker. The stupid thing wasn't opening, leaving me very frustrated. I knew the combination off by heart, but the damn thing still wouldn't budge. I only had another fifteen minutes before homeroom started and I desperately needed my headphones.

Taking a deep breath, I re-entered the combination and yanked the handle as hard as I could, but it remained shut, much to my dismay.

Suddenly, I felt someone come up from behind me. "You're doing it wrong," the masculine voice chuckled.

I turned around with a frown on my face. "Shut up Anton! If you're so clever, you do it!"

Anton had a smug look on his face as he opened the locker with ease. My eyes widened as he did so, which only made him grin wider. "How did you do that?"

He raised his eyebrows at me. "You were meant to push down the handle, not pull it," he replied with a snort. I narrowed my eyes at him in response, but I could feel a smile forming on my face.

Antonio Ortega – or Anton as he preferred, was a good friend of mine. In fact, he was one of the very few people that I trusted with my life. Seriously, the dude always knew the right things to say, and was really understanding.

Today he was dressed in loose fitted jeans, a plain black t-shirt with the school's red letterman jacket and his everyday pair of converses. His usual disheveled, curly hair was styled to the side with gel, and his almond shaped eyes were filled with warmth. His Spanish heritage was really kind to him, resulting in high-sculpted cheekbones, luscious eyelashes and evenly tanned skin. 

Once I grabbed my headphones out of my locker and stuffed it inside my jacket pocket, I slammed my locker shut. Apparently I slammed it hard since Anton flinched at the noise.

He eyed me anxiously. "Are you okay? You look a little tired today."

That was an understatement.

"That's because I am," I began," And it's all Trystan's fault. We were watching Orphan before we went to sleep, but then at two a.m he started banging on my door. So when I finally opened it he practically jumped on me asking me to 'keep him company'. It's pretty obvious he was scared of the film but he's too stubborn to admit it."

I shook my head at the memory of Trystan flailing about. If I wasn't so sleep-deprived today, I would have laughed at the thought and embarrassed Trystan to no end. But right now, I seriously needed some caffeine.

Anton seemed to sense this as he placed his arm around my shoulders and laughed. "Come on Shay. Let's go get you a can of Red bull from the vending machines." I shot him a thankful look in return.

As we walked down the narrowed hallway, I glanced down at my watch. It read seven thirty-five a.m, which meant that we had approximately ten minutes before the bell rang. I relaxed at the thought – we'll definitely make it on time.

Once we arrived inside the cafeteria, Anton made a bee-line for the vending machines while I stood around the notice-boards, pretending to look interested in the upcoming events.

For once, I was so engrossed in reading about the theme of the Winter Formal this year (which was an icy night in the Antarctica), that I didn't realize that someone was behind me until it was too late.

"Boo!" The voice boomed, which made me shriek and lose my balance, as I toppled onto the ground clutching my chest. My heart was beating really fast at that moment, which didn't help either.

As you could clearly see, people loved sneaking up on me. Mostly for my reactions. Apparently they're really entertaining. Some friends I have, right?