It was his Eyes
Written by:
Sandra Pollock
Copyright.© 2011
All Rights Reserved
Edited by: Effy Cook
~~
Chapter 1: The Scene
Have you ever been the type of person that just doesn't get the jokes? Or better yet, they don't get yours? Do you feel like people just don't get you...?
Well, that's me, A.K.A., Jolie Kate Petters, born the daughter of James & June Petters in the deep south of the USA. Born into a family of 6 older brothers and 3 older sisters, I’m used to getting lost in the crowd. Don't get me wrong, I love my family. Growing up was awesome because I always had someone to play with and I learned a lot of lessons on how to kick some butt. No, my only problem was that no one actually knew my name. I was more accustomed to being "The Petters’ Baby" (this one I hated the most when I was in high school. It was just plain humiliating). It was either that or, "You know that football team of Petters? Well, she's the runt." Lovely, I know. My favorites were, "The Odd One" or "That Weird One".
Because I was the youngest in a family of 12, everyone seemed to just give up trying to remember my name. We were even named alphabetically to make it simple, but it didn’t really help. I won't bore you with naming all of us, you’ll just get to know us as we go.
We’ve lived in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, and good ‘ole Alabama. That's where we settled. I went to college at the University of Tennessee. This, along with several other things, is why I'm called odd/weird. Anyone from Alabama knows that it's basically a crime to go to any school but the University of Alabama or Auburn University. And Lord forbid that you go to Auburn if you lived in house full of Alabama fans. I sure hope you don't need to sleep at night if you do, ‘cause you’ll be sleeping with one eye open for a long while. Cops probably consider it a just cause for killing. See, for those not in the loop, in Alabama, football is everything. When Alabama and Auburn play, it's like the town shuts down. It's almost a holiday; at least in Birmingham it is. My brothers were all football players, and my sisters, cheerleaders. Everyone went to Alabama except for me. Then of course, I had to be different. Not only did I not cheer, but I played basketball. Getting a full scholarship to UT was not impressive to my parents, or anyone else for that matter. Add that to the fact that I'm a whopping 5 foot 1 and 3/4 inches tall, and everyone declared something was definitely wrong with me. [Hey, that 3/4 is very important! Plus, I'm only 23, so surely I'm still growing, right?]
Aspen used to say the only reason I was good at basketball was because nobody paid attention to me. I was too short to be noticed. Though it might sound harsh, I think Colin was right when he shared his theory that people just expected I sucked at it, so they didn't bother blocking me. But, I think Becca had more of the truth of the matter. She would say it was because everyone was wondering why I was there in the first place, and, since I was fast on my feet, I got a shot in before they had time to think. Farah thought it was a miracle since, apparently, I'm a complete klutz. She didn't understand how I couldn't walk down a hall without falling, but I could run up and down the court effortlessly. Of course, Ginny claimed my success was due to me being a freak of nature. I know, my siblings were so nice. Ian, Dane, Evan, and Hayden secretly supported me. Ian would even sneak us into the courts and play with me in the middle of the night. So, my “anonymous” supporters would not say a word when the subject was brought up and I was fine with that. Graduating from college at only 21 and still short, it was annoying that when I started teaching the students and other teachers would both assume I was a student. I still get asked for a hall pass when I’m in the hall between classes even though I’ve been there for 3 years now. It’s quite annoying, to say the least!
Now that you know my history, I can clue you in on what’s happening in my life, currently. I started my third year teaching English at Liberty High School this fall. The past week there was an uproar in the faculty. See, there was a new basketball and Health teacher that everyone was obsessed with. That in itself wasn’t that exciting. No, it's more the fact he was drop dead gorgeous! I heard he had abs to kill for. Yes, and that was from Mrs. Smith, the 60 year old Home Economics teacher. I didn't even ask how she knew that.
I had only seen him from a distance but from what I had seen he looked like trouble, so I had avoided him as much as possible. It has been entertaining to watch the female students as they squealed and giggled over him, mainly because of his reaction to it. I think he could actually be scared of them. Watching the female staff hadn't been any less entertaining. He didn't seem scared of them but he sure didn't hide his irritation with them. It was truly comical that it didn’t slow them down one bit.
I was definitely staying clear of him! I had never been a normal girl, so why start now, right? Yeah, I pretty much hate guys, besides my brothers. Actually, a few of them are just as bad as the ones that caused me to hate them. I had this knack of getting cheaters for boyfriends. Mainly because I'm a Christian girl and having sex with random guys was not something I thought God likes. I was not one to do everything by the book, but certain things I took more seriously than others. Honestly, I have had yet to meet a guy that has interested me to the point where I've had to worry about my virtue.
