I rushed to Jake's house literally putting on my left shoe while I ran across the street. I could swear that our neighbor, Mr. Hank, was wondering why a kangaroo with sloppy clothes was hopping across the street. We were late. It happened at least once a week at least. But with Jake's maniacal driving, we got to school on time. It was all good if you put the little problem of headaches and the urge to hurl aside.
My fist pounded on the doorway. No answer. "Jake! We're late! Hurry your butt up will you?" Looking down I noticed the shoe I hastily put on wasn't laced. I bent down to tie the white lace when the door opened. "Thank God," I muttered. "You weren't sleeping with another girl, were you?"
"No, the same one," a girl replied. I froze up in embarrassment. Slowly pulling the half-finished bow on my shoe tighter, I stood up and noticed how hot my cheeks were. Julia was leaning on the door frame with her hands in her jean pockets. "What are you doing here?" she asked with a smile. "Jake didn't tell me he was expecting company in the morning."
I blinked twice. "Err, I always come by in the morning. We carpool together." Julia ran her fingers through her reddish brown hair as if there were invisible knots she had to brush out. It came down long past her shoulders like a fiery waterfall. She was really pretty not in a bombshell way, but an earthy innocence that both Jake and I knew was not so. He himself called her feisty. Gross.
"You carpool together?" she asked, shaking her head. "I feel so bad for you. One time I had to take some Advil for the headache I got on the way to the movies." Julia rolled her eyes and laughed at a memory I had no part in. "Well anyway, let me get Jake for you."
She was turning to go back inside but I asked, "Do you need to come with us?"
"Yeah, sorry." Her voice sounded strained, like I shouldn't be there at the moment. Which was probably true. It's like Jake tagging along with Brayden and me. I wanted to slap myself. Of course she needed a ride! How dumb was I to ask a question that made everything so awkward?
She left that time and I slung my blue backpack in the backseat where I would sit. I was pretty sure that Julia would not be happy if I sat shotgun. Why did girls have to be so jealous of each other? I probably shouldn't get to ahead of myself. I was not a girl who was envied often. I guess that was a good thing because envy resulted in gossip, and I didn't like people talking about me behind my back. Still,they should be in the front together. The ride would be way worse that day for me sitting in the back. And there were no barf bags in the car . . .
I checked my phone for the time after a while of pacing around the car. It was 7:24 and no one was ready to go but me. "School starts on six minutes," I half sang to myself impatiently. If there was one thing I hated, it was being late. Anna was probably at fault on that one. She was a human alarm clock. One day we broke the rules and had lunch break at the nearest Taco Bell which was five minutes away. She didn't even have to look at a clock to drag me and my half eaten cheese burrito (with extra cheese) back into the car. Of course we were back in class right when the bell rang. Anna was awesome.
"Sorry!" I already knew he was there before Jake even opened his mouth. I grumbled and hopped into the worn backseat. "I asked her out to Winter Ball last night."
"That's really sweet but it's not going to cut it. Mr. Hank thinks I'm crazy for nothing," I muttered. "Where is Julia now?" Craning my neck out the window, I saw a shape through an upstairs window. "Oh, of course," I threw my hands in the air, "She's in your bedroom."
Jake looked at me through the rearview mirror with exasperation written clearly on his face. My face showed the emotion better at that moment. "What do you want me to do then?"
"What do you think I want you to do?"
"Fine." He got out of the car and stood below his window. "Jules!" he said in a sweet voice. "We have to go now!" There was a faint reply before Julia bounded outside like a small puppy.
"Okay let's go," she said, planting a kiss on Jake before getting into the car. "I was just putting on my makeup, sorry." I peered at the mirror up front and had to admit she looked pretty good.
"Couldn't you have done it in the car?" I asked. "That's what I do all the time." I never understood why girls spent so long on makeup. It was like magic slapped onto your face, sure, but some people took forever.
Julia looked confused. "Wait, did you put on makeup already? It looks . . . nice." She was obviously not very good at lying. Jake stifled a laugh. I was going to get him back for that.
"No. I was rushing and I didn't have time. But you look great." I gave her a smile which she returned. Julia was a pretty nice person, it was just that she wasn't super nice. Whatever. I was fine with that. What I wasn't okay with was how sick I felt when Jake pulled a left turn at sixty miles per hour. "Have you figured out what you want to wear?"
"Not yet. I'd love for you to come with me on Saturday. Do you want to use my comb, too?" she offered, already rummaging through the front pocket of her backpack. It was then when I saw the puffball of frizz that was my hair. I grimaced and took the blue hairbrush Julia was handing over.
"Thanks." Jake tried to hold the laughter in again but he failed. Julia glared at him and gave him a slap on the shoulder. "I'd love to go." Jake guffawed again.
"Do you want to go with me to Winter Ball or not?" Julia threatened.
"You wouldn't dump this hot thing," he joked. "I'm so amazing that I could--"
"Shut up," we both said.
