© Sandra Corton 2014
Chapter 2 – People are never where you expect them to be
“You need to tell me who that girl was.” Isaac demanded but his sister just let out a snort of disbelieving laughter.
“Which one? You sure kissed a lot today. That’s okay though cause you sure got our dance club a whole lot of moolah.” Hayley grinned and rubbed her hands together.
“The dorky one with the stupid, massive cardigan and huge glasses.” Isaac replied as he steered the car into their driveway.
Hayley felt her mouth pop open in shock at his description. Could he possibly mean Kayla? No surely, he meant someone else. Then she recalled the look on her brother’s face when Kayla ran off. He had appeared extremely disappointed and just a bit peeved. Hayley had just put it down to her friend’s inexperience with kissing, but maybe she had it all wrong.
A smile lit her face in reminder of shy Kayla taking on her brother, the well-known player. Her friends had been shocked when Kayla actually went through with kissing him instead of bolting in the opposite direction. They had been trying to get there dance teammate to come out of her shell for such a long time. Hayley was proud to have instigated the move now.
“Awesome description there, it must have been love at first sight.” Hayley said dryly, trying to hide her evident excitement. She was immensely surprised when Isaac sighed and looked a little dreamy as he turned off the engine.
“Not quite but it was one hell of a kiss.” He told her and Hayley froze in her seat.
Doubts assailed her; there was no way he could be talking about Kayla now. She didn’t really seem like the ‘hell of a kiss’ type of girl. She was too nice and sweet to have made her brother moon over a single kiss.
“So out of all those twittering morons today, how many did you ever want to kiss again?” Hayley tentatively dipped her toes into her brother’s love life, which she had never done before.
“The only one worth remembering was her. So what’s her name?” Isaac asked as they got out of the car. He didn’t like the mischievous look in his sister’s eyes as she scrambled from the car.
“That’s for me to know and you to figure out.” Hayley said sweetly.
She rushed to the front door and got it open as quickly as she could before racing for her room. She heard Isaac cursing from behind her but she didn’t dare let him catch her. Once she locked herself in her room with Isaac hammering on the door, she let out a flurry of giggles.
He finally gave up but not before threatening some bodily harm. She just laughed thinking about her brother’s predicament. It was about time he went searching for someone that gave his life meaning. Even Hayley knew how well known he was to most of the girls at school. They always swooned over him so much that it was sickening to watch.
She had heard all the rumours about how much of a player her brother was. How he broke hearts as quickly as he got a new girl. Hayley had even had to endure the tears of a few of his ex-girlfriends, when they turned up sobbing outside her front door.
She knew Isaac’s failing though and the reason why he would never be happy. He only ever looked at the outside package. He knew the names of every popular or pretty girl, she was sure he had all their phone numbers to prove it too.
Yet he didn’t know Kayla, even though Hayley and Kayla had spent so much time together over the years. She couldn’t believe her brother was so blind to everyone but the pretty people he only spent time with. Kayla had always been here and yet Isaac remained oblivious. It made Hayley mad to think of the fact that he was now trying to find out who Kayla was, even though she had been there all that time.
He had never once noticed her though. They would swap greetings politely but that would be about it. He was blind to someone that was truly beautiful, inside and out. So she had a bit of a hat obsession that Hayley didn’t really understand but everyone had their quirks.
She let out a sigh at how superficial Isaac could be. Then again, maybe this whole situation would help him to see a different light. Kayla could actually be good for her brother. She grinned to herself then as a plan came together in her mind. There was no way Isaac was going to discover who Kayla was too quickly, it was about time her brother learnt some patience.
At breakfast the next morning, Isaac looked beyond agitated and sleep deprived. No amount of threats, begging or bribing had gotten him any closer to the name of the girl he had kissed.
Hayley wasn’t even giving him any hints; she just sat there smiling smugly at him. It was starting to drive him crazy that the only thing on his mind was that girl and the kiss between them.
He had never been one to chase girls; he found that he never really had to. Girls just came to him. He knew he sounded like some pompous jackass but it was the truth. Girls had always wanted to hang around him and there was no way he was going to refuse them.
Yesterday had changed things for him without him even realising. He wanted a specific girl to pay attention to him and he wouldn’t be happy until she did. All he wanted was her name and he couldn’t even get that!
“You gotta give me something Hayles.” Isaac pleaded as his sister poured herself some cereal.
“What so some other girl spends her night crying over you? Yeah I don’t think so.” Hayley snapped her fingers at her brother who grimaced.
“It won’t be like that this time.” Isaac promised but his sister just snorted.
“I’ll give you one hint; she doesn’t fit into your normal thoughts of girls. She won’t flash her boobs at you or wear the tightest skirt.” Hayley said around a mouthful of food and Isaac huffed in annoyance.
