After last nights events, I'm feeling rather tired, which is why I end up late to my first class: Life Skills.
The teacher makes me sit somewhere up the back and I'm too busy rubbing my eyes and yawning to even notice who I'm being seated with. It's only until this person says hello that I realise who it is.
"Oh, hey," I smile, taking in his athletic features, his brown hair and his gorgeous brown eyes.
"Why were you late?" Bailey asks.
"Aren't I giving it away? I'm really tired. I went to bed later than usual, woke up at, like, three and woke up before my alarm," I reply, struggling to hold in a yawn. "Therefore, not much sleep."
Bailey chuckles, his lips quirking upwards. "Every teenager's nightmare; waking up before their alarm."
At that, I laugh too, happiness bubbling inside me. "Yeah."
Talking to Bailey has become increasingly easy, the more we actually interact. I know a lot of his friends disapprove of him talking to me, but he is the grade's most popular guy, so no one is going to contradict him.
To his face, at least.
I have heard some of his friends - ones that aren't as close as Steven and Newt - say that Bailey's an absolute idiot, talking to the far girl like they're friends. It has not only slightly damaged Bailey's image in their eyes, but it has majorly damaged my image and my 'title'. Now, some people are calling me a hooker. Of course, they probably got the idea from Bianca who would have overheard Steven on the first day back.
To much dismay, I bring myself back into the room.
My timing is perfect because our teacher, Miss Finch, is telling us about an assignment.
"So, this assignment will be a partner assignment," Miss Finch says. Students perk up and look at their friends, smiling. I curse the teacher under my breath. "And I will be choosing partners."
The class groans and smiles vanish. My spirits lift slightly, knowing that I won't be left without a partner.
"Please just talk amongst yourselves while I get your partners sorted out," Miss Finch moves over to her desk and starts tapping away at her computer.
Suddenly remembering why I'm so tired, I grab out my phone and text Eddie.
Hey, I'm allowed to hang out on the weekend. I'm actually allowed to go out whenever I want now. :)
I quickly slip my phone back into the pocket of my jeans before anyone can dob me in. I glance around and see Bailey staring right at me.
"Who's Eddie?" he asks, his voice stern. He fixes me with a gaze and I'm confused as to why he looks so angry and, well, jealous.
"Um, he's a friend of mine. We both work at KFC," I reply, not taking my eyes off his. My heart starts beating faster the longer we stare at each other.
You're just panicking cause you don't want him to be angry with you, the little voice inside me reassures.
"Right," Bailey sighs, turning away for a second before he turns back. "Excited for this partner work?"
"Nope." The answer is quick to escape my mouth.
Bailey chuckles, throwing his head back slightly. I see his perfect teeth as his lips curl into a smile.
"That was a quick answer," he says, raising a thick eyebrow.
"Yeah, I don't really like partner work because I'm usually left without a partner."
"That's not very good."
I shrug. "You get used to it."
"I'm sure you do."
Bailey and I sit silently. Well, I do at least. Bailey turns to the person beside him and they start chatting. I'm left to stare at a wall.
"OK. Attention, please!" Miss Finch calls from the front. She has a piece of paper in her left hand and is holding up her right.
Chatter ceases around the room and everyone has their eyes on Miss Finch.
"So this assignment is a partner assignment, as you know, and I have paired you up with people I think you don't interact with much and will be able to work well with. If you have any dramas about your partner, please feel free to see me after class."
Miss Finch reads out names from her piece of paper. People look around and glance at their partners, some disappointed while others look ecstatic.
"Um, Bianca and..." Miss Finch peers closer at the paper while I silently pray to God that it's not my name she's trying to read. "Ah, Chase."
I let out a sigh of relief and sink lower in my chair. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Bailey glance at me and smile, his shoulders shaking slightly; he's laughing.
Sitting up, I tap him on his bicep. He looks at me, an eyebrow raised, and I turn my palms up, giving him a questioning look. He shakes his head and I assume that means 'don't worry about it'.
"We have Bailey and Martina," Miss Finch calls. "And I believe that's everyone. Who doesn't have a partner?"
Everyone looks around but there are no hands raised.
"Good. Now, everyone, this assignment is about body image and body positivity and what pressure society is putting on body image. I will hand out the task sheet and then you can find your partner and start working," Miss Finch grabs a stack of paper from her desk and starts handing them out to everyone.
Well, this is great... a fat girl and an athletic boy doing an assignment about body positivity and body image and society telling us we have to look a certain way to be accepted.
See how great this is?
Once Miss Finch hands Bailey and me a task sheet, we decide to migrate to the corner of the room and sit on the floor.