I walked into Mr. Vela's classroom with my head held high and a smile that was at least half genuine. I decided that I was going to submit the book into the contest. It needed a few tweaks and additional content, but Brayden was right. I did deserve it, and his encouragement pushed me even further.
Class with Mr. Vela was nothing any other English teacher could have ever accomplished. Students felt like they were actually important in the future of education and innovation. Even Robert felt it. And he was a kid who drew balls all over his notebook and got suspended for two days. Robert failed every subject except P.E. And to clarify, he did not draw basketballs or soccer balls, he drew balls.
"Please understand," Mr. Vela said, "that English is so much more than writing essays with required elements, spelling correctly," we all saw him look at Robert and a few of us snickered. "or the infinite technicalities of writing that are endlessly scrutinized.
"The world is so hung up on technology! And we all know how big a deal Apple makes the next iPhone." The class laughed. "My point is that although technology helps a great deal in everyday tasks and life in general, we must not let it be the basis of our lifestyle. We don't need to think anymore. We have Siri! If technology fails in the future, what else will we fall back on?
"We have our minds," Mr. Vela went on. "Inspiration and the drive to create." He looked at me for a second as if sending me a message through a glance. "Steve Jobs was the one who saw Apple as a vision, a future. It is what he intended it to be.
"Don't be afraid to let inspiration lead you seemingly impossible tasks, because they're not as they seem. Most importantly, never let your fear decide your fate and the change you bring to the world."
The bell rang suddenly and for the first time ever, not a single student rushed to get out of the door. They simply stayed in their seats.
"What are you guys doing?" Mr. Vela asked in confusion. "The bell rang! Go!" He made a shooing motion as he sat behind his desk. Like that, the magic was gone and the chaos was back.
Gathering my books into my bag, I noticed a blue notebook on the floor. "Oh, gross," I said aloud. I averted my eyes and sidestepped it.
A hand darted to snatch it from the ground. "Sorry!" Robert said with a immature laugh. "Left my notebook." Mr. Vela looked at him with a steely gaze. "He doesn't scare me," Robert told me.
That was apparently a lie because he ripped up the notebook, threw it in the trash on the way out, and got the hell out of there.
Laughing, I filed out of the classroom and looked for Brayden. It was hard to navigate through the sea of rough-housing jocks that always hung around the gym. Brayden was among them since he was on the soccer team. I spotted him being doused in water by Ryan, a muscular mid-fielder.
"That's for stealing the ball at the last game!" he hollered at Brayden. "I had it in the bag but you stole all the glory." I could see why Jasmine liked Ryan. He was as rowdy as she was.
"Yeah right," he replied with a scoff as he picked at his green shirt that was plastered to his skin due to the water. "I saw you trip out!"
Jake must've seen me for he gave a quick 'see you later' and went to join a few other teammates who stepped out of the locker room.
"Hey," I greeted. The moment we locked eyes, I noticed how lost I was in his presence. All I knew was him.
"Hi, Kit Kat." That time I liked the sound of the nickname. It felt right, not just a memory of Jacob. I gasped all the same and hearing me do so, Brayden's eyes widened in regret. "I'm so sorry," he stuttered out, water droplets falling onto his face. "I won't do--"
I never gave him a chance to finish because I abandoned all thought and placed a hand on his damp cheek before giving him a soft kiss on his mouth. His arm brought my body against his chest and we felt each other's heart flutter. Despite the cool water on his skin, his lips were warm and soft. People who say they feel sparks when they're near someone they have feelings for are liars. It's more like being enveloped by the sun after and falling at the same time. Sparks hurt.
We pulled away. I looked up to his eyes, and they were filled with a sort of giddiness and want. "I was ready," I told him.
"You know I was," he smiled. "Now wait here." I bent my head to the side and waited. Brayden ran into the locker room for a minute before coming out with the whole soccer team.
Each one was wearing their uniforms still but I was confused when they lined up in front of me. Brayden took my hand and nodded to Jake who was first in line.
"Let's do this," I heard Ryan say. He took off his shirt to reveal a big W painted on his chest. The next in line revealed a I, the next a N, then a T, E, R, B, A, L, L.
I felt Brayden leave my side and stand at the end of the line of now shirtless guys. I looked around and giggled when I saw all of the girls blushing in bewilderment and the guys also checking to see what was going on. One girl whispered to her friend, "Why do they spell out Winter Ball?" Ace was next to her and gave a roll of his eyes.
Then Brayden took off his shirt. His chest had a question mark on it. "Will you go to the Winter Ball with me?" he asked with a lopsided smile.
"Say yes!" Ryan hooted. The thing was, I didn't have to say anything.
I ran up to Brayden full speed and he twirled me around, giving me another kiss.
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I'm not feeling the story line as much. Too cliché for my taste! So I may go back in the book and tweak a few things. Tell me if you think I should continue this! I'm having doubts.
Love,
CandieRocks