“You think I don’t know that? She was wearing then most hideous clothes I’ve ever seen.” Isaac grouched making his sister laugh.
“Tell me exactly what she looked like.” Hayley demanded pointedly.
“She had the longest black hair I think I’ve ever seen. She wouldn’t really look at me for long but those eyes of hers were the palest green.” He smiled in thought at the memory while Hayley let out a breath.
She had been right he did mean Kayla! She quickly controlled the need to let out a triumphant scream; she couldn’t give things away that easily. Instead, she grinned into her cereal. Life was about to get very interesting indeed.
“So do you know her? Are you going to tell me her name?” Isaac asked eagerly.
“I dunno, she doesn’t really sound that familiar to me.” Hayley answered vaguely, finding it hard to suppress a knowing look.
“Damn I was hoping you knew her.” Isaac muttered.
“Yeah obviously, you’ve been harassing me about it since yesterday.” Hayley rolled her eyes at her brother.
“Why is your brother harassing you?” Mum walked into the room with her power suit on, ready for another day at her desk.
“It doesn’t matter Mum.” Isaac hastily threw in before Hayley could say a word.
“It’s about his true love Mum.” Hayley whispered as loudly as she could, making her mother smile.
“Get your bag Hayes and lets go.” Isaac said on a groan.
The ride to school was surprisingly silent. Hayley had assumed that Isaac would try to bug her even more about Kayla but he kept quiet. His jaw ticked as though he was deep in thought so she left him alone.
“Don’t forget to pick me up from dance class.” Hayley reminded her brother as she got out of the car at school.
“Its normally Monday, Wednesday and Thursday Hayles, I haven’t forgotten.” Isaac told her in a grumbling tone as he glanced around the car park.
“Good to know, by the way good luck with your search.” Hayley left with a laugh then.
Isaac strode across to where his friends were. Girls left and right were offering him smiles and waves, which he returned rather half-heartedly. None of them was the girl he was searching for.
He greeted his friend Jay with a fist pump before looking around the rest of the senior area. He frowned to himself then, wondering if this girl was even a senior. He couldn’t remember ever seeing her face before or all that long, luscious black hair.
He snapped himself from his daydream when it occurred to him that she was probably still a junior, like Hayley. He hadn’t believed his sister at breakfast, her cheeky smirk had given her away. She knew exactly whom he was searching for but due to some obscure reason she was keeping it to herself.
It made sense for her to be a junior, especially when he considered that it probably was one of Hayley’s friends. That could make things rather awkward for them though. Still, he refused to consider it until he had at least figured out who she was.
He strained his mind to try to recall any of her friends but had no luck. All her friends had become a blur to him after a while. They were the ones he picked up from dance class three times a week because the other person that could drive was unable to. It put a dent in his social life some days but he loved his sister, even when she was being a painful little snot.
“Looking for someone?” A sultry feminine voice said from next to him and he wanted to cringe.
“Hey there Melissa.” He forced a smile, which the girl seemed to take as encouragement.
“Hi Isaac.” Melissa flipped her hair behind her shoulders and preened for him. “So I was thinking it might be cool if we hung out on the weekend.” Melissa invited as she stroked a finger along his arm.
“Sorry I’m busy.” Isaac pulled away from the girl, barely glancing at her determined face.
Melissa was just one of those girls that never seemed to get the message. He was just not into the whole relationship deal, all it seemed to do was make people’s lives more stressful. He wanted to live it up while he could, to play the field and enjoy his life. There was no way he was being tied down to some girl.
“So who are you looking for?” Jay asked with amusement once Melissa had stormed off.
“This girl I kissed at the booth.” Isaac blurted out before feeling like an idiot for saying anything.
“That must have been an awesome day yesterday.” Jay said enviously as he slapped a hand onto his friends back.
“Well at least one kiss was.” Isaac muttered as he scanned the uniformed faces.
“She must be pretty hot for you to be chasing her.” Jay raised an eyebrow at his friend’s uncharacteristic behaviour but Isaac said nothing.
All day he searched for her face but none seemed to be hers. Anyone with the dorky type glasses she had worn got a second glimpse but he was always dissatisfied. Nobody here even slightly resembled the girl he was looking for.
Later that afternoon, feeling despondent he drove to pick Hayley up from dance class. He cursed his bad luck repeatedly and thumped the steering wheel. He finally found a girl that he felt something with and she didn’t even seem to go to his school. He got out of the car and paced around, not sure what move he should make next.
He glanced over to where a bunch of chattering girls streamed from the doorway of the building. Isaac sighed wondering how many he would be taking home today. Hayley was always generous with offering even though some of them lived within walking distance to here.
When he saw a familiar grey cardigan in amongst the crowd, he had to rub his eyes in case he was seeing a mirage. He stood there gaping at her. He was seeing her as a single person for the first time rather than someone paying for a kiss from him.
