Confessions of the Fragile Heart

Chapter 1

The next morning, I tried to dress as normal as I could. Heather drove me the first day. Her car attracted less attention. She parked the car and we went to the office. In the principal's office, Mrs. Jones, the principal, looked up expectantly.

"Good morning Leana," Mrs. Jones smiled after Heather closed the door. I returned her smile and sat in the chair across from her.

"Here, I'm going by a different name. I'm sure you understand why," I replied politely. "I don't want any of the students knowing who I really am." She nodded. I'm glad she understood.

"What are you going by then?" she asked placing her fingers on the keyboard. I thought for a second. I pulled a blank, so I looked to Heather for support. She shrugged.

"I've always liked the name Amber, and you can take my last name. Amber Davenport," she suggested. It sounded good to me. I nodded. I liked the name. Mrs. Jones typed my new name into the computer. I handed my driver's license to Heather. I couldn't risk having it on me today. Mrs. Jones handed me my school I.D. She stood.

"You're all set. Let me go get my office aid to show you around," she said. I ran my hand through my dirty blonde hair. I turned to see that Mrs. Jones had reappeared. Her office aid was unbelievably cute. He had dark brown hair and beautiful gray eyes. His smile was breathtaking.

"I'm Denver," he introduced himself. I shook his outstretched hand.

"I'm... Amber," I smiled. Heather gave me a look. I just smiled back at her. We walked out of the office. Heather headed down the main hallway with us.

"Are you going to be okay by yourself now?" Heather asked.

"Yes Heather," I replied. I gave her a hug and she kissed my cheek. I blushed in spite of myself. "I'll see you after school." Once she left the school, Denver showed me to my classes. I met all my teachers. They all knew who I really was, but to my relief, they knew I wanted to keep it a secret. Turns out, my first four classes were with Denver. At lunch, I was introduced to all of Denver's friends. After buying a Caesar salad from the Italian line, I sat in the open seat next to Denver.

"So you're the new girl," his friend, Claire, smiled at me. I smiled at her and nodded.

"That's me," I answered. Denver smiled at me. Claire's smile vanished and she looked back and forth from Denver to me and back. I couldn't help but to look down and blush. After lunch, Mrs. Jones gave me the okay to hang out in the office until the bell rang for the end of school. Finally, the school day ended. After giving Denver a goodbye hug and exchanging numbers, I found Heather in the crowd of cars. I got in the passenger side.

"How was your first day of school? You know, your teachers, classes. Not Denver or whatever his name is," she asked smiling. I laughed.

"I'm 16; what did you expect?" I replied. She smiled and rolled her eyes.

"I get it," Heather laughed. We finally reached the house. I went inside and answered Denver's text message. I went into the living room and turned on the TV. Heather came in and turned it off. I sighed and went upstairs to my room. I got ready for bed and fell asleep.

~

The next few weeks at school went by quickly. I walked into the house from school. I sighed and went upstairs with my backpack. I got out my homework and started it. My phone started to ring in my pocket. I answered it. It was Denver.

"Hey Denver," I asked lying out on my bed.

"I was just wondering; do you want to hang out together sometime?" he asked a bit nervously. I smiled.

"Sure; I mean, sounds good to me," I said. "What do you want to do?" I asked to make sure it was going to be just us. The past week, I hung out with him before, but with all of his friends. Truth was, I really liked Denver a lot. I had never hung around a place long enough to bother with making relationships.

"Want to watch a movie or something?" he asked a little less nervously. I laughed.

"Sounds great? Want to do it at my house tomorrow after school?" I asked rolling over on my stomach so that I was propped up on my elbows. Heather walked in and sat in the chair near the dresser. I looked at Heather and smiled.

"Sure," I heard him say on the other line. Heather crossed her arms and legs. She gave me a knowing smile. I sat criss-cross on the big green bed.

"Okay, I'll drive," I smiled. He said some other stuff. "Okay, bye." I hung up the phone and set it down on the bed. Heather gave me a knowing smile. "Do you think I should cut my hair?" I tried to change the subject and distract Heather. I ran my fingers through my hair and bit my bottom lip softly. It didn't work. I knew Heather would already know it was Denver. She stood and turned at door to look at me.

"No, but you're taking your car to school tomorrow for your date with Denver. I have errands to run tomorrow," she smiled. I sighed as my smile vanished. My car was too flashy. I didn't want everyone at school seeing it. Oh well, I already made the arrangements. I got ready for bed and laid down. I couldn't wait for tomorrow to come. Maybe Alera, Ohio wouldn't be so bad after all.