“WOW, LOOK AT YOUR eye bags!” Abby exclaimed.
We were at the hallway and I was arranging the books in my locker.
“I had a bad dream last night,” I yawned. Man, nightmares make me feel tired! I didn’t even get enough sleep.
“Where’s Precious?” I asked. Wasn’t she here right beside me just a second ago? Or are my eyes playing tricks on me and showing me holographic images?! Naah!
“Oh, she just left. Didn’t you hear her leave?”
“No,”
“Well, she said she was going to Seth’s locker. They’re probably making out right now,” Abby said, sticking out her tongue.
“Ew! You didn’t have to tell me that you know,” I said.
Abby giggled, “Yeah, I know. Just wanted to lift your mood up,”
“Yeah, thanks for telling me that our best friend is sucking faces with her boyfriend. I sure feel much better,” I said sarcastically.
We walked together to our next class that we have together but we weren’t even halfway through the hallway when we saw Seth and Precious. With Jared.
What on earth?!
“Hey, Kelsie!” Seth called. He was spinning a big orange basket ball on the tips of his fingers. I always wondered how he could do that.
Seth was the basketball captain last year. He has dark brown hair and tanned skin. His height of six three makes me feel like a dwarf when I stand next to him. I wonder how Precious deals with that considering that she’s FOUR inches smaller than me. His blue-gray eyes looked at me. He was not actually my type but I have to admit Precious has good taste when it comes to boys. He was walking with his hand around Precious and right beside him was the man of my dreams.
“Have you met my bud, Jared?” he said punching Jared lightly on the arm.
“Yeah,” I said nervously.
“We’re on our way to our classes. You two wanna join us?” Precious said, raising an eyebrow up. I knew where she was getting at. I exhaled heavily. “Jared already walked his girlfriend to her class.” She whispered to me while raising her eyebrows higher as if to say, His girlfriend’s not here! Make a move!
“Um, okay. Sure” Abby answered for me.
Precious and Abby nattered on and on with Seth chiming in occasionally. That left me and Jared silent.
I permitted myself to take one glance of him.
Big mistake.
There he was with those, sweet, irresistible dreamy blue eyes, skin flushed white, stretched over a tall, muscular frame and a face that was all sharp angles. All traces of childish roundness gone.
God, he was so cute I felt like I couldn’t breathe!
I took in his faded Diesel jeans and the pale yellow Oxford that he wore over a collared shirt. His Converse shoes completed his totally-laid-back outfit.
“Hey,” he said.
I wanted to yell at him. Why doesn’t Jared realize that I have trouble uttering words longer than two syllables when he’s around? Doesn’t he know the adoring effect he has on every girl in this school? And he’s only been in this school for two days! Plus, he has a girlfriend. What’s the matter with this boy?
“You look pretty today,” he complimented me. A group of sophomore girls hanging by their lockers started giggling and whispering to each other when Jared glanced at their direction.
I felt my heart stop beating.
What. Did. He. Just. Say?
A big lump started to form in my throat and my cheeks felt like it was going to melt right off my face.
“Thanks,” I managed to say even though I was about to faint right here this very second.
I guess that top I bought yesterday really did its magic!
“You look good too.”
After Precious, Seth and Abby went of to their respective classes, Jared offered to help me carry my books to my Spanish class.
I tried to concentrate even though my heart was slamming against my chest.
We continued to walk down the hallway in silence until we reached the classroom.
He gave me back my books and said “Later, Kels.”
Then he walked away to his next class, English, with his hands in his pockets.
While he was walking away, I saw the head cheerleader, Brooke Johnson, strut by him and eye Jared as if he was a specimen she was studying.
Brooke is this super hot, model-like senior that everyone looks up to—except me, Abby and Precious. Her dad owns one of the biggest companies in California and she’s just as snotty and spoiled like the other rich girls.
She gave him a quick but flirtatious wink that says Hey you’re cute, and walked, no strutted, away. It’s pretty obvious that she likes him.
I felt a surge of jealousy pass through my veins. Of all the things I hate are flirty, vain girls who think they can get everything they want!
“Ms. Lewis, the class is about to start. Would you mind getting inside?”
I turned around and saw Mr. Estevez standing behind me, his arms folded across his chest. His face was stern as he raised his eyebrows at me.
“Well?” he said.
“Sorry Mr. Estevez,” I mumbled and walked to my seat.
Paper airplanes were thrown everywhere, girls were chatting like there was no tomorrow, some were having a spitball fight while a couple was busy “sucking faces” at the corner of the room.
“Class!” Mr. Estevez shouted.
No one stopped. Everyone just kept on with their business.
