I can't seem to get her out of my head. This feels so weird to me. I'm not usually like this. However, it is quite fun having a crush. It feels like I'm in primary school all over again. But asking a girl to play kiss-chase might be considered a little pervy now.
Once again, I'm inexplicably late for sixth form. I even had a later start today but yet I still managed to run out of time. This is the worst way someone with an already horrible punctuality record could start their morning yet it's become a habit.
I hate having to rush in the morning but helping Rose eat took longer than expected today. She kept dribbling her food out more than usual and Ma couldn't drive her to her physical therapy appointment because she was already late for work. At least I know where I get my poor time management gene from.
She ended up having to book a cab while I drove Rose. I just wish Ma didn't have to work so much so she can spend more time with us but she always reminds us that being a doctor and a single mother isn't easy. Ever since Dad left, it's like we see her less and less but she still does her best and I can only love and appreciate her for that.
I open my car window so I can truly enjoy the cool, steady air as I drive to school. I love driving by myself, it's one of the few moments that I can be alone with my thoughts other than when I'm drawing. It also helps that I have a wicked Mariah Carey playlist.
I pull up to the school's student parking area and park in my favourite spot right next to the sports field, where the girl's football team practice every Wednesday morning. I notice Zacchias' car was already there so I write a note saying 'Parker was here' leave it as a gift to annoy him later when he gets back.
As soon as I open the smooth oak doors of this practically pre-historic building, I'm greeted by the guy himself, one of my closest and oldest friends, Zacchias Tovi.
I've known him since I was 4 foot nothing and we were also in ballet class together, two hardly athletic skinny little shits who didn't know their left from their right. We didn't stand a chance against the other dainty girls in the class.
However, when we got to secondary school, he got became more muscular and athletic whereas I remained kind of gawky and lanky.
"Y'alright lad? You know you're late, right?" He raises his eyebrows and slaps me on the back, almost destroying my spine with his palm. "Mrs Innis is going to line your skinny arse like a Kebab stick." He shakes his curly, jet black hair, which was way too long, out of his eyes. He has a habit of doing this whenever it gets too long in the front.
He has that 'I'm an adorable little puppy-man who likes to stroke horses and write poetry' kind of look that all the girls in school fawn over.
"No way man, Mrs Innis adores me," I smirk back. And she indeed does. She's said so on multiple occasions even when I got into a heated altercation with Brett Valesquez which ended in a black eye and a trip to the headmaster's office.
Zacchias shakes his head again like he doesn't believe me."Yeah, I'm sure she loves your obnoxiously loud voice and annoying hair."
"How can hair be annoying, dummy?" I query. If anyone's hair could be annoying, it would be his but before he could retort with another insult, Mrs Innis' voice boomed loud in the tannoys.
"Could Mr Parker Sorrisi please report to the main office? That is, Parker Sorrisi, to the main office. Thank you."
"Yeah, you're deffo in trouble mate." He gives me a tight-lipped smile.
I punch him on the arm and laugh at him squirming in pain. "Shit, what the hell? Have you been hitting the weights? That actually hurt!" He tries to punch me back but I quickly dodge it and manoeuvre my way through the mass of teenage bodies occupying the wide but clearly not wide enough corridor.
"Later, Zachy!" I call out to him while also giving him the finger. "And my voice is not obnoxiously loud." It's normal, I think.
But by the time I get to the office, Mrs Innis is no longer there. Rather, Ms Pavloski sits in her place behind the desk next to Headmaster Holloway's office. Ms Pavloski is another assistant to the headmaster who ironically hates my guts.
I groan inwardly.
"You're late." She gives me an acid-laced look then continues typing on her ancient computer with her bright pink false nails.
She was pretty old-looking even though she must only be in her early 40's. She has wrinkled skin which she tries to cover up with make-up but subsequently failed.
She always wears this awful bubblegum pink lipstick to go with the colour of her nails and it was like she had a permanent scowl stuck on her face.
