11.1.09
; inspired by CharmingJunkiie
Another day undistinguished from any other begins. Jacob gets ready, eats breakfast, and then leaves for school. He walks for about five minutes before a friend catches up, and falls into step with him, though he'd much rather walk alone. He listens to Joey's random talk of a new video game tiredly, not paying much attention to him. Soon they're at the school, and part to go to their respective first period classes. He walks into the room, and takes his seat next to a chatty girl Mellissa, who starts talking at him immediately. He listens to her uninterestedly for a few minutes, before Mr. Dressler calls the class to order. He turns to attention gratefully and waits for Mr. Dressler to begin class.
"Good morning class. Before we start today, I'd like to introduce a new student. Let's try to make her feel welcome. Come on in, Lacey." Everyone sits up straighter, hearing the word 'her' and the clearly female name. The girls in the room considering the possibility of a new friend, the boys considering…well, you get it. The door opens now, and a person walks to the front of the room. She's tall and has long, almost white blond hair that hangs to the center of her back. Her skin is pale, but flawless, creamy and smooth like milk. She is wearing a pale yellow dress that stops just above her knees, though it was still spring and too cold for a dress. She was clearly beautiful, and somewhat dazzling to the eye. Mr. Dressler begins on the bare background of where she moved from, and to help her out in case she gets lost, the boys in the room all praying for the chance. Jacob is assessing Lacey with slight curiosity, when she turns her head suddenly, and her pale blue eyes connect with his. She continues to stare at him strangely, almost studying him, and he finds it's difficult to look away. Mr. Dressler then clears his throat awkwardly, and says "Lacey, you may take a seat, I believe there is one open behind…Jacob, I suppose." Lacey nods and smiles in response, still not giving the class a sample of her voice yet. She makes her way down the aisle and to the desk behind Jacob, which she slides into gracefully and holds her hands in her lap. Jacob, not enjoying the new arrangement at all, suffers through the taste of curiosity for the rest of the class, not hearing a word Mr. Dressler speaks. After an excruciating forty-five minutes, the bell rings, signaling the end of first period mercifully. Almost immediately, the moonlight colored girl is surrounded from all sides by boys and girls alike, all eager for the chance to take her to her next class. Jacob takes his time putting his books back into his bag, though trying to come off nonchalant. Suddenly, he hears a voice like the soft melody of wind chimes saying "It's okay, Jake can take me." At this, he whips around to find himself face to face with the new girl, and being stared down by everyone in the room. In response to his stare, Lacey cocks her head and gives a sweet little giggle.
"Well, let's go, I don't want to be late and make a bad impression." And with this statement, Lacey begins her departure out of the room, Jacob following confused, the rest of the students standing dumbfounded at what had just occurred.
Jacob walks next to, but a few steps behind this strange new girl, watching her warily. She walks with her hands behind her back, her book bag tote hanging off her shoulder easily. Every once in a while, she looks over her shoulder to make sure he's still following, and when their eyes meet, she gives a happy smile, revealing straight, white teeth, and turns back around. This goes on for about three minutes before they arrive at their destination, English class.
"You knew how to get here all along, didn't you?" he asks her, somewhat amused, somewhat dazed, since the mere presence of her made his mind foggy at the edges. With a wink and a smile, she turns away from him and walks into the room. He stands there for a moment, before remembering he has this class too, and walks in.
The morning continues like this, him walking behind her to each class, either having the same class, or being in the room a door or two down. Then lunch comes, and he walks with her to the cafeteria, though she clearly knows exactly where she was going.
As they reach the cafeteria, she stops and turns to look at him, smiling.
"Would you like to each lunch with me today, Jake?" He feels his face warm slightly, and he responds "Sure." They begin their walk through the cafeteria, all eyes on them, though Lacey seems not to notice in the slightest. All the attention makes Jacob uncomfortable, and he shuffles along faster, past a table of his staring, envious friends and on to an empty booth in the back corner of the room, thankfully making it harder for people to stare without completely turning around. They sit down across from eat other, Jake putting his paper bag on the table in front of him, her setting her bag down on the seat next to her, not making any move of taking food out.
"Aren't you going to eat?" Jacob asks, as he pulls a sandwich, water, and bag of chips out of his bag.
"Nope. I'm not hungry yet." she replies in that melodic voice of hers. Jacob takes a bite of his sandwich in response, studying her face. She looks back at him in the same way. They look at each other in this way for about five minutes before Lacey breaks the silence.
"Your eyes are such a dark shade of green. It's somewhat dazzling." she says, her head cocked to the side. Jacob stops mid-swallow, then must force down the rest, feeling his face flush again that day. She continues to look into his eyes, and again he is trapped under her spell, and finds he can't look away.
"But…sad too. Yes, quite sad." she says, her eyebrows furrowing, the corners of her mouth turning into a small frown. She looks up at him suddenly, as if just remembering he's there. There is a look of utter concern on her face as she speaks "Why are you so miserable, Jake?" Again, he chokes on his food. With a cough, and an unpleasant swallow he responds slightly out of breath. "What do you mean? I'm not miserable."
