She was just one of those girls. The kind of girl that isn't exactly stunning to the casual observer, but the kind of girl that you can't not notice nevertheless. She was different, that much was obvious. He knew virtually nothing about her. Except for the fact that she was intriguing. And when she twisted her hair into two messy pigtails on either side of her head, he knew that he was already falling in love with her.
But that was last semester. Before he had started going to Degrassi, before he met Clare, and before everything changed. And now? Eli was currently sitting behind the same girl that he been so fascinated with a few months back. She was dressed in a red polo, indicating that she was in grade 11, and a short khaki skirt with bright red patterned tights underneath. He couldn't help but admire the way she sat and composed herself. Like she didn't care about anything. Eli was broken out of his thoughts when he heard the teacher address him. "Mr. Goldsworthy, perhaps you'd like to share with the class what is so amusing?" Eli's face contorted in confusion. "I'm sorry Ms. Dawes, but I don't understand what you're referring to," he responded politely. "I'm talking, Mr. Goldsworthy, about the smirk that was present on your face a few short moments ago." Ms. Dawes raised her eyebrows and waited for an answer. He mentally cursed at himself.
Shit, he thought. It's not as if he could tell the class that he was thinking about the seemingly nameless girl sitting in front of him (Yes, he was in love with her and he didn't even know her name. Not that he'd ever admit such a thing. Eli Goldsworthy no longer fell in love. Not after what happened with Julia and Clare). He cleared his throat and looked ahead, searching for an answer. To his surprise, the girl turned around to look at him. Her lips were painted a light cherry red color. Or maybe that was just the natural tint of her lips? Eli shook the thought away, suddenly feeling creepy. The girl thought nothing of Eli's glancing at her and only offered him a smile. It was one that said everything without saying nothing at all. Her lips were quirked up at the corners, like she knew something that he didn't know. Later, after class was over, Eli decided that he wanted to get to know her secret. Whatever it was.