Whereas, Mrs Innis was a kind 60 with dark dyed purple hair which she claims makes her feel young again. She's a sweet old lady who always keeps little boiled sweets on her desk and smiles at every student that passed by. But, alas, I'm stuck with this one.
"I'm aware of that, Ms Pavloski." I grimace, folding my arms across my chest.
She doesn't look up from the computer as she directs her question towards me. "Reason?"
"I was looking after my sister," She finally glances up looking almost sympathetic. Almost. I'm pretty sure that robots are incapable of having feelings.
"Well, at the moment you have too many late marks so I'm going to have to put you in a for a few detentions." She sighs, removing her glasses and rubbing her eyes.
"Is that why I was called down to reception?" I mutter. Why couldn't they have told me this in an email like they usually do? I'm missing my history lesson for this and it's Tudor week; my favourite.
"Oh! That reminds me," She rummages around her desk, looking for something when she finally finds it she holds it up for me to see.
It was a letter with my name on it.
"However, if you go to this one detention, you will not have to do the rest." She peers at me through her spectacles. "It starts this lunch period with Mrs Innis."
"Where?" I ask, putting the letter in my bag knowing I was going to throw it away later.
"In the Sports Hall." She says, her gaze returning to her computer screen.
She hands me a self-help leaflet as some kind of parting gift and shoos me away. "You can leave now."
I turn on my heel and do so just as Bria Velasquez walks directly into my path, making her drop all her books. I remember when she was a little year 7 who always had her hair in pigtails and was a bit chubby but now she's blossomed into a typical Beaumont girl with bone straight hair and eyes for all the boys around.
I help her pick each book up while she's stuttering and rapidly apologising. I honestly have no clue how she and Brett are related. She seems so much more normal compared to that rabid animal of a brother.
"It's okay, it was probably really my fault anyway," I say, even though it was definitely her who walked into me. "I'm clumsy." I hand her the books and she sheepishly smiles at me as she pushes a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Thanks, Parker!" She looks back at me, her cheeks flushed making her appear more baby-like. It's hard to believe that her older brother is the devil's spawn.
Assuming the interaction was over, I begin to set off down the hall. She pulls me back. Hard. For a girl that is approximately 4'11, she sure has quite a lot of upper body strength, probably more than I do and that's worrying for me.
Maybe I do need to start hitting the gym.
"Hey, you know Kimberly's having a house party on Saturday?"
I look at her with suspicion. "Yeah, I'm not surprised, she has one almost every week."
Kimberly Siu probably loves partying more than she loves breathing which was such a contrast to her older, more academic and genius sister, Ashley. I have no idea how she keeps up with her straight A's whilst also get ridiculously drunk on the weekend. I get one hangover and can't function a pen for the rest of the week.
Still, I'm not sure why Bria is speaking to me about her brother's ex-girlfriend's party like a year 10 would even be invited.
"You thinking of going?" She tosses her hair back and forth then twirls it around her fingers. Is she flirting with me? Gross.
"Don't really feel like going to any parties at the moment, so I'll probably pass on this one," I say, awkwardly rubbing my shoulder. I'm not sure what was going on here but I want it to stop. Like now. "I really have to get going though, I don't want to be late to class but it was great talking to you,"
I give her a genuine smile to which she blushes. She was a good kid, I just hope she doesn't follow the wrong crowd like her brother did.
"I'll see you later," She says, but then she does a half turn and then spins around again. "Hopefully..." She finishes, winking and trying her best to swing her hips in the dark green BHS junior school uniform as she walks away.
I continue to walk to my class, stopping to speak to people on the way. So much for being on time to class. I keep thinking about Harley and the dimple in her chin. The way she bit the inside of her cheek whenever I caught her eye. I just can't help it.
I promised to speak to her today but I haven't even caught a glimpse of those beautiful brown eyes.
