Guilt by Leen Elle

to her, the more enticing she found him to be. True, his physical appearance didn't captivate her at first sight. He had the farm boy muscles and a sincere smile, but his looks didn't stand out amongst the other boys - until she learned those features better.
    Now, she knew that his eyes were the color of a well-worn pair of blue jeans; and his thick eyelashes could have been the envy of any girl, with lengths that stretched down his cheeks when he lowered his concentration down towards his artwork. The contour of his hairline, above dense eyebrows and a very rectangular fore head, showed the evidence of a cowlick, which might have been unruly if his hair hadn't been cut so short. A dimple only appeared on his right cheek when he smirked, and a smattering of freckles stood out on his nose, darker than the rest of his sun browned skin.
    She already knew he had a compassionate mind and a sensitive spirit. Moments of charming humor disrupted his recurring melancholy. An uncommon flicker of shrewdness divulged itself in his gaze and enriched his conversation.
    Everything about him was so . . . likeable.
    She liked him. How could she not have realized it? Why didn't she see him this way before?
    She went to bed that night, thinking about him, dreaming about him – dreams that made her blush when she recalled them in the morning. The warmth of those recollections overheated her to a point in which she had to throw the blankets off in order to cool down.
    For the first time this semester, Claire was excited to go to school. She wanted to see Corry. She had to make sure he knew that she changed her mind. Anywhere he wanted to take her on Saturday, she would be more than happy to go.
    Her family noticed the change in Claire's attitude as she readied herself for school. Her mom threw puzzled yet pleased looks at her daughter's preoccupied countenance while at the breakfast table; and Lil growled because Claire spent more time in the bathroom than usual, occupying a good portion of the older girl's mirror-time. It was a rare occasion when Claire left her hair down, and today was one such special event.
    Claire took extra care while picking a sweater in a color that flattered her complexion; and donned the new pair of jeans she'd gotten at the start of the school year, which she hadn't bothered to wear yet because her older ones were more comfortable. She stole a pair of shoes from her sister's closet while Lil wasted her time curling every stand of hair in the bathroom. Lil's brown leather maryjanes were more girlish than Claire's own blue Converse or tan Vans, and she felt more feminine while wearing them.
    She bundled up against the cold of the lifeless late fall day, and headed off to school early, a slight eagerness in her step. From the moment she entered the doors of the school, she kept a keen eye out for Corry. She never really saw him in passing during the morning classes before, but maybe that was because she had never paid attention. No matter how astute her search was, though, she could not glimpse him amongst the throng of her peers.
    She watched the clock all morning. It was a good thing she had no exams scheduled. There would have been no way she could have concentrated. Before lunch, Mr. Lutz, her social studies teacher, gave a pop quiz on the systems of various government politics. It was a multiple-choice format, so she had a one in four chance of getting each answer right. Her grade would be based on luck, since she didn't have the capability to focus on the questions.
    When lunchtime came she sat in the solitude of her remote corner table. And there, she waited, spending the first half of the period in positive expectation that Corry would walk through the lunchroom doors. He didn't come everyday, but more often than not, he did pop in. Today seemed to be one of the 'not' days, however. Her rational side didn't expect him to be there. She
did
reject him just the day before, but the hope that sprung from her newfound