"But your eyes, they're so sad…" and as Jacob watches her, he sees her eyes fade from pale blue to a steely gray, surprising him. Just as he's about to mention it, he hears footsteps approaching the table. Jake looks up to see his best friend Seth standing next to their table, looking down at him with a suggestive smile on his face. Seth is tan, with sandy blond surfer hair, looking like he never quite got away from his California roots, and his bleached white teeth that shine brighter than the sun. Seeing him, Jacob looks from Lacey to Seth, and mutters a curse word under his breath.
"Why good afternoon Jacob. Who's your new friend?" Seth says with an overly friendly smile plastered on his face, as he slides into the booth next to Jacob, pushing him into the corner so that he faced Lacey.
"Hi, I'm Lacey." Lacey replies, a polite smile on her face.
"Lacey. A pretty name, for a pretty girl." Seth says, a crooked smile displaying his pearly whites
Lacey looks back at him blankly.
"Oh, dude, just remembered something I had to tell you" Jacob says, then turning to face Lacey. "Could you excuse us for a moment?" Lacey nods in response. With the sign of reassurance, he shoves Seth out of the booth and into a standing position, causing him to stumble, and then jumps up himself, pushing Seth to the other side of the room.
"Dude, you're my best friend, and I love you like a brother, but you are such a creep when it comes to girls." Jake states.
"What are you talking about? She wants me." Set replies, looking over Jacob's shoulder at Lacey's spot in the cafeteria.
"No, she doesn't. You're creepy. Plus, she's off-limits. Back off, bro."
"What, you like her?" Seth asks, looking at him now.
"I don't know, but just leave her alone. It's her first day, and she doesn't need you, along with every other guy in this school stalking her."
"Fine dude, but the second you get rejected, I'm getting her number."
"Ha, like she'd give it to you. Now, go back to the table, and I better not see following her home." with a smile and a joking shove, Jacob pushes his friend back in the direction of their normal table, and heads back to sit with Lacey.
As he slides back into the seat across from her, she smiles at him genuinely.
"I am so sorry about him, he has to prey on every pretty girl he sees." Jacob apologizes, a weary smile on his face.
"You think I'm pretty?" she says, looking him in the eye.
Jacob, startled by the sudden, direct question, stutters on his response, "W-well, yeah." he says, looking away. Lacey smiles in response.
"S-so, why did you choose me to walk you to class this morning?" Jacob asks, trying to change the subject.
"Well, for one, you were the only one not surrounding me. It was nice. Plus, you interest me. I'm curious about you."
Jacob looks up, stunned by the strange answer. "What do you mean? There's nothing very special about me." he answers honestly.
"Oh, I don't believe that. There's something in your eyes that tells a completely different story. They make me want to figure you out."
Not wanting to get back into 'the story' his eyes tell, that made her so sad before, he changes the subject again.
"And why did you call me Jake? I don't care, really, but not many people call me Jake."
"Jacob's too serious. I like Jake better." Lacey replies with a smile.
"How do you know I'm not a serious guy?" he says, sarcasm dripping in his voice.
"I'm not saying your not deep, 'cause I can tell you are. But you're not serious, I don't think. Just…bored?" Lacey says, looking into his eyes again. Jacob blinks and looks away, the intensity of her gaze making him uncomfortable.
"That's it, isn't it? You're bored, but…more then that. You're unhappy."
Jacob's head snaps up, and he looks at her in shock.
"Uh…uh…" he stutters, trying to form a response to her dead on realization. But the bell rings, saving him from having to lie to her.
"Well, time for class." and with that, the subject is dropped, and Lacey jumps out of the booth. She puts her bag on her shoulder, and looks at Jacob who's still sitting.
With a laugh, she reaches down and grabs Jacob's hand. "Come on, haha." She pulls him out of the booth, and they begin to walk. She drags him down the crowded hallways, still holding his hand. People notice her first, then follow the length of her arm and see their intertwined hands. They look up now, to see who's attached to that lucky arm, and notice him. And they wonder, what's so special about him? He's not un-attractive, but at a glance, there's nothing striking about him. And at a glance, she might be the most striking thing they'd ever laid their eyes on. He can read the thoughts as plain as day on their faces. It makes him uncomfortable, to have everyone they walk pass look at him, judge him, so much that he almost pulls his hand away. Almost. Instead, he suffers the few minutes that feel like hours, and when they finally arrive at their next class, he lets his hand slip from hers, feeling some relief but also some sorrow. Pushing these feelings away, he sits down at his desk, and settles in for the next forty-five minutes spent looking at the side of her face from across the room.
Final bell rings and Lacey leads the way out of the history room.
"So, is my guide going to walk me home?" Lacey asks, spinning around to face Jacob, walking backwards in perfect grace.
Jacob smirks at her "Do you really need me to show you the way?"
"No, but I enjoy your company. So, will you walk with me?" Lacey asks, smiling sweetly at him.
"Sure." Jacob replies, returning her smile.