Owen

Mrs. P

"You know Owen, you'd have more fun if you went to lunch with your friends." Mrs. Peterson said, not looking away from the computer she was staring at.

"I'm good." I mumbled from the corner of her desk where I had a book open and a notebook beside it.

"You're friends probably miss you."

I looked up from my homework, letting my pen fall out of my hand. I needed a break anyway.

"Are you trying to get rid of me Mrs. P?"

She laughed, the corners of her eyes crinkled with age.

"Of course not. But do you really want to spend your lunch sitting in the office with me?"

The door to the office clicked open before I could answer, both of us redirecting our attention to whoever came in. My eyes widened a fraction at Mina as she blew up to the counter. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, it had already started falling out some, something I noticed that happened the farther into the day we got. But I couldn't help noticing the intensity in her green eyes, the stress that seemed to be pouring out of her. That I'd never seen before.

"I need to leave, it's an emergency." She announced. Her phone clasped in her hand, knuckles white.

Mrs. Peterson was out of her chair and to the counter before she even finished the sentence. "Of course dear."

She hadn't questioned Mina, like maybe this very same situation had happened before. I kept my eyes on Mina, I knew she saw me there but she was avoiding looking back at me. What was going on? Was she okay?

"Here you go." Mrs. Peterson tore off a slip of paper. "Be careful driving Mina!"

Mina was already pushing through the doors. I rolled myself back from the corner of the desk, trying to navigate myself out as fast as I could. I followed Mina out through the open door, she was already halfway down the hallway when I shouted her name.

She spun around still taking steps, her eyes meeting mine. Was she scared? I didn't think I'd ever see that when it came to Mina.  What was going on?

"Are you okay?" I asked, trying to close some of the space between us but she hadn't stopped walking.

"I'm fine."

"No you're not." I countered. It was obvious she wasn't.

She stopped walking backwards, her face pulled into the usual scowl. "Even if I wasn't, why do you care?"

Her words stopped me in my tracks. She was right. Why did I care? She hadn't given me any reason to care. But yet there I was desperately trying to follow her down the hallway to check on her.

"I..I.." I stammered unable to come up with an answer.

"That's what I thought." She snapped, spinning back around.

She stormed through the student entrance a moment later, disappearing from my sight. I sat there in the hallway, my heart beating a little harder than normal in my chest. My hands resting on the wheels of my chair. If I could have walked I would have followed her. There was no doubt in my mind. I would have chased her out of school. But why?

Mina was interesting, intriguing for sure. I still wanted to figure her out, get her to smile. Maybe find out why she hated me so much. But there was clearly something more there. I'd be lying if I said I didn't think about her. That I didn't think about pulling the little piece of pink paper with her number scribbled on it out from the drawer in my bedside table and texting her. Shit I'd thought about calling her.

Maybe I would have, if I thought she'd answer.

I blew out a breath, rolling my wheels backward and made my way back to the office doors where Mrs. Peterson was waiting for me. I looked up at her as she held the door for me. She had that look that grown ups have when they think they know something you don't. But what Mrs. P didn't realize was I think already knew too.

                             ————————

Jaelyn was sitting on my bed, her legs folded underneath her. She had her head down eyes focused on her phone as I scrolled through Netflix.

"How's this look?" I asked, stopping on some indie romcom.

She didn't even bother to look up as she said "that's fine."

It was starting to annoy me a little. She'd been so focused on her phone since she walked in the door, we'd barely even spoken. I watched as a smile spread across her face, her fingers tapping away.

"What's got you so smiley?" I asked.

She glanced up, her smile dropping from her face. "Nothing."

I wasn't stupid. It wasn't nothing. It was someone. I clicked the movie on not knowing what to do or say about it. Mina's words had been rattling around in my head all day. Why did I care? Why did I care enough to follow her out into the hallway but I didn't care enough about calling Jaelyn out? Even now, why was Mina the one that was taking over my thoughts.

I'd gone back and forth all day about it.

And I'd come to the conclusion that I liked Mina.

The realization alone should have made me feel like a dick. Jaelyn used to be the only girl I saw.  But now, as she sat there on my bed, texting someone she more than likely was sleeping with, all I could focus on was Mina.

And I couldn't completely figure out why I liked Mina either. She hated me. And she didn't bother to hide it. Yet there I was, thinking about her, looking for her in the halls, happily going to therapy the nights I knew she'd be there. When I'd catch her looking at me, my heart would beat a little harder. Even at therapy I found myself trying harder than normal when Mina asked me to do something.

It didn't make sense.

But there was something about Mina.

And it had caught my attention.

                                ———————

Can you believe this is chapter 33?! It's crazy! But I'm also pretty excited because I've made some decent progress on the second book so if I can maintain this pace I think I can keep myself pretty close to daily updates on this book.