Finally, as I get closer to my classroom, I see that little Afro again bobbing amongst the heads occupying the hallway. A warm sensation builds up inside me just like it did the first time I saw her. I try and make my way towards her but I couldn't even get past the door before Brett Velasquez' huge, muscular body obstructed my way.
"Can I help you, Brett?" I glare at his massive rugby players physique. He had a large, meaty head covered with a mop of constantly sweaty hair. Like seriously, has this guy ever heard of a shower?
"Heard you were flirting with my little sister. Bit young don't you think?" He curled his lip possibly thinking that it was intimidating me but the only thing it was making me do is to think that there was something wrong with his face.
"I couldn't care less about your little sister," I say, getting slightly irritated now. Why does gossip travel so quickly in this school? I only spoke to her like 5 minutes ago. At this rate, I won't be able to catch up to Harley. He effortlessly drags me back as I attempt to push past him.
I honestly hate having such an increasingly fast metabolism. If only Spiderman was real, he could kick Brett's ass for me. Oh my God, even in my head that sounds nerdy.
"Listen, sore spot, you've got three seconds to answer my question or I'll knock you out." Some spittle leaves his mouth as he talks and it smells rancid. I have to hold my breath to stop me from gagging in his face.
I do understand that he's as large as three of me but that doesn't stop me from saying, "Your breath smells like an armpit, mate." I wave my hand in front of my nose.
Was that childish? Yes. Did I care? No.
"You didn't even ask me anything, you stupid shit." If it wasn't for his rugby talent he would not be in this school and he knows it.
He looks around, clearly embarrassed, "Watch your mouth, Sorrisi." he attempts to say menacingly. "This isn't over,"
But by the time he finally left me be, Harley was gone.
That time of the day was here.
The morning had come and gone and I was hoping to get another glance of Harley, the sight her of in the hallway wasn't enough to satisfy me. I'm not sure what is that was drawing me to her. She has an effect on me that no other girl has had before.
But I do hope that I get to speak to her today after all I did put on my very lucky socks for her. I chuckle at the sight of the little round spider-man faces on them.
I walk into the hall already experiencing that familiar feeling of dread.
I'd much rather go to the art room and do some more graphite sketches than sit and talk about my feelings with a bunch of strangers; I even bought some new pencils from the new stationery store in town that I'd been dying to try out.
But it doesn't matter that I'm late. As usual.
It doesn't matter that all pairs of eyes are on me. As usual.
It doesn't matter that the sports hall has the stench of sweaty teenagers and that it was slowly creeping up my nostrils.
It doesn't even matter that I don't want to be here because there she is.
The only person in the room that's not watching me. Instead, she's drawing on the back of her hand fixedly, like she's stuck in her own little world. She still has that forlorn look on her face.
I just wish that I could steal it away and lock it in a box forever, never to see the light of day again.
"Oh, Mr Sorrisi, so glad you could give up some of your precious time for us." Mrs Innis announces sarcastically, earning a few giggles from the little year 8 boys in the corner.
"Sorry about that miss," I apologise. She smiles at me sweetly as I walk further into the room.
Finally, she looks up. I don't know if it's just my mind playing tricks on me but her eyes seem to sparkle just a little bit more. She bites the inside of her cheek again.
I look around and notice that everyone else was grouped up on separate tables in cliques. Except her.
I make my way towards the small, rounded table where she sits alone. Her hair was tied up in a high puff with the edges of her hair swirling like an artistic spiral. Her dark skin was as rich as the hot chocolate my ma used to make for me and Rose on rainy days. A couple of people try and wave me over to their table but I politely decline. I know exactly where I want to go. I know exactly where I want to be.
"Hey." I take a seat next to her. I could feel the eyes watching me as I sat down; I pay them no notice. "You could get ink poisoning from doing that, you know."
She smiles slightly, her two-toned lips turning up at the ends. She had a deep cupid's bow which gave her lips the appearance of a love heart. "Unlikely."
"What are we meant to be doing?" I ask, glancing around again but everyone just seemed to be talking.
