"This is going to be so much fun, we are all going to have dates, and be dressed up, and Ooh! I can't wait! Essie does a little happy dance in the middle of the hallway.
"Yeah, so much fun..." I mumble, feeling uncomfortable, shifting my weight from my left foot to my right foot.
"We need to go shopping tomorrow! Maybe about 4 o'clock. Anyone busy?"
"I'm not busy." Alexandria replies.
Turning to look at me, Alexandria says, "What about you Cassie?"
"Um, I have a lot of homework to do guys, I don't think I can make it." I respond trying to make my best sad face.
"Aww, that's too bad...We can go shopping some other time then, just for you!" Essie says grinning.
Fantastic...just what I need... my own private shopping session.
I force my lips into a tight smile, while grabbing my stuff from my locker and heading off to class. I walk through the door of my first class, History, with Mr. Drone. Boy, does he live up to his name! He will literally drone on and on and on, like helicopter wings. Sometimes I have trouble keeping my eyes open. Today was no exception. My eyelids start to droop, feeling heavy on my face until they slide shut.
I must have fallen asleep, because the next thing I hear is my name being called through the haziness. I jolt upright, wiping my face of any remaining drool.
"What is your answer, Mrs. Thompson?" Mr. Drone says sternly standing in front of my desk.
"Um, I'm sorry, I didn't hear the question." I answer quietly, eyes downcast.
"If you are going to be able to answer the question you have to hear it, and to hear it you have to be awake." He reprimands with a scowl on his face.
"The question was, Who issued the Emancipation Proclamation?"
"Lincoln?" I question.
"You are right, but in the future make sure you pay more attention in class or you will get a detention." He replies, walking briskly to the front of the classroom.
"Yes sir." I say a light blush tinting my cheeks.
The sharp trill of the bell saves me from further embarrassment and I rush off to my locker to gather my materials for my next class. My next three classes, English, Wellness and Algebra, fly by fairly quickly, without a hitch. It is now lunchtime and my stomach is grumbling.
As I push open the heavy metal doors, I catch a whiff of mashed potatoes and my stomach protests once more. I pick up a tray from the rack and make my way toward the lunch line. Right before I get there my foot catches on something on the ground and I pitch forward, my tray clattering on the ground beside me. I grunt as I hit the ground, using my hands to brace my fall. The abrupt sound of laughter fills my ears as I slowly pick up my tray, brushing my hair out of my face. The taunting sound of the head cheerleader, Janice's voice, drills into my brain as she speaks.
"Hey loser, why do you like the floor so much, it sure seems like you're on it a lot." She says snidely, her incessant giggle filling my head.
The rest of her posse joins in, their voices grating away at my ears. I briskly walk away from the girls toward the lunch line, head held up high, eyes straight forward, ignoring the snide comments and mean laughter. I hurriedly gather my lunch from the line, the smell teasing my nose and walk over to the table where I join my friends. I've kinda lost my appetite now so I quietly nibble on my food, until my friends notice my sullenness. They all turn toward me and have this quizzical look on their faces as they assess me. I raise my eyebrows, hinting that I'm listening to what their saying.
"You okay?" Essie asks with a concerned look on her face.
"Yeah, I'm fine."
She continues to stare at me until she comes to a solid conclusion.
"It was the cheerleaders again wasn't it?" She growls, eyes gleaming with fury.
"Um, yeah, but it's not big deal. As least I didn't have food on my tray...haha."
"She tripped you! I'm going to kill her, that son of a ----"
"Really, I'm fine, see, look I'm fine." I say, pleading with my eyes at her not to do something stupid.
"OK, whatever you say." Essie still doesn't look convinced but she doesn't press the subject any further.
