Blind Squirrels by Jennifer Davis Page A

with me before class began.  I
thought she was very pretty with her olive skin, vermillion lips, and mahogany
eyes.  She wore large oversized glasses, and straight jet black hair framed her
fragile face.  Toby was a freshman, and he was also a spoiled brat.  Being the
only freshman allowed to take geometry, he felt that he was smarter than the
rest of us.  He wore his long blond hair in a ponytail most of the time.  He was
attractive enough – bright blue eyes, small round nose, and a sweet smile – but
his curse was short tiny legs and a fat little body.  We became acquainted, but
I could never get passed his triple-X sized ego.  Jack Wahl was a sophomore,
and he hated geometry as much as I did.  He was born in Britain, but his accent
was purely Southern.  His hair was white-blond and cut to just above his
shoulders.  He wore aviator glasses over his pea-sized blue eyes and thick blond
eyebrows.  He had a long straight nose and high, prominent cheekbones while his
lips were full and mostly colorless.  His chin was square with a cleft, and he
had dimples in his cheeks when he smiled.  Jack and I would become very close
friends before the end of tenth grade.
    One day in September, Sam asked
me if I’d like to get involved in a service club.  I said that I would – I had
already tried to get into one club that only chose elite and popular girls.
    “Which club is it?” I asked.
    “We don’t have a name, yet. 
There are only a few of us involved so far.  We need some more members.  I was
hoping you would be interested.”  It flattered me that Sam would ask.
    “I’m interested.  Who else is
involved?  Anyone I know?”
    “Let’s see.  There’s Rita Daltery
and Beverly Corley.  Do you know Lindsey Moore or Debbie Carson?  How about Kevin
Cone or Max Savage?”
    “Wait a minute.  Did you say Max
Savage?”  Now she had my attention.
    “Yeah.  Do you know him?”  Sam
was one of the only people in the world who didn’t know that I loved Max.
    “He lives down the street...”
    “You like him, don’t you?  Come
on.  I can see it all over your face.  Wait till I tell him!”
    “You’re like thirteen months late
on that one.  Donna beat you to it.”  Sam knew Donna from middle school.
    “Donna, huh?  I always thought
she was cool.  Way to go Donna!  I still wish it could have been me.”
    “I’m sure you’ll still find a way
to take advantage of your knowledge.”
    “Probably.  Well, I guess there’s
no more question then?  You’ll join the club?”
    “Why not?”
     
    The next meeting was on the
following Wednesday.  Sam escorted me to Mrs. Kalakos’ room, the teacher who
was sponsoring the club.  We were the first ones there, and we took seats in
the front left corner of the room – opposite the door.  Sam went up to Mrs. Kalakos’
desk to tell her that I wanted to join the club.
    “Great!  Welcome, Katrina.  We
plan to make this the best club on campus.”  Mrs. Kalakos was peppy and
friendly.  She was younger than most of the other teachers at WMHS.  A headband
held her auburn hair back and exposed her bright, sunny face.  She had a habit
of holding her eyes wide open, and her long eyelashes gave them the appearance
of tiny sunflowers. 
    “Call me ‘Kat,’ please,” I said.
    Just then, the door opened and
several people rushed in.  One of them was Max.  I expected to see shock on his
face.  Instead, he just smiled at me and sat down in the seat next to Sam’s. 
Everyone finally arrived, and there were sixteen of us.  The fair-sized turn
out pleased Mrs. Kalakos.
    “First of all, my new members
need to fill out a standard form so we will know who you are.”  Mrs. Kalakos
handed me and six others a sheet to fill out.  “As you’ll notice,” she
continued, “there is no name listed under ‘Name of Club.’  Our first order of
business should be to name the club and elect officials.”
    Hands went up, and several names
emerged: Friends