"We're meant to be telling our partners five facts about ourselves," I look at the hand she was drawing on and saw it was a poor attempt at an eye, maybe one day I'll be able to teach her how to do a proper one. "But... I don't have one." She mumbles, sucking in her lips. She ditches her drawing and faces me completely. As if she was wondering what the hell I wanted.
"Well, it must be your lucky day cause here's one right now," I dramatically stand up and bow, which earns a laugh from her and a few glances from neighbouring tables.
She looks so beautiful when she laughs, her mouth gapes wide open and little squeaks come out between breaths. Her shiny, white teeth seem to gleam brighter when we connect our eyes.
She quickly stops as if she's embarrassed herself somehow by laughing and I feel grateful that she had chosen to share that with me. I have an inkling that she doesn't do that often. I knew at that moment that I would never get tired of hearing that sound.
I sat back down just as she points at my feet and says, "Cool socks."
She's talking about my lucky red, black and white Spider-Man socks. I blush in embarrassment.
"They're supposed to be lucky," I clutch my chest with my hand like I'd just been struck in the heart. She giggles. I really really cannot get enough of that sound.
"So... tell me five facts about yourself then," She bites her lip and looks down.
"Hey, it's okay, I'll go first if you like," The last thing I want is to see that look on her face again.
"No, I'll go." She shakes her head defiantly. "I love old films. I like to ride my bike. I think I can take really good pictures. I can recognise any quote from any Shakespearean text and I have a Yorkshire terrier called Caesar." She shrugs, willing her hands to stay still. She kept fidgeting with them in her lap and eventually forces them under her thighs and sat on them.
I know she noticed that I noticed the way she fidgeted every time she spoke. I try not to look.
"Can I compare thee to a summers day?" I say, playfully touching her knee. She jumps a little at the slight touch but relaxes soon after, a blush creeping on her face.
"Yes, you may." The giggles just rolling out of her like water. "Sonnet 18. Did you know Shakespeare allegedly wrote it to a man?"
Before I could answer with a "No, Harley, I did not know Shakespeare allegedly wrote that to a man." Spencer Lowe interrupts us by tapping me on the shoulder.
He's a relatively normal lad who played for the sixth form's basketball. He used to remind me of a stretched refreshers chew bar, very tall and skinny (even skinnier than me). Everyone knew of him but didn't necessarily talk to him like that. Of course, they respected him as everyone on a popular sports team was respected but because he was a goth who was as pale as a ghost and always wore black. He had a shit ton of piercings and tattoos and was apparently very clever; many people thought he was somewhat... odd.
I didn't mind hanging out with him though. sometimes he was surprisingly funny and always had knew where all the free rooms were when you didn't want to chill in the common room.
I quickly remove my hand from Harley's knee. She observes and looks away.
"Y'alright, Parker?" He gestures for a high five which I give him."You finally get busted for your lates, as well?" He laughs, showing all his nicotine-stained teeth like a crocodile.
"Hey, why didn't you come sit with us?" He gestures at the table where he and a few other players on the basketball team were sitting. I sense Harley glance at me but she doesn't say anything.
"Didn't want to." I shrug, looking at him plainly. He blinked at me in confusion. "You playing this Friday?"
Spencer nods. He has the kind of face you forget even when you're looking at it.
"Sweet, I hope you lads rock it," We fist bump again and he saunters off, not even acknowledging Harley-Blair's existence.
Hopefully, the nicotine fogs his brain and he stays in his seat for the rest of the meeting and doesn't bother me again.
When I looked back at Harley, she was back to drawing on her hand again with the same solemn expression on her face. She was wearing a short-sleeved Justice League T-shirt that seemed a little too big for her but looked comfortable. She kept reaching up to play with the hemming at the base of the sleeve.
I felt bad, realising that entertaining another conversation while I was still speaking to her was kind of rude. Especially since I didn't even try to include her in it.