The bell rings, providing a perfect interruption. I spring out of my seat, dump the rest of my food in the trash, and practically run out of the lunch room in my hurry to get away. I go back to my locker and take out my books for my next class, Biology. I actually kind of like this class. I walk with a spring in my step all the way to the classroom. I sit down and Mr. Facinelli calls role. Then as he gets to the bottom of the list he calls a name I haven't heard before. Enzo Pierce. He explains that he is new, and will be joining us today for class. The girls start tittering about the new guy, and questions arise. Who is he? Where is he from? How old is he? Does he have abs? I mentally snicker at the silly questions they are asking, until he walks in. 6'3 with dark brown hair cut in a semi-mohawk, mesmerizing grayish-blue eyes, and full red lips, he was quite a looker. His long-sleeved black button up shirt did nothing to hide the contours of his rugged abs and bulging biceps. His lips curl up in a smirk as he makes his way toward me.
I suddenly realize that I am drooling over a guy I have never met before and I blink rapidly and close my mouth, which I'm sure was wide open, and face straight forward, my cheeks heating up with embarrassment. He takes the only seat that is available, right next to me and scans the room with his piercing gaze. I scrunch down in my seat and avert my eyes, pretending to read my biology book. The murmuring of voices only grows louder as I imagine they are trying to get his attention. Then I hear a familiar pair of heels clicking against the cork flooring and they halt right beside my desk. I look up and am not surprised to see Janice, the head cheerleader staring down at me. She looks down at me with undisguised disgust before plastering a big smile on her face and turning toward Enzo.
"Hey Enzo, I'm Janice" she says brightly. I roll my eyes as she flutters her eyelashes at him. He looks up at her with a confused look on his face before answering her.
"Hi Janice, nice to meet you." He says quietly with a hint of an British accent. Janice giggles, leaning against his desk, smiling seductively.
"What a gentleman..How perfect." Janice purrs.
"Thank you, but I'm afraid our conversation must be cut short as class should be starting now." He says not looking apologetic at all. I smirk at the situation. Janice glares toward the front of the classroom before she turns back to Enzo.
"I'd be happy to give you a tour of the school, if you want one, just text me. Don't make yourself sparse." She says flirtatiously.
She scribbles her number down on a cute sticky note, winks, flips her hair over her shoulder, and saunters away, hips swaying from side to side. I observe him out of the corner of my eye to see what he will do with the note. He folds it up and tucks it into the pocket of his jeans turning his attention toward the front of the classroom just as the bell rings.
The period goes by fairly quickly, but once in a while I feel like Enzo is watching me, but when I glance at him out of the corner of my eye he is staring intently at his book or at Mr. Washington. I stare at him waiting to catch his attention, and at that moment he turns to me and we lock eyes. I try to turn my eyes away, but his penetrating gaze locks me there, in the depths of his stormy grayish-blue eyes. I feel drawn to him like a fly to the light, like I'm connected by an invisible cord of electricity. Finally the intensity becomes too much and I manage to break my gaze away, dazed and gasping for breath. I close my eyes for a few seconds to compose myself then open them again, my heart now beating at a normal rate.
The bell rings and Enzo starts toward me, but I rush past him and through the crowd, in the direction of the bathroom. I shove the door open and quickly shut it behind me letting my body sag against the cool metal. I take several deep breaths in and out to calm myself, check myself in the mirror then head back out to face the world. I carefully make my way to my locker, eyes cast on the ground so I won't have another electric shock if I look into his eyes again. I toss my books into my backpack and speedily make my way out the front door of the school, walking down the sidewalk to the wooden bench under the maple tree in the school yard to wait for my mother's arrival. I'm leaning back, my eyes closed, letting the warmth soak into my skin when I hear leaves crunching. I bolt upright and am looking straight into the face of mysterious Mr. Hottie, Enzo Pierce. He smiles down at me showing his perfectly straight teeth and takes a seat next to me, causing me to inch to the other side of the bench. I eye him cautiously, waiting for him to speak. Then he does.
"Hi, I'm Enzo Pierce" He says in a deep, rich voice, churning my insides into butter. I wait a couple seconds before answering him.
"I'm Cassie Thompson." I reply quietly focusing my gaze on my shoes.
He smiles warmly at me causing something foreign to flutter in my stomach. He starts to say something again but then a horn honks loudly from the street. I look up and am horrified to see my mom and sister in the car waving their arms at me trying to get my attention. I quickly mutter "Goodbye" and scurry over to our car, getting in and shutting the door behind me. I feel his searching, piercing gaze on the back the car as we drive away.