“Class!” he yelled once again.
Still nothing happened.
Then Mr. Estevez went to rummage under the cabinet under the teacher’s table.
What is he getting under there?!?!
He then finally came up holding something in his hands—a megaphone.
I knew what he was about to do so I quickly covered my ears just as he was about to shout.
“CLASS!!!!!!”
Everyone nearly jumped out of their skins and went back to their desks.
“That’s better,” he said.
Mr. Estevez began discussing about the first lesson. He told us to take down some important notes. So I took out my notebook and the fluffy purple ball pen Abby gave me last week. But instead of writing down notes, I found myself drawing—no, I think sketching might be a better word. At first I started to doodle but then I noticed that I was forming an image.
An image named Jared.
I have always been complimented for my artistic skills. When I was young, I used to draw and paint pictures for my mom and then she would put it up in the refrigerator. As time passed, I also became interested in sketching. Sometimes when I feel sad or happy I would paint anything that’s going on inside my mind and I would hang them up in my room.
The eyes of the Jared that I drew looked back at me. I recalled how he has the kindest, most wonderful blue eyes in the whole solar system!
Mr. Estevez’s sudden question slapped me out of my daydream and into reality.
“Uh, what?” I said.
“I said, the answer Ms. Lewis,” Mr. Estevez said. He looked irritated.
“No se,” I said, which is Spanish for I don’t know!
The class laughed at my answer. I saw Mr. Estevez shake his head. I sunk into my seat wishing that I would disappear.
All my classes went on and on and on.
My mind keeps on wondering if I’ll see Jared today in Biology class. The day dragged on and I was constantly wishing that time would speed up so I could see him already.
Finally the bell rang and French period ended.
I ran so fast that by the time I arrived in Biology class, I was exhausted. My eyes quickly searched the room for Jared.
He wasn’t here yet. So I sat down on a vacant chair and waited for him. I drummed my fingers on the table while humming the tune of a Taylor Swift song. My eyes would constantly look at the door to see if he has arrived yet.
Then there he was. He walked through the door and looked at me with those beautiful eyes. He smiled at me and I smiled back at him.
Jared walked towards me and put his things in the chair next to mine.
“Hey,” he said.
“Hey,” I said, gathering up all my courage. I don’t want to embarrass myself in front of him like I did this morning. “Guess we’re lab partners now, huh?”
“Yeah. I think you and I will make a great team,”
The way he said ‘you and I’ sent a thrill through me.
And at that moment, I didn’t care. I didn’t care that his girlfriend is the spawn of the devil. I didn’t care that his presence merely melts my heart. As long as he’s here. Beside me. Smiling at me.
Biology passed by in a blur. I didn’t even care that I didn’t listen to Mrs. Hamilton’s lecture on the origin of life. All through the period, my eyes were permanently glued to Jared’s face—except when he glances at me, so then I have to look down.
All in all, it was one of the best moments of my life.
But my happiness seemed to be short-lived. Because right after the bell rang, just when Jared and I started heading to the door, Amanda herself was standing in the doorway with her usual smug expression on her face.
As usual, she wore designer clothes. I could tell from what she was wearing that it was an Iceberg design, one of the most fabulous—and most expensive—clothes I know. She wore a small, white dress with pretty, soft ruffles at the bottom. It’s a little surprising that she opted to wear a necklace instead of her usual style which is ‘wearing bangles like there is no tomorrow’. But as I looked closer, the bands of green beads that were tied around her neck suddenly reminded me of her eyes. Eesh! Her light blonde hair was pulled up into a messy do that looked both stylish and pretty. Darn it! Why does she have to look so beautiful!?
“Oh, hi Chelsea.” I could tell she was making an effort to be nice to me—even though she had never gotten my name right. “I’m sorry for the way I acted yesterday. I guess you could call it”—she rolled her eyes—“overreacting.”
“Well, that’s okay.” As long as she was acting nice in front of her boyfriend, I might as well do too. “And by the way, it’s KELSIE.”
“Whatever.”
I just smiled at her even though I wanted to tear her hair right out of her scalp.
“So, Jared,” she said sweetly. “Brooke asked me to bring my boyfriend to their table again.” She fluttered her eyelids. “She wants you to meet a few other girls.”
My blood began to boil. What did she think Jared was? A chew toy that she can bring to her evil mentors in the cheerleading squad any time she wants?
“But Mandy, I’m eating with Seth and Brandon.” Jared argued.
“Come on, Jared. A promise is a promise. And I promised them that we’d sit with Brooke and the girls.”
I made my exit before I might end up pulling all of her hair out. Jared called my name but I didn’t take one glance at him.