She wasn’t the most stunning looking girl but something drew him to her. The cardigan swallowed her figure but he knew what she felt like in his arms. She had seemed petite and delicate but still nicely rounded. Her black hair swished back in a long ponytail with her dorky glasses still in place.
He finally snapped out of his blatant staring to put his best, charming grin in place. He strode across to them as the group excitedly called out his name and gathered around him. The two that kept their distance was his sister and the one girl he actually wanted to talk to.
“Hey girls.” He said to the group while looking only at her.
She looked a little panicked so he sent her a wink. That became his biggest mistake of the day as she backed away from him and the crowd surrounding him. Crud that was the last thing he wanted. Her face turned bright red as she mumbled something to his sister.
Another step away had her standing next to a silvery, older car that he recognised. He had seen the car in the school lot so surely she went to his school. His triumphant feeling faded at the awkward, intimidated look on her face. That look struck him as familiar. He realised he had seen this girl before, quite often in fact but he couldn’t place where.
He never got a chance to say anything to her though. She used the distraction of the other girls to get in her car and drive away. Her hand waved out the window to Hayley and her friends but she totally ignored his presence.
Disappointment shot through him followed closely by fury at his sister. He had known by his sister’s evasiveness that she knew exactly who the girl was. He never thought it would be one of her dance buddies. He couldn’t believe his sister had been stringing him along like that!
“Who’s your friend that’s leaving Hayles?” His words came out rough as Hayley froze before sending him a devilish smile.
“You would know if you ever paid attention to us normal girls.” Hayley replied scathingly while her other friends moved swiftly back, sensing an impending fight.
They had all seen Hayley and Isaacs arguments over the many years of dance class. All her friends knew that they never ended well at all. They were well aware that Kayla was normally the mediator in their fights. Without her there, things could go bad very quickly. Soon enough it was only Isaac and Hayley left standing there, eyeing each other off.
“You know her! She goes to your dance class.” Isaac shouted, pointing his finger firmly at his sister.
“Yeah I do but she doesn’t want to end up like every other girl you’ve dated.” Hayley told him as she got in the car and slammed the door.
“I’m not that bad.” Isaac hissed through clenched teeth.
“You’re not that good either! She has been in this car so many times; you’ve even dropped her off at her house. You never once noticed her though did you? You only saw her once you’ve kissed her.” Hayley ranted.
Just as Isaac went to let his fury go, he realised that she was in fact right. He couldn’t ever remember giving a lift to the girl, he was now chasing. He had been to her house, yet he had no recollection of it. Why was it that he had never seen her before? Why had he never noticed her before today?
She had somehow seemed to blend in so well as to be completely looked over. Even now as he struggled with his memory, all he could see was their kiss. She may have looked familiar but Isaac had no idea where from. Why was this girl hiding so badly that he couldn’t even place her?
“Damn you’re right.” He said on a sigh as he shook his head.
“No duh.” She huffed, crossing her arms and glaring at him.
“So tell me her name.” Isaac asked softly but insistently.
“Hell no! Figure it out for yourself.” Hayley replied defiantly. As Isaac went to voice his protest, she swished a hand at him to be quiet. “Do you think she’s pretty? What does she like to do? What’s her hobbies or her favourite book?” Hayley demanded while Isaac felt his mouth drop open.
He knew it was lame but he never really thought about what girls did with their time. It had never been important before. Thinking about it, he did want to know this girls favourite book, no matter what it was. He wanted to know more about her than just the physical aspect he normally craved.
“These are questions I can ask when we go out on a date.” Isaac insisted as he mused over his sister’s words. And yeah she is kind of pretty in a cute way. If she lost the damn cardigan, she would look heaps better.”
“Geez you’re so damn shallow! I’m almost ashamed to be related to you.” Hayley said savagely as she glared at her brother.
“What does that even mean?” Isaac asked in a hurt tone.
“That cardigan was her Dad’s. She doesn’t see him much and it’s her way of keeping him close.” Hayley answered before her eyes went wide and she cracked her teeth together.
“Where’s her Dad then?” Isaac asked feeling surprisingly moved by Hayley’s words.
“I’m not giving you any more ammunition.” She snapped and turned her face to the window.
“C’mon Hayles, at least give me her name.” Isaac pleaded but she shook her head violently.
“If you can’t figure out who she is then I sure as hell aren’t going to tell you!” Hayley grouched at him.
Isaac knew from the stubborn set of her jaw that he would have no chance at changing his sister’s mind. He grumbled to himself and drove them home. She refused to even mention the girl again, no matter how much Isaac tried to get anything out of her.
It wasn’t until later that it dawned on him that he now knew where to find this girl. It was as simple as picking Hayley up from dance class. He grinned to himself then, his mood restored. He now had a plan and he knew it would work.