I rush into my next class, late and slightly annoyed. I hear a noise that sounds like a bell, I look up and it's her laugh.
She is sitting in a chair by the front of the room. Next to her is the source of the laughter and my blood begins to boil. Chad is sitting next to her talking about something that is causing her to laugh. Chad's an ass. He plays football with Harold and is the leading scorer in the state. He also has slept with every girl in the school worth sleeping with, including my ex. I don't even see why all these girls swoon over him. He's pretty dense, most likely from getting tackled so much, and he isn't that strong, just quick on his feet. Whatever he has though is already working on Helga.
I can't stand it, for some reason I can't let him have her. She's leaning in to him, talking softly. Her confidence, that same confidence I recognized before is coming out. She's pushing her hair back and sitting up tall. What the hell could he have said to her? My teeth grind, I'm sitting up there.
I quickly make my way to the front of the room and sit behind them, whatever they have to say I want to hear it. Helga doesn't notice me at first she keeps laughing and playing with her hair. Chad is going on about football, so that's what she likes. I'm a mechanic though; I'm just as strong as this guy if not stronger. My pencil snaps, I didn't even realize I was holding one. They both turn to look at me and her face flushes again. Chad shoots me a dirty look. He can back off of her if he doesn't like it.
Our teacher, Ms. Watson, walks in. She is known to be one of the hardest history teachers in the school. We go through role call pretty smoothly, my heart skipping at her name. I really don't understand why I feel this way. It can't just be her looks, she's gorgeous but that's never really mattered to me. I think back to when we first met, she was such a sad little girl and I offered her my umbrella. We were so young though but after that she hated me. Maybe it was never really hate, maybe she did care for me and I was too dumb to notice. She never had an easy home life, her mom and dad neglected her more often than not, so maybe that's why she was so bitter. I remember all of the times she helped me when I needed it. Like the time she pretended to be my girlfriend to win over Lila, except for her it wasn't all pretend. That must have been heartbreaking and she did it anyway. She helped me save the neighborhood too even though it cost her tons of money. I was a stupid boy; I owe her an apology when she can talk to me. Did she miss me when she left? I never really realized how empty things were without her. Kissing other girls didn't fill me with the same energy kissing her had, it took me till now to realize that. How did she deal with all of this pinning for the years she did?
The air around me is charged with electricity. I feel his eyes on me except they're no longer drilling holes. I look over at Chad and stifle a giggle, he's exactly the type of distraction I need. Arnold is too dangerous for me, he brings up too much passion, too much pain from the past. I need something fun and light and that is where Chad comes in. He's the same kind of guy I dated back home, all brawn no brain. I do have to admit, he doesn't give me butterflies though. There is no spark or excitement, just comfort in the familiar. He's handsome too, which never really hurts. He smiles wide and talks a lot about him so all I really need to do is listen. He keeps rambling on about football, there's something about football players I like. Maybe its how little they care to get to know me, I get to be a pretty trophy for a man who all the girls would like. Ms. Watson, I think her name is, is really animated about whatever she's talking about, maybe I should pay attention for a little bit, I did promise dad after all.
"Ok guys, I know its only our second day and I know you are all excited to coast by senior year but, unfortunately, that isn't happening in here. To begin the year on a high note, we will be doing a project that will help determine the curriculum. I will be paring everyone off and each pair will create a visual representation of their favorite time period. The era with the most projects will be our place of study for the class. It can range from the beginning of civilization to the start of the war on terror. I'm not picky, but I do expect senior quality work. I swear if anyone brings in a shoebox with clay, you will fail. The goal of this project is to find what interests you most. Thankfully we have a small class so pairing off shouldn't take long."
I look around and realize she is right; there are only 13 others in the class with me, a far cry from the 32 I'm used too.
" Lets get started! Since we have an even amount of boys and girls this will be assigned into gender groupings: John and Lisa, Mike and Corey, Harold and Jessie, CJ and Maria, Brandon and Michelle…"
My pulse is a mile a minute; I am either with Chad or Arnold.
"…Chad and Lori, Arnold and Helga"
My eyes fall down to my notebook, dear God, I cant do this.
Myeyes snap up to look at her, this couldn't have worked out any better if I tried. Now Helga and I will be together until the project is done, I'll be able to get to know her and she can't run away, not unless she wants to fail.
She hands out the paper for the project; I look over at Chad who shoots me a sad look. Maybe I can convince this lady Arnold and I are a bad idea. According to this sheet, it would be 2 months of dealing with him. That's just not something I'm willing to do. The bell rings ending class and I walk over to her desk timidly, Chad shouts something about seeing me later.
