“Okay, I’ll be out in a minute,” I rush out of my seat, quickly finish my milk, and carry my bowl to the sink. “I’m only two years away from being able to make my own decisions, so what’s the big difference between now and then?”
“Because right now I'm making this decision; you’re not an adult yet, end of story.”
“Whatever. I’ll see you later,” I say with an eye roll of my own.
“Have a good day,” my mom says as she reaches in for a hug. She still insists on giving me hugs as if I’m a kid.
Side by side, Paige and I both walk into the first day of junior year. The best thing about this year is that we have atonof classes together. We ditched class a lot the previous year to hang out together, so our counselors said they would give us more classes together to see if that would make us stop. Our parents were even more furious that they gave us that option. They called usspoiled bratsbecause we ended up getting what we wanted. Not sure if it’s what we want, though, because we both just hate school. That’s half the reason we skipped.
“Where is our first period?”
“It’s upstairs.”
As we’re walking through the halls, we stop to greet people we know and haven’t seen since the last school year ended. The first few days of school are fun. You get to catch up with people you haven’t seen for months. You listen to their stories of what they did over the summer. It’s busy, chaotic, and exciting.
After that, it drags.
“Hey, is that the guy from the mall?” I ask, pointing in front of us.
“Where?”
“On top of the stairs.” I slow down my pace, remembering my stupid wave at the mall.
“It’s him. Let’s go say hi.”
I slow down even more. He hasn’t seen me yet. Hopefully I can turn around before he does. As I’m about to, Paige grabs my arm. “What are you doing?”
I sigh.
“Come on, B. I know you’re really shy, but I have a good feeling about you and him.”
I hesitate, feeling shy and a bit embarrassed that my friend has to encourage me to talk to a guy.
“Walk past him, and right after you pass, turn your head and smile.”
I pull my lower lip between my teeth, even more embarrassed than I was a second ago, because now my cheeks are probably as red as a tomato.
The heat in my body increases with each step up the stairs. When I pass him, I can’t help but smile. Despite not making eye contact, I’m sure he notices.
“Look back at him,” Paige whispers.
I glance over my shoulder and watch as he swoops his hair over with his hands and gives me a slight smile with a head tilt.
I quicken my pace to get out of sight.
“Where are you going?”
Turning the corner, I stop abruptly and lean up against a wall. “I can’t breathe.”
“Blakely, come on. You act like you’ve never dated before.”
“Yeah, but he’s way hotter than anyone I’ve ever been with.”
Paige laughs softly, shaking her head. “Well, it’s time to change that.”
I roll my eyes at Paige as we continue to walk to class. I can’t shake the feeling that this time, maybe she is right, and things are going to be different.
They serveus pizza on the first day of school. Come to think of it, they served us pizza on the first day of school last year, too. All our friends are sitting around the table, eating lunch. Everyone is catching up and having a good time. I’m trying to pay attention, but I keep getting sidetracked by any guy with skater hair who walks by, thinking it’s him.
