Two weeks before Prom
Campus
Trip and his girlfriend were almost suspended from school. It turned out they couldn’t dress fast enough to hide the evidence. Rumor has it that Trip still has a condom on his thing when they were escorted to the Principal’s office. He was not expelled, but he was kicked out of the basketball team.
I’ll bet he was furious with me. I can see him throwing daggers at me whenever he sees me walk the corridors. I was devastated, but I refuse to let people see that I was crying.
“I’ll destroy you, you bitch!” A familiar voice whispered behind me as I was putting my stuff back in my locker.
I slammed my locker and turned to face him. “Wow. Losers do love company.” And I turned and left.
Prom is two weeks away. I am dateless, and needless to say, I’ll still be a virgin by then. But then I think Trip’s plans of deflowering me on prom was not something I should be looking forward to anyway. I guess I should say goodbye to my daydreams and fantasies of losing myself in bed with a man in a romantic kind of way.
Maybe this time, I should be cynical. Maybe I should take control so guys will not run me over. The problem with me is that I trust too much, too soon. Every boy I go out with will save me from the shame of being unmarriageable as per my family’s tradition. Every guy is a Prince Charming. Every single one of them a knight in shining armor.
“It’s not a big deal, sis.” Cindy said to me. “Just have fun out there. I lost my virginity to my brother’s best friend, in my parents’ bed, and everything was just the way it was.”
“I’m going to take control.” I said. “I will not let these high school boys run me over! I will go out, if I like the guy and things got a little bit cozy, then I guess… that’s it, huh. I think I over-fantasize things.”
Cindy shrugged. “No biggie. Don’t make such a big fuss over it. It’s just sex. You gotta know what it’s like, what to expect. Just do it and get it over with. Doesn’t mean you’ll end up marrying the first guy you’ve been with.”
“Now, I guess I only need to worry about who’s taking me to prom.” I said.
There were guys who tried to make conversation with me all of a sudden, knowing what happened with Trip and finding out that Trip and I are over. I was still heartbroken. I still felt that none of them was ever good enough to replace Trip. Well, the Trip that I fell in love with anyway. Not the real Trip who was hiding beneath the angelic disguise.
I was hurt by what Trip did, and I hated him so much, I wanted to get back at him! I wanted to show him that he was wrong to do that to me. That he was wrong to think so lowly of me,
I dropped French class because I was having it with Trip.
“You need to replace this subject with something with the same credit or you won’t graduate.” My adviser told me.
I nodded. She handed me the list of options that I have.
There was Spanish class, but I’ve been enrolled in French for months and all I learned was Oui. Then there was poetry, and I am afraid I’ve had too much of false flowery words from Trip to last me a lifetime! There was music, but I’m pretty sure I’m tone deaf. The other option left was Art. I guess Art will have to do.
“Are you sure?” My adviser asked me.
I nodded.
“Brianne, I’ll have to warn you. Mr. Atkins is very strict and his standards are very high. You’re a straight A student, and I don’t want you to break that record.” She said.
I smiled at her. “I think I can keep up with Mr. Atkins.”
She looked at me reluctantly and then she signed the form. “Alright. Last period, Mondays and Fridays. Mr. Atkins loves to extend his hours so expect to be home a little bit later than usual.”
I nodded. Anything to get away from Trip would be fine.
First day in Art Class
Friday
Campus
I showed up for Art class just in time.
“Ms. Montgomery, I hope you understand that you have a lot of catching up to do.” Mr. Atkins said. “And just so we understood each other, I see only art and talent in this class. Everything else is just doodle. I hope you have what it takes to stay in this class.” He said. He motioned for me to take a seat.
His class was only half full.
“This was a full house at the beginning of the semester.” He said. “See how many have fallen in just a few months?”
I sighed. I scanned the room to pick a place. Suddenly, someone went into the room saying, “Sorry I’m late, Prof.”
Mr. Atkins immediately smiled. “Not a problem at all, Mr. Cross. I was just introducing your new classmate, Ms. Montgomery.”
At the mention of my name, Travis’s head snapped at our way. I smiled at him. He raised a brow, clearly surprised that I finally took Art class. He went to his seat and pointed at the empty seat beside him.
