Chapter One: White Hart Institute
"You followed me here?" I accused. Erik shrugged, "I didn't necessarily follow you to White Hart, I just kind of…changed plans." I stare at him for a few seconds. Don't get me wrong, I loved Erik. He has been my best friend since middle school. His bleach blonde hair is shaggy, and it occasionally falls over his blue eyes. His skin never soaks in sun, so it's forever pale. He is tall and lean, and even I am stronger than him. Erik is the definition of nerd.
"I thought you wanted to go to some small school? White Hart is a school of art; you wanted to major in business!" I said. Erik gave another shrug, and sighed. "Just accept that I'm here Sky, I wanted to come here and I came." I stopped hounding him about it and walked with him in silence down the hall.
White Hart Institute is mainly focused around the arts such as literature, painting, drawing, computer graphics, and more. White Hart is considered a big shot school, per say. Its floors were a cream colored marble, and the stairs had a white rug for traction so people wouldn't slip and crack their skulls open. The entire school was as clean as a hospital, and it smelled faintly of orchids and citrus. Almost all the lights were chandeliers of gold and white and the ones that weren't were outside, though not lacking in appearance. The hallways were lined with art designed by the Institute's most cherished, successful students, and the classrooms were spacious and beautiful. The desks were white, the chairs were gold and comfortable, and the teachers were fairly decent. The Institute itself was so glorious; sometimes I wonder if I would fit in.
A block away from White Hart Institute though, is Glass Academy, the rival art school. It's as prestigious as White Hart, but it had a much darker, sexier appeal. It also had a reputation for fight outbreaks and other unnecessary hazards I wanted to avoid.
"What's your first class?" Erik asked, looking over at the books in my hands. "Tech. You?" I said, since I already memorized my classes. He grimaced, "I got Classic Literature." I gave him a smile, and took a left into my classroom, leaving him alone. "Get to class before your-" The bell rang, and Erik took off down the hallways, throwing me a wave as he went. I sighed and sat in the closest seat, dropping my books with a loud thud. The computer in front of me was staring at me with its bright blue screen, and the only thing I could do was stare back at it.
Then he sat down next to me. Yes, HE. He had short, clean cut brown hair and golden eyes. His frame was slightly muscular and tall, not to mention tan. He turned his head and gave me a smile, which nearly blinded me. I sat there like an idiot with a goofy grin on my face. A loud clap snapped me out of my day dreaming. "Okay class, please type in your passwords, you will find those on the left side of your keyboard." My teacher was a fat man with a trace of a five o clock shadow and black hair. He wore a nice suit that gave him a muffin-top and he has a crooked smile. He seemed too greasy for this school, but he must be intelligent enough to have made the position. I felt an elbow knock against mine, flowed by a whisper, "Hey, doesn't our teacher seem sketch to you?" I looked over at the cute boy next to me and nodded slightly. "I am Mister Hemms, and this is Tech. If you do not have this class, please excuse yourself to your correct classroom." A small, pitiful looking girl rose and quickly speed-walked out of the classroom after the announcement, and everyone's eyes followed her. Mister Hemms read off a list of names, followed shortly after with a "Here" or a "Present". "Skylar Caves?" he bellowed, "Here" I loudly said, making sure he could hear me from the back. "Elliot Deboque?" Mister Hemms fumbled over his last name. The boy next to me—Elliot—raised his hand and corrected his teacher, pronouncing it De-bow-coo. He put down his hand and turned to me, "French" he said and shrugged. I smiled to myself, fiddling with my hangnails. How adorable, a French boy sitting next to me first period?
A few reviews over how to use Photoshop took up most of the period. Mister Hemms excused us and the last five minutes were ours to socialize. Elliot turned to me and I to him. The first thing he said was "You know…you're pretty." I blushed furiously but kept a straight face. "You're not too bad looking yourself." I gave a small laugh and his eyes sparkled in humor, "I certainly hope we have other classes together. You seem cool to talk to." I nodded and he gave me another florescent smile. "Maybe this weekend you can come to that new amusement park they just built. It's near the Pier, you can bring whoever you want to, I'm sure you have a boyfriend?"
"I'm single" I answered almost a little too quickly.
"Good to know, I'll see you there? How about Saturday, 7 pm?" He asked
I nodded hesitantly.
The bell rang; "I'll see you there, Sunshine" He gave my dark brown hair a ruffle and strode out of the classroom. Let me say, his ass looked pretty good in those skinny jeans. The next few classes were a bore, nothing compared to Tech. I would see Elliot in the hallways, and he would give me a wave and I would smile. I felt like one of those creeps who lurked from a distance, imagining a relationship with someone they couldn't get.
A hand grasped my shoulder in the hallways, and I turned around. "Hey, I've been screaming your name for a while now! Do you know how many bodies I had to push through to get to you?" Erik remarked, giving a small sigh of exhaustion. I apologized to him. It seemed my brain was a sponge and it was completely absorbed about Elliot where it blocked out any other thoughts and apparently impaired my hearing. "Hey, are you doing anything this weekend? I wanted to take you to this movie…" The trailed off, seeing my expression of regret. "I'm sorry Erik! I agreed to go to this amusement park with this guy I met." His face lost expression, "but you can totally come along too! It's a fun thing to do, plus you need something to do now!" Then his face gained its color and expression, "Great!" He said, "I'll meet you at your place!" Then he took a turn to his classroom and I continued up the stairs for mine.
Saturday. That was only 3 days away, but it seemed so long. Over 72 hours to wait! I wish I wasn't so impatient, and I wish I could act all cool and collected around Elliot but gosh darn it, he was just too gorgeous. At the end of school I drove home in my white Altima, and by home I meant a nice apartment near the coast. Home was a while away in Georgia, while I was in California. I got home, did a load of laundry, cooked up some stir-fry, and plopped myself on the couch to watch The Blind Side. I felt like a very lonely person on that couch.