"I'm sorry about that," I say. She finally looks up and sighs. I love the way her silky eyelashes gently graze the top of her cheek.
"This always happens to you, everyone adores you. You're everyone's friend," She mumbles. I'm confused. Why is that a problem? Don't girls normally like friendly guys?
"I'm pretty sure that's not true at all, I could give you a list of people that hate my guts." I look around the room for an example and I spot that weirdo, Brett, glaring at me. "Brett Velasquez over there would probably kill me for 50p and a piece of chewing gum."
She looks over at Brett, who was still scowling at me.
"How do you do it?" She had a wistful look on her face, biting her bottom lip again dangerously.
"Do what?" I was mildly perplexed. I don't recall doing anything out of the ordinary.
"Talk to people." I watch her and wait for her to tell me she's just bantering. She can't be serious, can she? She stares back at me. "I'm not that great with communicating with people as you can probably tell."
So she was serious.
"You seem pretty fine, you're talking to me right now." I shrug.
"I know, it's weird right?" Her face breaks out into a sloppy half-smile, her lips all red now from all the biting. "I don't know, this may sound silly but it's different with you." She laughs like she couldn't even believe it herself.
That makes me smile as well. It feels different too when I look at her. She's not like the other girls I'm friends with, she's so much more raw and vulnerable.
My next goal is to make her happy. So happy she will never stop showing the world that smile. That gorgeous lop-sided sunshine making smile.
"Let's make a deal." I find myself saying.
She smiles and rolls her eyes, "Another one?"
I nod. "You just have to admit my slightly nerdy socks are amazing and I guess I'll teach you how to 'talk to people'."
She looks down at my socks critically, grins then shakes her head.
"Okay, your dorky socks are...cool,"
"Uh-uh, nerdy not dorky." I reiterate, holding my index finger up and frowning.
She shrugs her shoulders and bats her hand at me. Her nails weren't all done up like the other girls in school, instead, it was bare and bitten short. She had small dainty hands that looked like they'd feel like cotton wool if you held them. "Same difference!"
"Say it."
"Fine. Nerdy!" She cocked her head at me, jauntily raising her eyebrow. "Happy now?"
I chuckle. "Ecstatic, so when do we start?"
I look at my watch and figure out that the lunch period was nearly over. I really didn't see the point of this whole detention/meeting thing but I had no complaints about spending lunch with a gorgeous girl. I hate being a part of large gatherings but if it means being close to Harley-Blair then I guess I'll have to endure it.
"How about Saturday?" She asks shyly. I frown, we still had like 3 days left until the weekend, I didn't want to wait that long to see her again. "Sorry, I just...have a lot of homework and essays to do., you know how English Lit is." She reassures me, reading my facial expression.
"That's cool." I scratch the back of my neck. "So my house or yours?" She looks down and played with the scabby part of her elbow, something that normally would look disgusting on any other human being but was somehow endearing on her.
"We can't do it at mine, it's...getting cleaned." She says, still not meeting my eye. I'm pretty certain she's lying but I decide not to push it. Obviously, she's not comfortable with me coming around and that's fine. However, I do start to panic a little bit inside. I don't have many people come around my house other than Zachy for a reason.
What if she sees Rose and decides that she never wants to see me again? I immediately feel ashamed at that thought. She's my sister and if Harley has a problem with that she isn't the person I thought she was.
"Mine it is then." I try to look pleased but inside worry is eating at my gut. She shines another smile at me again and I notice one of her front two teeth is slightly crooked. How cute?
Fuck, it's that smile, isn't it? Brighter than the moon. I would say stars but the moon is more startling and alluring even when it's 384,400 km away.
"I can hardly wait," She whispers, the words barely leaving her lips. Mrs Innis' voice tries to penetrate the little bubble we made for ourselves, telling us to get out.
But I didn't even care because all I could think about was the outlandishly beautiful, wild-haired, lopsided smile wearing girl in front of me. And I've never felt better.