“You may take whatever seat you like, Ms. Montgomery.” Mr. Atkins said.
I immediately headed for the seat beside Travis. He was at the end row, and no one sat beside him.
“Aren’t you the outcast?” I whispered to him.
“I can be very intimidating.” He said.
“Well, not to me.” I smiled at him.
“Glad to see that you finally took Art class.”
“I had to drop French. I was taking that with Trip.”
He raised a brow. “You won’t be missing a thing. If you really want to learn French, I can tutor you.”
“Thanks. I’ll let you know.” I said.
“Why did you take this class only now?” He asked.
I smiled at him. “Why aren’t you taking French class?”
He grinned. “I see. You think you’re too good already.”
“Some of your talents are innate. You don’t have to learn them.” I whispered to him.
“Ms. Montgomery, you will officially start on Monday. Today, you can just observe and take notes.”
He reminded the class about their assignments, and then he asked them work on their charcoal masterpieces.
To me, he said, “Look around you and draw anything that inspires you to take this class. You can draw a paintbrush, a canvass, you can look at the paintings around you and draw in your own way… I just want to see the level of skill you already have before you start my class.”
I nodded right away. In truth, almost all the people in the class were introverts, as most artists usually are. I don’t think I like Mr. Atkins that much yet. The paintings around me were amateur compared to those I’ve seen in Mom’s galleries. I know the only thing that pushed me to take Art class is because I don’t have a choice when I dropped my French class.
I can’t think of anything else I like about this class. But I needed it so I can graduate. I heaved a sigh and then I looked to my right. I found Travis engrossed with his painting. It was a tree with a swing moving with the winds.
“What’s your topic?” I asked him.
“He asked us for a happy childhood memory.” He replied without looking at me.
“That memory seems eons away.” I told him as I recognized that swing in one of their estates, when we were ten years old.”
“Remember he said, ‘happy’.” He murmured.
I bit my lip. I couldn’t help feeling sad for Travis. I remembered, he and I are just alike. We’re two broken souls trying to look out for each other at best we can.
And then suddenly, I know what I have to draw now.
When I was done, my painting was just as good as any other students’ charcoal painting, maybe even better than most. It was a very good painting of Travis’s face, showing the same expression he wore when he first saw me in this class.
I didn’t know that Mr. Atkins had been watching me. When I looked up behind me, he was engrossed in his thoughts. Then he stared at me and smiled slowly.
“Mr. Cross is the one thing you liked in this class?” He asked.
The others looked at me. That should embarrass me actually but I smiled.
“Travis is my childhood friend.” I said. “It’s nice to see a familiar face when you enter a roomful of strangers.”
Mr. Atkins nodded, clearly impressed. “Well, it looks like you have talent after all, Ms. Montgomery. Welcome to my class.” And he moved on to the next student.
Travis was looking at his portrait. Then he said, “I look nothing like that!”
I giggled. “Sure you do.”
He stared at me for a while. “Well, since I am your inspiration to take this class, I guess I’ll paint a portrait of you if he asks us to paint our inspiration to stay in this class.”
I smiled at him. “Why? I thought you like art.”
“Maybe you’re not the only one who doesn’t feel the need to take this class. I may have the innate talent too.”
Mr. Atkins sent us home about an hour after the bell rang. No wonder Travis caught up with me that day I was walking home after finding Trip with his cheerleader. He just got off from Art class.
“Did you bring a car?” Travis asked me.
I shook my head. “I thought I could catch a ride with Cindy. I didn’t know Mr. Atkins will send us off quite late.”
“You better get used to it.” Travis said. “I’ll drive you home. It’s Friday today. Maybe we can have dinner first.”
I smiled. “That would be great. I have not eaten out in more than a month.”
Travis raised his brow. “You broke up with Jacobs less than two weeks ago.”
I sighed as I gathered my stuff and walked out with Travis.
“Well, we have not gone out for dinner in a while. He was busy with basketball practice. Turned out, he’s got tons of extra-curricular activities on the side.”
“You’re telling me he’s not dated you in a while?”
“He picks me up, we grab a bite or two. Ice cream. He picks me up at the mall. We were on a relationship. Do we have to date each other all the time?”