Oh, I'd lost my train of thought yet again. Let me get back to Mr. Hunky Man, A.K.A., Greyson Connor Zanndy, or Coach Zann as the kids have been calling him. The name was interesting enough on its own, however, I have been impressed that he not only had looks but also seemed to possess a brain. When a guy had looks, body, and brains in one package, it’s a definite rare find. I noticed his possession of a cranium when Ms. Terrance actually went as far as slashing her tires to get a ride home from him. He arranged for a ride for her, but it wasn't with him. Ms. Terrance was not happy, to say the least. I believe that's when I noticed the rumor going around that he was gay. All I have to say to that is the people who started that rumor must be incredibly unobservant! His was the epitome of male perfection. Every square inch of him screamed male on the prowl!
Today was my unlucky day; I had gone a whole week without Coach Zanndy even catching a glimpse of me, but not today! No, I fell right at his feet! Literally!! I could be very clumsy-I just never grew out of that stage. So, I was walking to my classroom, in a hurry to meet a student, and I had a load of crap in my hands, so I really couldn't see where I was walking. I heard Ms. Terrance's annoying voice start calling my name, lost my balance when I turned to answer, and then books just suddenly started flying out of my hands. I then landed right at a pair of rather large feet. I heard Ms. Terrance laughing. Nice woman, wasn't she? I mean, she was the reason I fell. Then the giggling started from some students. Ugh!
I lifted my face up to see the most crystal clear, blue eyes I had ever seen. Never had I been speechless in my life, but at that moment that was actually what I was. I was totally mute!
He leant down asking, "Are you ok? Let me help you up!" Me....? I just stared. He voice was like a drug to the female race. He touched my arm to help me up and I immediately felt something like butterflies all over just as a reaction to his touch. This was so not good! He bent down and picked my stuff up, holding it out to me. Then he just stared at me for a minute, right smack in the eyes. Finally, he cleared his throat... " Uhmm, are you ok? Nothing broken, I hope." I shook my head fervently. Then I noticed he was still holding my stuff. I finally woke up out of my daze, furious with myself. I jerked it out of his hands. He lifted an eyebrow, and then said, "Can I help you with your stuff? I will walk you to your room. You are a teacher, correct? I haven't met you though, have I? Please, let me introduce myself, I'm Greyson Zanndy. The new basketball coach, and you are?"
I gave him my best scary glare, "I am fine, thank you for your help, but I have it from here. I must hurry, a student is waiting for me!"
"Wait! I never caught your name!" he yelled as I heard him running to catch up to me.
I sighed rather loudly, "I realize that."
He chuckled at that, "So, I’m to guess that your name is a secret, then?"
I shrugged and huffed, "Look Coach Zanndy, I don't have time for this. I'm not interested in getting to know you."
His eyes widened at that. He seemed speechless. Was he really still following me? I picked up my pace.
"Wow, I'm sorry, did I offend you or something? Or are you just this friendly with all the new staff members here?" he chuckled, which annoyed me even more. I just dismissed his presence all together as I hurried into my class.
Mary Jane was waiting for me at my desk. I immediately started to apologize for being late. Then I leant over to look at her work. Mary Jane, one of my students that usually never shuts up, was standing there very quietly. I was too involved in looking through everything to ask her what was wrong. After a couple of minutes of silence, I explained to her what she was missing. I heard her giggle. I brought my head up to look at her strangely. She was staring at someone in the doorway. As I turned my head to see who was there, I heard that deep voice.
Mary Jane’s smile oozed sweetness, " Hi Coach Zann, how are you?" she batted her eyelashes and touched his arm. He rolled his eyes and ignored her.
"So I just wanted to confirm that we will meet here in your classroom after school, correct? So I guess I’ll see you then!" he gave me a wink right before turning around and walking out.
I was speechless yet again. I just stared at the empty doorway. Then heard a giggle, which shook me out of my trance.
"O. M. G! Are y’all dating?" she sighed with a huge smile on her face.
"WHAT? ARE YOU CRAZY? He’s gay!"
She snickered, "Right, Ms. P, whatever you say."
~~
Authors Notes:
I want to give special thanks to Effy my new editor! You're the best, thanks so, so much.