CHAPTER 2
Marco
I was sitting in class, trying to keep from dozing off while our biology teacher kept droning on about the wonders of the digestive system, when the class door opened. Well, anything to break out of the fog of dullness filling the room. I looked over at the door casually… and froze.
A girl was standing in the doorway. And I mean, wow. She was an inch or so taller than me. Red hair, lightly tanned skin, and a beautiful baseball cap that complimented her clothes well. Her eyes were a soft orange and she had the innocent, unsure smile that turned heads when she walked in. Well, my head, anyway, but I'm sure the others looked too.
Orange eyes? She must wear contacts. Now that was good taste in eyewear.
"Class, this is our newest student, Susan–" The teacher looked at the clipboard with a confused expression on his face. "T… T… Tran… yip?..."
"Taronyutsyip," she said softly. "It's pronounced Teh-ron-joots-jip."
And a beautiful name, too. Tehrs…ron…jip. Something like that, anyway. I looked to my right. An empty seat. AN EMPTY SEAT!
"THANK YOU, LORD!" I yelled. That was when I realized that I'd yelled that part out loud.
Oops.
I looked around and saw that the entire class was staring at me. "I… got one right," I announced coolly. The teacher looked at me. "But I didn't ask a question, Marco."
Uh-oh. I quickly thought up a comeback. "I skipped ahead." A beautiful save.
"Now, please, take your seat, Susan, so I can continue the lesson." Susan delicately walked over and sat down… next to me!
"Yes!" I whispered this time, so I didn't attract any more attention than I usually get. The other students are like paparazzi, really. They can't wait to find a reason to look at me.
Mr. Boring and his ramblings went on. Something about an apple falling on some guy's head forever ago. I didn't care enough to listen to anything else. All that mattered now was that the most beautiful girl in the school was sitting next to me.
The bell rang, and I was OUT OF THERE. Maybe I would be walking in the same direction as Susan Tronstip.
I rushed to the front of the school and leaned on the wall like a really cool ladies' man I saw in a movie once. Susan came through the doors and started walking along the sidewalk. I ran over to catch up with her.
"Hey, Susan. So, you take this way home too?" I asked.
"Well, I assume everyone walks off the school grounds before going home," she said caringly.
She took the sidewalk down to the left of school. Not my direction home, but a little more walking is good for you, right? So I followed her.
"See, we do take the same way home," I stated.
"I guess so," she replied, still softly. We walked for a while in silence.
"So… do you, maybe… want to go to dinner sometime?" I asked.
Almost as soon as I finished, she blurted out, "Yes! I mean, sure. Where?" she asked.
"How about that new Chinese place down the street? I think it's called Chow 'N Noodles."
"When?" she asked with a gleam in her green eyes.
Green? She must have taken her contacts out.
"How about 2 o'clock tomorrow?" I asked hopefully.
"Doesn't school end at 3?" she asked, confused.
"Tomorrow's Saturday," I reminded her. She stared at me, even more confused now. I tried to clarify things.
"There's no school on Saturdays."
"Oh, yes, I… forgot. Sure, I can come."
I went running down the sidewalk as fast as I could to make sure my schedule was open tomorrow. And if it wasn't, I'd force it open.
I passed Rachel and Cassie and kept running. Rachel made some crack about my running, but then again, she'd insult me about anything I did. Rachel and I are always making jokes at each other's expense. She keeps hitting me with more insults, although mine are much better.
I burst through my front door as soon as I could find the right key to unlock it. My dad was a little annoyed at first because he was watching a game, but he seemed to realize there was a reason for my behavior once he saw my face. He calls it my "I've got a date" face.
"Okay, who is it this time?" he asked.
"Susan!" I yelled. I was almost screaming out of excitement. Imagine it, me getting a date with the prettiest girl in the school – the first day she attended, too!
"Susan what?" my dad asked.
"Susan… something with a 'T'," I said, a little bothered that I couldn't remember.
"When?"
"Tomorrow!" I was still yelling a little from all the excitement. Not that it mattered much, though. At least not when there was something so much more important. Like getting a haircut and ironing my suit. My suit!
I needed to get one of those.
