"Angela, smile!" I say as I sit down to lunch. I look around at my friends and notice that I had only been in this school for less than six months and everybody has been so nice to me. Im very lucky.
"Bella, what are you doing?" Mike asks as I snap a picture of him. Mike and I have been going out for five and a half of the months I've been here. I am so lucky to have a boyfriend as sweet, handsome, nice, smart….. What was I saying? Oh yea. I love Mike.
"Im on the Yearbook, silly! What did you think I was doing? Im not some kind of stalker." I say smiling as I think about how handsome he is. I take another picture of him. Its true, Im not staking him, I just love him. Snap out of it Bella, Lauren is talking to you.
"…….and I don't get how you could get such a job, when Mr. Mason wouldn't ever let me bring the subject up. He is sooooo mean." Lauren says. She gets a little annoying sometimes, but that is just part of her charm.
"I asked waaaay early. At the beginning of the year. And he probably had a lot on his mind. Anyway we're all filled up. I could ask the editor to get some good pictures of you if you want." I say as her face goes from chagrin to joyful in just a few words.
"Oh Bella, could you that would be so wonderful. I could do my hair and my nails and--"
she jabbers on excitedly until Mike cuts her off.
I feel Mike come up behind me and rap his arms around me and kiss my neck. I hear him whisper in my ear--
"You are such a good friend. Tonight let's go to a movie. It will be fun. Get away from all the girl stuff and just be us." I can hear the smile in his voice even though he is whispering.
"I would like that." I say as I turn my head to search for his lips. He knows what Im thinking and is right along there with me. I am in my own personal heaven with nothing to worry about but Mike and his soft lips molding with mine.
"Ms. Swan and Mr. Newton, we should be getting to class don't you think?" Mr. Banner says as he walks up behind us. I realized that I was curved around Mike in a way that is not appropriate for school, or even for private.
"Im going" Mike and I say simultaneously. We burst out laughing and walk towards Biology keeping our hands intertwined. Since the beginning of the year Mike has taken up the seat beside me. I bet Mr. Banner wished he wouldn't have given into Mike's whim; after all he was the one who keeps catching us kissing.
Mr. Banner looks slightly miffed as he wheels in the very old TV that sometimes skips.
I bet he knew that since Mike and I sit in the very back-- another of Mike's doings ---
we would not be paying much attention.
After the movie Mike and I walk to gym. We are playing badminton this semester. It's always Mike and I against somebody else. I was accident prone, but Mike has helped me get a lot better. Now I hold my own with him on the court.
After changing in such a hurry I put my sock in my shirt and my shirt in my shoe, I finally slow down enough to get dressed right and sprint--something you would never normally catch me doing-- out the open doors, to my car, and turn the key. It takes me a minute to realize that the engine didn't start. I tried again. And Again. And Again. It kept sputtering and turning over. Just when I though it would start---it dies again.
When am I going to learn to accept that these things happen to every one, but they normally happen to me? I finally get Charlie on the phone and he comes down to pick me up. By that time the school is completely deserted. Not one teacher is left. It felt as if someone was watching me. I was getting kind of creeped out when Charlie rolled up the school drive way.
As soon as I get home I remember Mike. Shit!!!!! He probably thinks I stood him up. I call him one, two, three times. I keep getting voice mail. I checked my phone every half hour. Finally my phone rang.
"Mike" I breathed "I was sooooo worried." The voice that answered was not the one I was longing to hear. Actually it was kind of surprising.
"Bella I just saw Mike and he was at the movies and he was buying popcorn and he was buying soda and he was….." Jessica was talking so fast I could barley catch her words.
"Jessica, calm down. It's okay. I was supposed to go to the movies with him tonight, but my car broke down outside of school. I guess he went with out me. No big deal." I say as I try to stay calm. In fact it was a deal. Why would he go to the movies without me? Why would he not answer his phone? I knew the answer the second I thought the question. It was a vampire movie that he had wanted to see for months. And his phone was off because he was watching the movie. Duh! I felt the paranoia washing away. I was scolding my self for being foolish until the next words I heard brought back the paranoia like a bucket being pored on my head.
"He bought an extra super size bucket and two cokes. I saw him holding a purple jacket with pink hearts on the right breast pocket." Jessica said excitedly. I could tell she thought this was juicy gossip. I thought it was the world crashing down on me. I could hardly breathe. I heard a weird screech that sounded like it could have only came from an animal. With a dizzying shock I realized that I was the one who made the screech.
"Bella, Bella!!! Are you ok??????" The gossiping humor that was gone from her voice was replaced by a very anxious tone of voice that made me marvel at how good of friends I have. I was still marveling while I tried to stifle the sobs that were probably more horrifying to Jessica than my screeches.