Chapter 6
In school, it was was like we were strangers to each other. I felt like I didn't even know him. How could this guy I've been knowing for months be a completely different person then what he led me to believe?I don't understand...I don't know what to think? First period was the worst. Since we were partners, we had to communicate to work on the projects.
"Okay ladies and gentlemen!" Mr. Hart announced in his happy-go-lucky greeting. "I hope you all didn't waste your voices yesterday, because today's project is all about team work. So get with your partners, get your supplies, and I'll come around and give you your assignment," he continued.
It was like he knew James and I weren't talking, and he gave this assignement on purpose. I looked at James, but he didn't look back. He hesitated before finally scooted his desk towards me, like he always did when we had a project.
I saw Mr. Hart go to the group next to ours, and it seemed the closer he got to us, the closer it gets to James and I having a full length conversation. There was an ackward pause as we waited for the teacher to get to us.
When Mr. Hart finally came, James shifted his position while he exhaled. "Okay you two," Mr. Hart started, "I want you to work this problem out."
"What?" I asked curiously. How did he know about James and I? Were people talking about it? Mr. Hart just looked at me like I was crazy, after all, I was freaking out all of a sudden. James, for the first time all class period, gave me a confused look also.
I looked at Mr.Hart, then at James, then back at Mr. Hart. "Sorry," I began my apology, "my minds just somewhere else." I looked at James, but he had already turned his head opposite my direction. Mr. Hart laid a card down infront of us. I picked it up and scanned over it before laying it back down on the desk.
How does he expect us to work together? We haven't even talked to each other in days. While he walked away, I shouted for him to return. "Mr. Hart!" He turned around and started back in my direction. "Yes Miss Turner?" he asked. "This problem seems a little difficult. What if we can't solve it?"
James turned to face our teacher, he seemed curious and interested to know the answer as well. "Well," Mr. Hart began while thinking it through. "I'm highly confident that you two will nail this one very easily." He started walking off again, until he was stopped....again.
This time James did the stopping. "But what if she doesn't trust my opinion? What if she believe's someone elses answer over mine, her partner?" He studied the teacher's face with wondering eyes.
Mr. Hart looked at James with a question gaze before answering, "Well, if that was to happen, then--" I cut him off.
"But Mr. Hart, what if that other person's answer makes more sense then what my partner is--"
"That shouldn't matter," James cut me off. "Because we're the ones working together, not you and that other person." Then there was silence between the two of us. We stared at each other with disbelief in our eyes. This is the most we've spoken to each other since our agrument.
Mr. Hart was looking at the two of else, one part of him was excited about how into the "project" we were, while the other part was curious as to why we were so into the "project". "Listen up you guys," he began. "Don't let this one disagreement ruin the whole thing. You two just have to find a way to trust that each other is making the right decision on their part," he started walking away again. He stopped and turned to face us. "Plus, if you two don't work out this little debate, then, well, you're just going to fail the project." He finally walked back over to his desk.
James picked up the card, studied it for a minute, then handed it to me. "Let's just get this over with," he suggested while getting out some paper and a pencil. I agreed while I got up to get the supplies.
An hour of silence passed by slowly, and James and I didn't even make eye contact for the rest of the class. It's like we weren't even partners. I noticed Porsha glancing over at us every other minute with a devious smile. When the bell rung, everyone was relieved as they rushed out of the classroom.
James, as always, took his time packing his things back in his bag. It always amazed me at how calmly and patiently he gets his things together and manages to make it to his classes on time. We were the last two in the room when I finally started to leave.
As I headed towards the door, I stopped and turned to face him. "How long are we gonna keep avoiding each other? Until God knows how long?" I asked beggingly. He stood up and swung his backpack over his shoulder.
"That was my plan," he confessed while walking pass me.
He didn't look me in the eyes, it was as if he didn't want me to read him. I glanced around the room, trying to built up some strength to ask my next question. Once he passed me, I asked, "So what now? Is it over between us?" He stopped, crossed his arms over his chest, and leaned against a desk that was next to the door.
"Are you sure you wanna hear my opinion, or did you wanna go run it by Porsha first? Since apparentally, her word is more valuable than mine," he replied hateful. He made sure to make eye contact with every word he spoke.