"Later babes!"
Ass… I watch Helga make her way over to the teachers desk, I pause a moment, hoping I can get to talk to her about starting the project.
"I'm sorry Helga but there is no switching partners. That wouldn't be fair to the rest of the class. You and Mr. Shortman will just have to work through what ever issues you have."
With that she turns away from me. My hands are shaking I'm so angry. How can she not even listen to what I'm saying? Arnold is really still here? He looks like some sort of puppy dog, all needy and affectionate. I bet he asked her to pair us up! He couldn't handle leaving me alone, he has to "get to know me", stupid football head. Why can't he see I just want to be left alone? I walk past him, as I do he grabs my arm.
"Don't you dare grab me like that ever again!"
Crap, Ms. Watson's looking at us now. I flash her a sorry smile hoping to gain her forgiveness but I won't lessen my grip from her. She has to talk to me, just for a second.
"Helga I'm sorry but I want to talk about this project really quick before gym. I know you're pissed were paired up and I know you wanted me to leave you alone but I cant afford to not do well in this class. I promise if you'll work with me I will keep it strictly business, no personal questions, no extra time together, I'll respect your privacy. Please, just come by the boarding house after school and we can get started."
She seems to consider it before sighing and nodding her head.
"Fine, but Arnold please don't go back on that."
I know nod my head once and head off toward the gym, she walks a few steps behind.
Great, he's in my gym too. This is just wonderful; the one single solitary person I don't want to be around is my partner and apparently has all of my classes. A few guys gawk at me as I walk by. I push my shoulder back and realize this cant be all bad. I have Chad strung along, and a whole new school of boys to tease. Maybe I can give Arnold a shot as a friend, let him see how much I've changed. I'm not that silly little girl anymore. I know what I want and exactly how to get it. I walk past him into the gym and make my way to the girls locker room.
Most of them turn and stare, a little less confident now that I've found mine. Phoebe motions me over to her, a gigantic smile plastered to her face.
"Helga, look at you! There's the confidence I knew you possessed. What changed?" I smile and think a moment, taking my shirt off as I do, we only have 10 minutes to get changed and I'd like to look nice.
"I realized I didn't want to be that shy girl anymore, I gave her up when I moved to Arizona and I don't want her back." At this point I felt the eyes of most girls staring. I put on my sports bra and a thin white tank top. Phoebe rolled her eyes and smiled, she liked me much better happy. I peeled my jeans off and threw on a pair of leggings made for weight lifting, with dance taking up so much of my time out of school I made an arrangement with the principal that I can forgo gym in favor of weight lifting in the weight room with the boys who chose to. She was a little hesitant at first but when I told her how important physical health was to me she agreed, as long as I felt comfortable. I worked my hair into a high pony and chuckled to myself, nothing felt more comfortable than gawking boys.
She looks stunning, absolutely breathtaking. She bounces her way across the gym toward the weight room and like some sort of gravitational pull I follow, Gerald and Phoebe in tow. By the time we get in the room she's at the squat rack, adjusting the sides to fit her body. Chad is standing close by, watching her like a predator. He reminds me of a lion, watching a gazelle. I followed his gaze back to her. She was mid-squat, her body working under the weight to push it back up. You could see her muscles shaking; she wasn't scared of pushing her body to the edge. Every guy in the room was staring at her ass but my focus was on her face in the mirror. Her breathing was labored but she wasn't giving up, she never gave up, not since she was a kid.
All eyes on the room were on me, Chad was enjoying the show. Forget about everything else and focus on the weight. Push up through your soles, keep balanced, and breathe. You have dance tonight, push, balance, breathe. After dance you have to work on that project, push, balance, breathe. I can get through this, I can do this.
"Hey baby, keep that up and I'll have to steal you away from all these eyes."
I drop the weight on the rack, shocked at him being so close. I look over at him, letting my eyelids fall slowly. He has that same look on his face, that look of lust and desire and need. I have him wrapped around my finger and all it took was a few squats. I wink and walk over to the bench, he follows along like a puppy.
"Homecomings next weekend, you're going with me. Ill pick you up at seven."
I push the weight off my chest and smile, he stares down my shirt. I think I'm going to like it here.
Well Well Well… it took me forever to update and I'm sorry! Please keep commenting, anyone who private messages me will have their opinions listened too so please tell me what you like and don't like!