Chapter 2 - Liz
The new guy leaves me standing in the middle of the courtyard, looking like a complete idiot.
I think it's safe to say that I pretty much love everyone, right off the bat. But that guy? I'm not sure I even like him.
Everyone's either watching him walk away, or watching me look stupid. My eyes scan the crowd of onlookers, all of which I've talked to at least more than once.
"Ha ha, you're so funny!" I burst out all of a sudden, slapping my knee for effect. I turn around to face the new guy's back. "Killer joke, really!"
The new guy stops at the top of the steps of the main building, and flashes me another smirk. I mean, he smirked at me like a bajillion times in the past five minutes. It could be possible that it's just his face.
I'd call him a jerk, but I just met him. He deserves a chance.
After staring at me for a little while longer, everyone goes back to their normal thing. All of the cliques at Riverside are so tightly knit. There's never a single person out of place.
Except for me.
Yeah sure, I'm friendly with everyone, but I'm not exactly friends with anyone. Everyone's just an acquaintance. I guess I could say I have a few friends I talk to outside of school, mostly the kids in my art and music classes. But aside from that, I'm not close to anyone. I don't belong to a clique.
Partly, I think it's because I'm here on scholarship.
Yes, I know, it's terribly cliched. Oh, the poor scholarship girl, an outsider simply because she can't afford to pay for school. I can't even count how many books and movies I've seen that star the girl on scholarship.
But you know what? I don't let it stop me. And apparently, no one else does, either. Everyone accepts me, just because I'm nice. I'm friendly. I'm social. I just like being around people, and essentially, I trust everyone. No one's ever been mean to me or even the slightest bit rude.
Which is probably why I didn't know how to act when the new guy was.
After thinking about him, I pull myself out of my thoughts. I don't wanna think about him too much. If he doesn't like me, big deal. I can live with having one person out of the entire school not like me.
I guess I was on auto-pilot, because I'm sitting in my usual seat in first period already. I look around at my fellow math students, who are all turned around in their chairs, talking to the person behind them or next to them. That's what sucks about sitting in the front. So I turn around with a huge grin on my face, ready to talk to the person behind me.
Oh wow. Should've seen that coming.
There, raising one dark eyebrow at me, is the new kid. His pale blue eyes are trained on mine, as if he's trying to figure me out. It unnerves me. I don't know what to say. I just stare at him and he just stares back.
Eventually, I chicken out and turn around.
"Good morning, everyone," Mr. Polansky says as he walks in. He always makes this grand entrance, throwing the door open, causing this huge whoosh of air.
"Good morning, Mr. Polansky," the class replies. We don't drone or anything, we like Mr. Polansky.
"So, as it turns out, there's a new student," he says, adjusting his glasses to look down at his class roster. I feel kind of fidgety all of a sudden.
"Where are you, Mr. Garrett Thompson?" Mr. Polansky narrows his eyes at the class, adjusting his glasses again. The poor man can't even see correctly, and still, the new guy behind me - apparently named Garrett - makes no move to introduce himself.
I whip around in my seat. Garrett gives me a bored look.
"What?" he mouths to me. My eyes widen and I jab my thumb at Mr. Polansky.
"Get up and introduce yourself," I snap. Garrett suddenly looks amused. I huff and turn back to the front of the class.
I still don't dislike Garrett. Not yet.
And he still doesn't move.
"Ah! There you are, Mr. Thompson," Mr. Polansky says, raising his hands as if he just made a ground-breaking discovery. He gestures to the front of the class. "Please, introduce yourself."
Now it's my turn to be amused. Garrett sighs quietly behind me and gets up, walking to the front of the class. I notice his shirt. It's a band tee, and I like the band on it. I approve.
See? I've still got a chance to like this guy.
"So, umm..." he trails off kind of awkwardly, shoving his hands into his pockets. So he's a bit shy. Hmm.
"I'm Garrett Thompson," he says. He gives the class a little wave, and the class waves back. I hear a few girls giggling in the background. I beam at him as he walks back to his seat.
Once Mr. Polansky starts teaching, I turn around in my seat to face Garrett. I'm still smiling.
"Great introduction," I say. I'm not sarcastic or anything. I'm never sarcastic out loud. It's too mean.
Obviously, Garrett doesn't think so. He gives me a flat look. It sends me reeling.
"I'm not being sarcastic, I promise!" I whisper, not wanting to interrupt Mr. Polansky. "I'm telling the truth."
"What's wrong with you?" Garrett asks. My eyebrows shoot up.
It's not exactly rude, but it's not exactly friendly. I think he genuinely believes there's something wrong with me.
"Nothing," I say, frowning a bit. "Why...?"
"Why are you so friendly? Don't you have boundaries?"
My frown deepens. "Well, I do, I'm just..."
"Why are you talking to me?"
I look up at him. "Because I like you. I talk to people I like."
This seems to throw Garrett off. He cocks his head to the side, frowning slightly.
"You like me," he says. He wants affirmation. I nod.
"Yes," I say seriously.
"Yet you don't know me," he continues. I nod again.
"Exactly," I reply.
"So you're saying, that you like everyone."
Again, I nod.
Garrett suddenly bursts into laughter. I gasp, immediately turning back around in my seat. Mr. Polansky turns away from the board to look at us.
"Mr. Thompson and Ms. Beckett, pay attention please," he says. I just nod, sinking down a bit in my chair. Garrett's still chuckling behind me.
In fact, he practically laughs his way through the entire class.
When the bell rings for next period, he gets up and leaves, without even saying a word to me. I scoff and follow him.
"Hey! Wanna tell me what was so funny?" I say, grabbing his jacket sleeve. He looks down at me, confused for a second, then smirks.
"When you tell me what I said that was so funny, you know, before school," he replies smoothly. I huff.
"It was a cover-up!" I defend. Garrett laughs.
"It sucked," he says. I purse my lips and furrow my eyebrows.
"You're not really the nicest person," I tell him seriously. He feigns hurt.
"Can you hear that? It's the sound of my heart breaking!"
"You know, I take back what I said. I don't like you."
"Good."
"And you're... you're kind of a jerk."
"Ouch."
"Why can't you just be friendly? At least, be nice."
Garrett stops walking and turns around to face me. He even brings himself down to eye-level with me. His expression is smug and amused and just a mixture of things that annoy me. Not that I'd say that out loud.
"Because, princess," he says the word in a derogatory way, "I'm not fake, like you are."
With that, he walks away for the second time today.