"OK, so let's go through this task sheet," Bailey says, focusing on the paper.
I watch Bailey as he reads, his lips moving to each word. His hair doesn't fall in his face as he reads, unlike some other boys.
I think back to Eddie; his hair wouldn't fall in his face either. I start to wonder if we'll do anything else after we see a movie. If we're still seeing a movie.
I must have zoned out for a bit because Bailey is clicking his fingers in front of my face, obviously trying to get my attention.
"Martina," he says.
"Oh gosh, I'm so sorry. I zoned out. I was just thinking," I shake my head as if to shake out my thoughts.
"That's alright," Bailey smiles at me. "OK, so it asks us to write a five-hundred to seven-hundred-word report about what we think about body image and being positive and society and all that other stuff."
"Alright," I say, suddenly feeling slightly uncomfortable. Maybe it's because we have such contrasting body types.
"So, I'll make a document and then I'll share it with you so we can both access it," Bailey gets up and grabs his computer, coming back with it already open.
"Right," he says, his eyes glued to the computer. Glancing at me, he smiles and pats the space beside him. I scoot over and watch him as he opens a document.
"OK," Bailey looks over at me. "What should we do first?"
I sigh, "Well, obviously we're going to need a plan. What are we going to talk about? Are we going to need to back anything up with scientific evidence? Are we doing firsthand experiences? Like, our own experiences? How do we set it out? We also need to look at the criteria and we're going to need to work on it outside of school because this is due in three weeks and I'm sure we're going to have more assignments if we're getting a Life Skills assignment. Life Skills. Since we're two different body types - you're fit, I'm fat - I feel like we can give a really good insight into our own personal thoughts and really-"
I stop at the sight of Bailey yawning. I mean, gold medal, bro. You didn't fall asleep completely.
"I'm so sorry," I face-palm myself. "I have a tendency to ramble on if you hadn't already noticed. I'm surprised you're still awake."
"Nah, it's alright," Bailey waves his hand as if shooing away a problem. "Those were some really good points though."
Beaming, I say, "Great! Well, let's get started."
Life Skills flies by and Bailey and I have already planned to meet up tomorrow afternoon to work on the assignment. I think it's going to go really well. Bailey and I seem to be interacting way more than usual. Especially for the popular boy and fat girl. I guess that we could be classed as friends.
I'm currently at lunch sitting on the oval with Thomas and Samuel and his group. There's Layla, who has really long hair, Teddy and George - I didn't even know they were in the same group - and Freya.
"Samo, do you have English next?" Thomas asks.
Now, this... this catches me completely off guard. Heart thumping in my chest, I look over at Thomas. He's sitting closely to Samuel - or Samo, as Thomas now likes to call him - so that they're arms are touching. Sadness wells up inside me and I can't help but furrow my brows in anger.
I don't have any lunch today; I 'forgot' to pack it. Therefore, I have no food to take my anger out on. Dammit.
"Uh, yeah I think I do, actually," Samuel replies, nodding.
"Great!" Thomas claps his hands together. "You can sit with Martina and me."
Wow. So as soon as he starts using Samuel's new nickname, I instantly lose mine.
Layla and Freya start up a conversation with me about celebrities that they think are hot. I feel comfortable talking about who I think is hot because Layla also has some chub on her. I would always get uncomfortable when Tiffany talked about her celebrity crushes because she was always so skinny and flawless. I thought because I was fat, I wasn't allowed to crush on celebrities. But I threw that rule out the window years ago.
"What do you think of Dwayne Johnson?" Freya asks, twirling a finger around her fire-like red hair.
"Oh my gosh, so hot!" Layla squeals.
"Marsh?" Freya smiles at me. She and Layla started calling me Marsh because it's similar to my name and apparently I'm cute like a marshmallow. I'm also chubby like one.
"I think he's really hot," I say, blushing.
The girls and I giggle.
"Chris Pratt?" I suggest.
Layla's eyes widen and her mouth drops. "He's a fucking god. I love him."
"She has a bit of an obsession," Freya stage-whispers to me.
"I might be able to relate," I stage-whisper back.
"I'm going to triple that thought," Freya says, laughing.
I throw my head back in laughter. These two girls have got to be the best medicine when you're feeling down. They're so upbeat that my worries and anger about Thomas have subsided.
"Did you guys hear that?" It's George. The boys are all looking at Layla, Freya and me expectantly.
"Sorry," Layla says, "but we were a bit busy in our own conversation."
"Yeah, OK, but this so important," Teddy adds.
"What is it?" I ask, rather intrigued.
"The swimming carnival has been moved to tomorrow," Samuel explains.
Well, shit.