AC/DC

Chapter XI

The bad breath and foul-mouthed batch of misbehaved students, treated my slightly-deaf ears with their annoying and screeching voices when I stepped into the school hall the next morning. As usual, I proceeded to the front of the hall, giving my usual salutations before getting down to business.

"Come on Terry! Go and sit in your place!"

"Jake! Gina! Stop talking!"

"Amy! What are you doing?"

My eyes were occasionally distracted and scanned throughout the hall for the one person that mattered most- Rhett Evans. He had not shown up on the previous day, and a feeling of insecurity and doubt left me slightly miffed. Please don't be absent from school today.

All I wanted to see that very morning was his sweet smile and perfect cheekbones that would give me an erection in my pants. And his anime-like lips,  they were so cute!

It was just five seconds later that our eyes met- just like we had seen each other for the first time a few months previously. My face chalked up a smile of jubilation as the same-old erection formed again in my pants. But to my surprise, he did not reciprocate my smile.

That's weird, I thought to myself, He always smiles back.

"Hey, dude!" I yelled out loud, in the midst of the noise, hoping that he would look at me. But he did not.

My heartbeat rate increased in apprehension as I hoped for him to look at me. But just before I could call out his name again, I was interrupted by a familiar voice.

"MARK!" yelled Madam Mallory, "Do I always have to remind you to do your job?"

"Sorry Madam Mallory," I sheepishly replied and proceeded to do my job without distractions. I turned back into Rhett's direction only to realise that he had vanished. My heart sank in disappointment.

"Why is he trying to avoid me?" I quizzed myself.

**********************

"Mark!" snapped Juliana as I jumped in exasperation, "Were you even listening to what I said?"

It was lunchtime, and the three of us were busy passing the time with the usual school gossip that we were accustomed to. It was always the same old- someone's parents having an affair, or a lover's quarrel.

In the past, I had always partaken in these odd conversations, as gossip always seemed to have interested me. But this time, my very-much-in-love mind was still fixated on Rhett's message during the previous night, as well as his puzzling behaviour this morning. What's wrong with him, I was thinking to myself before Juliana interrupted me.

"Mark!"

"I-I wasn't listening," I apologised with full honesty, knowing very well that my preoccupation with Rhett had taken over my brain, "What were you talking about?"

That was the straw that broke the camel's back. Juliana's face broke into her all-but-familiar scowl which could be sketched in a Book of Scowls. Connor, on the other hand, dissolved into a puddle of laughter that earned his fair share of brickbats from both Juliana and me.

"¡Ay, Dios mío!" said Juliana loudly, as my eyes rolled at her returning Spanish accent, "I was talking about how I feel about my new boyfriend!"

My eyes fell upon Connor's stomach, which was shaking as he fought a new gale of deep, rumbling giggles.

"It's not funny, Connor," she said stoically, clearly miffed at his cheeriness, "Nobody can even hear you laugh."

"Except for me," said a voice from behind me, "I can hear his sweet, joyful laughter from the school gates."

My emotions were heightened like a skyscraper, and I immediately turned around to face the fair, pop star-like face belonging to Rhett Evans. A sincere, heartfelt smile was carved on my lips as he settled into the empty chair between Juliana and me.