I could tell he wanted those words to hurt me, he wanted them to pierce into my heart and kill me painfully and slowly, the sad thing about was....they did. It took everything I had not to let that pain reach my eyes. I tried to keep my composure while walking towards the door. "I'll take that as a yes," was all I said before leaving him in the room alone. I could've sworn I heard him mutter something along the lines of 'damn it', but I kept walking.
As I walked into Mr. Gomez's classroom, the seats were already getting filled. I made my way to my desk as the late bell rung. The guy who sat next to me gave a little smile as I sat down, like he did everytime he saw me. I wonder why I never had a conversation with him before?
He seems nice enough.....I was in my own train of thoughts when I was interrupted Mr. Gomez. "Miss Turner!" he shouted towards me while everyone jumped at the unexpected volume in his voice. All of a sudden all eyes were on me, and I knew he was about to ask me a question. "Can you describe to me how your day is going?"
"Um....my day is--"
"In Spanish....if you don't mind," he cut me off. I could hear giggles coming from the girls behind me. I glanced at my friendly neighbor, he seemed to be waiting to see if I was going to mess up.
"Oh...okay," I agreed while adjusting my sitting position so that I was sitting straight up. "Soy tenga....a....adecuada dia?" I took a wild guess as the class grew quiet so they can here the teacher's reaction.
To everyone's surprise, including mine, a appreciative smile crossed Mr. Gomez's face. "That's very good Tracey.....I'm impressed," he explained while turnin to face the board.
As he began to write my sentence on the board, I glanced at my neighbor again. He congratulated me by nodding his head and clapping his hands softly. "Now!" Mr. Gomez shouted when he was finished writing my sentence, and again, everyone jumped. "Who can translate that?"
During lunch, I sat at the usual table with Yvette and some of our friends. As I sat down, they all had their eyes set on me. They stared at me suspiciously before the questions started flowing out. "What's going on with you and your beau?" Daisey asked, she seemed a little anxious to hear some bad news.
"Nothing's going on," I lied while looking at Yvette. She could always tell when I'm lying.
"That bad, huh?" Janay asked bluntly; I heard the hidden message behind it. I shook my head and chuckled under my breath. These girls are way to observent.
"What makes you think there's something wrong with James and I?" I asked before taking a sip of my drink.
"Well," Amanda began. "He doesn't come in here as much as he use to...." They all nodded their head in agreement.
"Yeah, and we can sense when there's trouble in paradise," Tiara reassured me.
They all started talking at once. I heard a lot of 'raining on parades' and 'bumps in roads', I couldn't make out the rest because they were talking so fast and all at once. "Ladies, ladies, ladies!" Yvette intervened, trying to settle them down. "Obviously she doesn't want to talk about it. So let's just do the unthinkable and, I don't know, not talk about it," she suggested sarcastically as she glanced at everyone to make sure they were listening.
They all agreed and quickly started on a new topic. All of a sudden, I spotted my Spanish class neighbor across the cafeteria. He was sitting with a bunch of his friends I didn't recognize. Has he always had this lunch? Why don't I know his name?
He must've felt my eyes on him because he looked up and gave me a smile and a wave. The girls must've noticed me looking off in the distance, because when they followed the direction my eyes were, they let out a loud gaspe. "You're flirting with him!" Tiara shouted softly only for our table to hear. It made me break my gaze.
"What? No! No, I was just--" I tried to explain vaguely until Daisey cut me off.
"Making a long distance eye contact with an extremely hot guy!" she whispered-yelled.
"Who is that extremely hot guy?" Yvette raised her eyebrow while looking in his direction. Good thing he's not looking anymore.
"He's just some guy in my Spanish class," I informed them.
"Well, does this guy in your Spanish class have a guy name?" Amanda asked curiously. They all were still admiring him while I told them I don't know. Five faces snapped right around to me when I said that.
"What do you mean 'I don't know his name'?" Tiara retorted while imitating my voice.
"You've had a class with him for months now, and you don't know as much as his name?" Janay questioned. I didn't say anything, not because I didn't know what to say, but because it was true. How can you be in the same classroom with someone pratically a full semester and not know their name?