Passport Through Time

1 - Baelie

The presentation lasted a little over ten minutes, as I explained the plot structure of every Star Wars movie in the order they were released. When I finally stopped talking, there was an awkward silence, followed by polite clapping.

Collin sauntered up next and did a much shorter and less organized presentation on some book series starring a kid named Michael. Or was it Vey? At any rate, his applause was a lot rowdier, and after he finished, Mrs. Allard gave us the remaining five minutes to "socialize".

I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked up through my rather long eyelashes (that I am quite proud of) to see Leslie's round face.

"That was awesome!" she encouraged, clapping her hands a little. "You obviously put in so much work."

I felt my face flush. "Thanks," I mumbled, unaccustomed to the praise.

Collin nodded, his eyes focused on his phone screen. "Better than mine. I b.s'ed it last night."

I lightly smacked him on the arm. "Dummy. Don't you care about your grades?"

He sent a forehead pic to someone and looked over at me. "No. Do you?"

"Well, I mean-"

He held up a hand. "Got it. Well, anyways, great presentation today. I really liked it."

I started to blush. Hard. And lemme tell you this: I hate it when I blush. My skin is really pale and covered with freckles, and when I blush it's always super visible and soooo embarrasing.

I was luckily saved by the bell. I pushed away from my friends with a quick "Bye!" and hid my face as I hurried into the girls' room. I checked the stalls for feet, then locked the door and looked in the mirror.

Fire-engine red.

I frantically splashed water all over it, and soon my face was its normal complexion. 

I put my glasses back on and swept out of the room, hurrying to my next class in the hope that I wasn't late.

Luckily, I got in right before the bell rang. Our ever-cheerful chem teacher, Ms. Wharton, gave me a sweet smile as she checked me off as present on the attendance list.

"Alright, everyone! Grab your gear and partner, and meet at your stations in five!" she announced. 

Immediately the classroom erupted into mild chaos as everyone started moving around. I felt a hand grab mine near my lab station, and whirled around, half-ready to smack the kid in the face until I saw who it was.

"Oop, sorry bout that," Collin joked. "I almost forgot about the no-touchy rule."

I smiled at my doofus lab partner, although it probably looked more like a grimace, and accepted the goggles he was offering me. "Might not be so lucky next time," I commented casually.

Collin placed his on top of his head like Doc Brown, which probably wasn't the safest idea in the world, but one had to admire his enthusiasm. Minutes later, Ms. Wharton was passing out gloves and beakers of a mystery liquid to the groups.

After fifty minutes of separating chemicals by burning the crap out of them, class was dismissed and Collin and I met Leslie in front of our American history classroom.

"Why'd you skip?" I asked her.

She shrugged. "Didn't feel like going. Don't give me that face, I didn't waste my time or anything. I was re-watching an episode of The Office in the bathroom."

"That's a good reason," Collin agreed, and we entered the class. Moments later, the best part of sophomore year was revealed: the cast list to the Civil War play!

I almost squealed with delight when those words left Mr. Hanna's mouth. Okay, yeah, fine. I was a bit of an introvert and got stage fright at times, but the idea of participating in such a popular school tradition, with the added benefits of dressing in the cool 19th century clothing, was appealing enough for me to actually go and audition for the lead role.

I nudged Collin when he came back from reading the class list. "Well?" I asked.

"Thanks to you, we both have lead roles," he pretended to whine. I almost rolled my eyes. As if he wasn't popular enough already.

The script was soon passed around. After further examination, I felt an unfamiliar feeling building up inside of me. I pointed to a part in the play, and my co-lead reddened, paled, reddened again, and stayed that way as he raised his hand. "Mr. Hanna?"

Mr. Hanna walked to our desk group. "Is there an issue with the script? I'll tell you this right now: if there is, you're not allowed to change it. That's final. Got it?"

He gulped. "Uh, yes sir. Never mind, then, carry on."

After Mr. Hanna left, Collin looked at me curiously.

"What?" I asked.

"I'm not gonna kiss you in front of the entire school," he stated plainly. "I don't care what the script says. I'm not doing it."

Leslie looked up from her script. "That's rude."

He ran a hand through his hair, looking mildly frustrated. "No offense to either of you ladies, but I have a bit of a reputation that you seem to care nothing about, and Baelie..."

"I get it," I snapped. "You can stop talking now."

The rest of the class was spent in a tense silence. After class let out for lunch, I beelined for the nearest bathroom, checked for feet again, then hopped up onto the counter-top and felt my eyes tear up. Frustrated, I took my glasses off and rubbed desperately at my eyes. We're friends, right? Why would he say something like that?

I didn't hear anyone come in after me, or hear the door lock, but I felt a comforting arm around my shoulder. Figuring it could be only one person, I leaned closer onto their shoulder. "Did you hear him, Les? Crooning about his stupid reputation and social status again, as if I'm some loser who doesn't get it."

"You're not a loser," Definitely-Not-Leslie said.

I felt myself smile a little. "How'd you get in here?" I asked.

Collin shrugged. "It was easy. I waited until there was nobody around, snuck in, and locked the door. Simple."

I wiped a straggler tear off my face, but said nothing, silently looking back over at the guy sitting beside me on the slightly damp counter.

Collin took out my bun and began braiding my long hair into a french braid. He tied it off and sighed. "I didn't mean to insult you. I wasn't thinking."

"You never think." In that moment, I wanted to tell him how I really felt about him, but managed to resist.

"Hoodie Girl...I rather it be you than anyone else. Honest."

I meant to silently wonder about how many girls he'd kissed, but accidentally blurted it out. I slammed my hand over my mouth. To my relief, Collin just laughed.

"Seven. No..." he paused for a moment to think. "Nine. And some of them more than once," he winked.

"Oh," I merely said, and swung my legs down, lifting my head weakly and finally realizing how close we were. I could see every one of his lashes as if they were in HD, as well as his warm breath on my cheek. Make it ten, I wanted to say. Make it ten, and no one would have to know except us.

Somewhere outside, a locker slammed shut, breaking the spell. I quickly looked away, and he started to push me towards the door. 

"How red are my eyes?" I demanded, shoving my glasses back on my face

"You look fine," he assured me. "Geeky as all get-up, per usual. Now c'mon, let's get out of here."