clearly has artistic talent. But the way he draws me is absolutely beautiful. He seems to see me in a way that other people don’t perceive—that I don’t even perceive. I stare at the picture for a long time before looking up at John, who wears his usual smile. He winks at me and I turn away, feeling the back of my neck turn red. I want to look back at him and the picture but I somehow stop myself.
The bell rings and the rest of my classmates practically bolt for the door. For the second time, Stacey ‘mistakenly’ bumps into my desk, spilling my books to the floor.
“Oops,” she laughs heading out the door. I may have been tempted to seek retribution last week but I have too many other problems in my life now. Besides, John stays behind and helps me pick them up so Stacey unknowingly made my life better.
Some of my papers have scattered and by the time we gather everything together, the classroom is empty. Apparently my teacher was in as much of a rush to get out as my classmates. As John hands me my stuff, he looks directly into my eyes, has faces only inches from mine. The rest of my troubles—as monumental as they are—fade away for the time as I can’t take my eyes off of him.
“This is not why I’m here,” he whispers. He appears as mesmerized as I feel. He leans toward me and our heads turn as he’s about to kiss me…
“Can I talk to you, Nia?” a voice says from across the room.
John and I both snap out of the moment and back away from each other. I imagine my frown must appear as disappointed as his. I turn around and see Jeff standing in the doorway.
“Sorry,” I whisper to John. “I should probably go talk to him.”
“I think I understand,” he says.
The two of us walk out of class together, Jeff glaring at John the entire time. Jeff is at least six inches shorter than John but looks like he wants to attack him. I really hope I don’t have to jump in the middle of another fight. But Jeff is better at staring than fighting and he does nothing but give John dirty looks as he walks by.
“I will see you later, Nia,” John says. The way he says my name makes me even angrier at Jeff for ruining our moment.
“What’s up?” I ask Jeff once John heads off down the hallway.
“I wanted to apologize for the way I’ve been acting toward you,” Jeff begins. “I was the one who forced you into trying out for the lacrosse team so it wasn’t fair for me to get mad when it didn’t work out for me.”
I only half pay attention as Jeff talks. Since he’s so much shorter than me, I can pretend to look at him though I’m really peering over his shoulder, watching John walk away, wishing I was next to him right now. But that longing soon turns to pure panic.
The popular girls—now joined by Cassie—turn the corner and walk toward John. As usual, many sneer at him as they walk by but Cassie breaks off the group and rushes over to him. The two begin to talk and Cassie throws her head back in fake laughter. The sight turns my stomach, especially when she hooks her arm through John’s and leads him away.
“Yeah, it’s okay, don’t worry about it,” I tell Jeff, trying to end this conversation as quickly as I can. I start to walk around him, determined to get to John before Cassie follows through on her threat to steal him away. But Jeff takes my arm and I use all of my willpower to stop from pushing him aside.
“There’s something else I wanted to say,” Jeff says.
“Can it wait till later?” I ask. “I need to do something.”
“This will only take a minute, please,” Jeff says. “I just want you to know how much I appreciate your friendship. I really hated coming to this school for the past two years but ever since you showed up, my life has gotten so much better. You’ve been like a ray of sunlight shining through the darkness of my life and…”
I barely pay attention to what he says. Panic fills me as John laughs. Cassie can be very charming when she wants and I
The bell rings and the rest of my classmates practically bolt for the door. For the second time, Stacey ‘mistakenly’ bumps into my desk, spilling my books to the floor.
“Oops,” she laughs heading out the door. I may have been tempted to seek retribution last week but I have too many other problems in my life now. Besides, John stays behind and helps me pick them up so Stacey unknowingly made my life better.
Some of my papers have scattered and by the time we gather everything together, the classroom is empty. Apparently my teacher was in as much of a rush to get out as my classmates. As John hands me my stuff, he looks directly into my eyes, has faces only inches from mine. The rest of my troubles—as monumental as they are—fade away for the time as I can’t take my eyes off of him.
“This is not why I’m here,” he whispers. He appears as mesmerized as I feel. He leans toward me and our heads turn as he’s about to kiss me…
“Can I talk to you, Nia?” a voice says from across the room.
John and I both snap out of the moment and back away from each other. I imagine my frown must appear as disappointed as his. I turn around and see Jeff standing in the doorway.
“Sorry,” I whisper to John. “I should probably go talk to him.”
“I think I understand,” he says.
The two of us walk out of class together, Jeff glaring at John the entire time. Jeff is at least six inches shorter than John but looks like he wants to attack him. I really hope I don’t have to jump in the middle of another fight. But Jeff is better at staring than fighting and he does nothing but give John dirty looks as he walks by.
“I will see you later, Nia,” John says. The way he says my name makes me even angrier at Jeff for ruining our moment.
“What’s up?” I ask Jeff once John heads off down the hallway.
“I wanted to apologize for the way I’ve been acting toward you,” Jeff begins. “I was the one who forced you into trying out for the lacrosse team so it wasn’t fair for me to get mad when it didn’t work out for me.”
I only half pay attention as Jeff talks. Since he’s so much shorter than me, I can pretend to look at him though I’m really peering over his shoulder, watching John walk away, wishing I was next to him right now. But that longing soon turns to pure panic.
The popular girls—now joined by Cassie—turn the corner and walk toward John. As usual, many sneer at him as they walk by but Cassie breaks off the group and rushes over to him. The two begin to talk and Cassie throws her head back in fake laughter. The sight turns my stomach, especially when she hooks her arm through John’s and leads him away.
“Yeah, it’s okay, don’t worry about it,” I tell Jeff, trying to end this conversation as quickly as I can. I start to walk around him, determined to get to John before Cassie follows through on her threat to steal him away. But Jeff takes my arm and I use all of my willpower to stop from pushing him aside.
“There’s something else I wanted to say,” Jeff says.
“Can it wait till later?” I ask. “I need to do something.”
“This will only take a minute, please,” Jeff says. “I just want you to know how much I appreciate your friendship. I really hated coming to this school for the past two years but ever since you showed up, my life has gotten so much better. You’ve been like a ray of sunlight shining through the darkness of my life and…”
I barely pay attention to what he says. Panic fills me as John laughs. Cassie can be very charming when she wants and I
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