She tips her head back, obviously frustrated with me. "Just forget it." She moves her desk back and flips through her book.
"Hey." I lean toward her. "Why don't you just tell me?"
She eyes me, suspiciously. "Tell you what?"
"What the reading was about. Summarize it, then tell me what you think it means."
She looks back to the front, chewing on her lip, which draws my eyes to them and reminds me of the kiss we shared in that dream last night. Why the hell was I dreaming that? I just met this girl. I don't even know her. She's nothing like the girls I typically go for. Is that why I had the dream? Because I wanted to see what it'd be like to be with someone like her? Someone completely opposite of me who I'd never actually pursue in real life?
"That's basically what the reading was about," she says, and I realize I didn't hear anything she just said. "As for the meaning, I think the author was telling us his thoughts on life, and how your reaction to certain events affects how you see them, and how you remember them." She pauses, chewing on her lip again as she thinks. "I think he was also telling us how we can redirect our thoughts going forward if we look back at past events differently than we did in the moment. It's like going back in time and changing whatever happened, but only in our mind, and in our thoughts."
Shit, this girl is smart. And I think I actually understood what she was saying. She's making me want to go back and read whatever I didn't read last night. She continues to talk and I'm hanging on her every word, wondering if she came up with this stuff on her own or if it was somewhere in the book.
It's confirmed she did it on her own when class resumes and the teacher calls on her to summarize what we discussed.
"That's very insightful," the teacher says, after hearing Brook's thoughts. "I hadn't thought about the reflection angle, in regards to past memories." He nods, rubbing his beard. "Excellent work, Brook." He pauses. "And Dean."
He paused because he knew none of what she said came from me. I don't exactly have a reputation for being smart. I play football and win games. That's what I'm known for. It's why I'm popular. It's why teachers overlook the shitty job I do on my homework and give me better grades than I deserve.
I'm a dumb jock, but I own it. I don't pretend to be smart and don't have to. I'm good at football and that's all that matters. It might even get me into college. I've never cared about school or grades. I do just enough to get by. I'm never going to need whatever they teach us in class so I don't bother trying to learn it.
The bell rings and Brook quickly gathers her things and stuffs them in her backpack. She gets up to go past me but my legs are in the way. I catch her eye, and slowly pull my legs in as I sit up straight. She holds my gaze, then glances away and continues past me out the door.
I don't understand that girl, and I'm not gonna try. I'm going to keep my distance, just like I do with every other girl. Only problem is, there's something about Brook that holds my interest. Makes me want to know more. It's just another reason I need to stay away from her.
Chapter Five
Brook
"Over here!" someone yells as I search for a seat in the cafeteria.
I'm not sure who said it. It's loud and crowded and people keep bumping my tray as I walk.
"Brook! Over here!" the voice yells. It's closer now and when I look to my right, I see Eve waving at me. She's wearing a crop top, which rides up and almost exposes her boobs as she lifts her hand to wave.
"Hey." I sit across from her, next to some girls I don't know.
"Why have you been avoiding me?" Eve asks, smacking her gum. Her yellow hair has a streak of orange in it today that matches the orange shadow on her eyelids.
"I wasn't avoiding you."
"I said hi to you in the hall and you walked right past me." She narrows her eyes at me. "Bitch."
"What? I didn't even see you."
Her face bursts with a smile. "I'm just messing you with. God, you're so easy. You gotta stop believing what people tell you."
"I know," I mutter, looking down, her comment making me think of my dad. He told me he'd always be there for me and I believed him, only to find out it was a lie.
"You okay?" Eve asks, reaching across the table to touch my arm.
I blink away my thoughts and smile. "Yeah. And you're right. I need to stop believing people."
"Just me." She takes her hand off me and smiles. "I like messing with people. It's a bad habit. I've been trying to break it for years but as you can see, I haven't gotten very far."
"Why do you do it?" I ask, picking up my fork. "Or why'd youstartdoing it?"
"My brother really got on my nerves when we were kids so I'd tell him stuff to make him get away from me. Like I'd say I had some contagious rash that only I could see." She laughs. "He'd believe me and run away. Or one Halloween I told him candy gives boys really bad acne but has no affect on girls." She smiles. "Guess who got all the Halloween candy that year?"