Travis raised a brow at me. “I’m not a fan of relationships. But I believe he should take you out on real dates at least twice a month. You know? Go to the movies, and have a nice quiet dinner together, go to the fairs, go stargazing.”
I laughed. “Wow! Travis Cross! No wonder you’re the ultimate heartbreaker in this campus.”
He grunted. “Alright, I’m not Jacobs.”
“Your record is just as bad as his.” I said in a teasing tone.
“I don’t do relationships, Brianne. At least I do not cheat.” He argued.
“You just do wham-bham-thank yous?”
He narrowed his eyes at me. In an irritated tone, he said “How could you know about those things?”
I realized what he just said. “Yeah, I’m a just a stupid little virgin, and I can’t possibly know about the ways of men.”
I didn’t look at him. He fell silent too. We reached his car and he opened the passenger door for me. I hopped in in silence. When he got inside the car he took a deep breath and said, “There’s nothing wrong with being…” He trailed off. “What you are. I know nothing about being a virgin too. I’ve lost my innocence long time ago. I salute you for holding on to yours for as long as you can. Don’t think you’re supposed to be less of a person just because you are… untouched… unspoiled.”
When I stared at him, his eyes were warm and his voice was so sincere. I smiled. “Thanks, Travis.”
He smiled at me. “You’re welcome. Now, since your ex-boyfriend was not such a great fan of romance, let me take you out on a date you deserve.”
I laughed. “Date? I didn’t think, after our educational date, that I would go out with you again.”
He raised his brow. “I am, after all, your safety guy. Part of my job is to pick up the shattered pieces of you and put them all back together.”
I laughed. “Well, good luck with that.”
***
“Where were you all Friday? I was looking all over for you. How did you get home?”
“I dropped French and took Art instead. Mr. Atkins let us off one hour later.”
“How did you get home? Did you walk?”
I shook my head. “Travis took me home.”
“Travis Cross?”
“I only know one Travis, Cindy.”
“But I was calling you at home, your maid said you haven’t gone home yet! At ten o’clock!”
“Well, Travis took me out for dinner after school.”
“As in a date?”
I sighed. Well, Travis did say it was a date. I nodded.
“Wow! So are you like, seeing Travis Cross now?” She asked.
“Hell no!” I argued immediately. “It was a friendly date. For all it’s worth, I think he did it out of pity. I told him that Trip has not taken me on a real date in more than a month.”
“So where did you go?”
“We had dinner at Delicatese.”
“That’s expensive! But then again, it’s Travis Cross!” Cindy said, jealousy evident in her voice. “Then what?”
“Then he took me to Movies Under the Stars.”
Cindy looked like she will hyperventilate any minute. “That is so romantic!”
I rolled my eyes. “It’s Travis, Cindy!”
“That made it more surreal! Travis Cross! Being that romantic!”
I laughed. “Does Allan know you are drooling over some other guys?”
“Of course not! And who does not drool over Travis Cross?”
I narrowed my eyes. “Ah, me?”
“And I don’t understand you.” She said.
“I don’t understand you! But then again, I’ve known Travis since we were ten. I almost grew up with him. He is cute. But I can’t imagine myself drooling on him. I know I can’t fall in love with him. He won’t break my heart. Maybe that’s why he’s my safety guy.”
“And you’re so lucky he treats you with utmost care! Lots of girls will die for that much attention from Travis Cross!”
****
I know we're going slow. But you know me... I don't want to leave holes when I write a story. I take my time laying out a precedent.
I hope to compensate that with fast updates though. This is record time! I upload about two to three chaps a day! LOL! I don't want to leave you hanging and think that this story is going nowhere. Because it is! (Or so I hope!)
Things might get weirder in the next chapters. I'm trying to point out that even though it's stupid to have pressure to lose your virginity at a certain age, but try telling that to an 18 year old kid nowadays. It's not impossible. Some kids these days ARE being surrounded by other hormonal kids who think that if you're 18 and still a virgin, you're a freak! I'm not saying they should give in, but it's different for everybody. I actually feel bad for these kids. They know what's the right and smart thing to do, but hey! The pressure of the people around you could make you do stupid things too.