Take One For The Team

Chapter 4

I sat through an hour of Trigonometry with literally no idea what was going on. After nearly flunking out last year I knew I'd be starting the year way behind, but it still sucked. How did anyone understand this stuff?!

English Lit followed and wasn't too bad, I sat next to Adam and met some of his non-soccer friends, who seemed nice enough. I had yet to speak to another girl other than Kirsty, but this was nothing new for me; I'd always found it easier to hang out with guys. Plus, so far most of the girls in my classes had spent the morning staring me out in a less than welcoming way.

My last class before lunch was Spanish. My Grandma on my mom's side was actually Spanish, so this was the only class I shouldn't be behind in. I stopped at the door of room 34 and double checked my timetable, making sure I was in the right place. After confirming I was, I strolled into the room and sat down in the only empty seat.

As I took out my things I heard giggling behind me, and turned to see Zack sat at a desk on the back row. He was muttering to two cheerleaders, all of them looking straight at me.

Why did he have to show up everywhere?

I rolled my eyes and turned back to the front, feeling my cheeks go red.

And why did I always have to blush?

It didn't help that as much as I hated to admit it, Zack was frustratingly good-looking.

"¡Hola classe! ¿cómo están?"

A red haired woman with a friendly smile entered the room, reusable coffee cup in hand, giving us a wave as she greeted us. I looked down at my timetable and saw she was called Mrs Clarke.

"Bien, gracias..." The rest of the class responded with little enthusiasm.

I looked around at my classmates. Most of them looked bored to death. I loved Spanish, what was wrong with them?

"Pasar a la página veinticuatro." Mrs Clarke called out.

I obliged and turned to page 24 of the textbook on my desk. I could see the girl to my right looked confused, scratching her head of curly blonde hair and wrinkling her nose. I leant over and smiled at her and whispered,

"Page 24."

She shot me a smile of relief as she turned to the right page.

"Thanks," She whispered, "I can never remember the numbers."

"No worries." I replied, facing back to the front.

"Hey," She whispered, "You must be Alex?"

I nodded, and she grinned.

"Hi! I'm Becca, Kirsty's friend! We're on the softball team together."

"Nice to meet you." I whispered, relieved that she was friendly and also to hear that Kirsty was into sports too.

"Vamos a hacer ejercicio cuatro." Mrs Clarke continued, her voice projecting to the back of the room.

"We're doing exercise 4." I muttered.

"You can sit by me every day." Becca declared, beaming at me.

20 minutes later, Mrs Clarke gave us a Spanish text and asked for a volunteer to read aloud. Everyone sank back into their seats, avoiding eye contact at all costs.

I remained sat straight and Mrs Clarke's gaze landed on me, her smile widening.

"Ah, Alex Martinez, welcome to EHS. Would you care to give it a try, as your new classmates seem to have lost their Spanish ability over the summer?"