I was ridiculously excited to get to school the next morning. I woke up early, with the sun, and quickly became too restless to go back to sleep. Thoughts of school and the possibility of seeing Charlie swirled in my mind and soon my stomach was occupied with butterflies. Bob, Beau and Belle, took up the majority of my bed space, hogging the covers. Bob lay pressed against my back, snoring softly, Beau was curled against my stomach, her soft fur tickling the exposed skin of my stomach from my ridden-up singlet and Belle slept across my face, almost like a sleeping mask. In a tag-team effort, they effectively made it impossible for me to rollover. As I shifted, trying to move off my dead arm, they stubbornly refused to move, though they were awake now. With so many thoughts running through my mind, returning to sleep was an impossibility, so, I decided to go for a run.
"Okay," I called to the room at large. Their ears perked up and Belle purred. "Time to get up. Everyone off my bed!" as I sat up, they automatically got up too, jumping off the bed and staring at me, waiting to see what I was going to do. They knew the drill.
I changed into my running gear, asking my dogs if they wanted to come with me, "Do you guys want to go for a run?" I jingled their leads and Bob barked excitedly, deep and booming, his tail moving at lightning speed. Beau, the quieter of the two dogs, sat on my foot, staring up at me with intelligent eyes demanding I put the lead on her. "What about you Belle?" I asked, looking at her. She yawned languidly and pawed at my bed, stretching before spinning in circles and plonking herself on my pillow, her back to me indignantly. "Lazy cat," I told her, but she ignored me. Of course she wouldn't come for a run; she was a cat; she was probably insulted that I asked.
Dad had already left for work, unsurprisingly. So, grabbing a spare house key, I gripped Beau and Bobs leads and walked outside. I took a moment to stretch, which ended up taking longer on account of Bob pulling on his lead impatiently. And then we were off, down the drive way and onto the sidewalk. The air was fresh as the sun slowly warmed the earth and I inhaled deeply, glad for the chance to go for a run. My feet fell back into a familiar rhythm as they pounded against the cement, running the route I had run many times before. I didn't even have to think about where I was going; that was the beauty of it. I didn't have to think. Pretty soon, I was gasping in air and feeling it burn all the way down to my lungs. Bob's coat shone in the morning light as he pulled ahead and pulling me, but Beau ran comfortably at my side.
I preferred running in the early morning simply because of the air; it was always cleaner, purer, full of hope and the promise of a new day. I passed few people, mainly older men who relished having the bodies they had when they were younger, wanting to have them again. I smiled politely as I passed them and they returned my smile. It was the way, in this neighbourhood. There were no rude people, just friends, and if you weren't friends, you were acquaintances, and if you weren't acquaintances, then you lived in the same area, so that automatically got you a smile.
The last half kilometre was always the hardest; I pushed myself harder when I felt my legs slowing down with the assurance of home being very close. My muscles screamed in protest, demanding a break from the exertion. As I rounded the last bend, I launched into a full sprint for home, Bob and Beau loping beside me in easy gaits. It would be so much easier if I had four legs. I collapsed onto the soft grass outside our house and fought to catch my breath, drinking in the oxygen. Bob and Beau sat beside me, Bob licking my face and nudging me with his wet nose.
"Okay, okay," I pushed his face away from mine, trying not to breathe in the smell of dog breath. As my heart rate returned to normal, I got up and walked inside, automatically filling the dog bowls in the kitchen with fresh water. Their long tongues lapped it up as I grabbed my own bottle of water from the fridge. Sweat trickled down my face, covering my body in a glossy sheen and making my face red. Loose strands of my long hair that didn't make it into my messy ponytail stuck to the back of my neck. I went upstairs to my room, having a shower and savouring in the feeling of steady streams of warm water pelting my skin.
I threw on the first things my hands grabbed; jeans and a red singlet and I pulled my hair up into a loose braid, curling tendrils framing my face softly. I shoved my homework I somehow managed to complete last night into my book bag; I dug around in my closet for my converse before realising they were next to my desk. As I went down the stairs, the end of my braid bumped against my lower back. I feed the dogs, making sure there was plenty of water and biscuits, munching on an apple. The bills from yesterday were gone; obviously dad had taken them to work so he could pay them. The kitchen bench was clean.
After brushing my teeth, I left the house, apologising profusely when Bob and Beau looked at me with both sad and accusing eyes like they did every time I left the house. No matter I always came back; to them, it only mattered that I was leaving. "I'll be back this afternoon," I promised, as always.
Getting in my car, I headed to Josephine and Henrietta's house first, the first house on my carpool list. Josephine and Henrietta were fraternal twins; opposites in almost every way. One thing they did have in common, though, was their mutual distaste for their names. Their mother had gone through a Victorian era phase when she was pregnant with them, thus naming them popular names from that time, much to their annoyance. Instead, they preferred to be called Jo and Henri, and if anyone dared to use their full names, they would suffer the wrath of a combined twin attack.
They had gotten back from China only last night, which is why they had missed the first day back at school. I pulled into their drive way and beeped the horn twice in quick succession. A second later, Jo walked out the front door, adjusting her thin-wire framed glasses, her black dead-straight hair pulled back into a chic but conservative ponytail. Jo was tall and willowy, and a prodigy when it came to physics and chemistry. Needed help balancing equations or finding the speed of acceleration? Jo was the person you went to. Henri was a beat behind her, a piece of toast in her hand, her short, frazzled red hair tucked behind her ears. Henri, by comparison, was a total jock, about an inch or two shorter than Jo's five-nine stature. From years spent swimming laps in pools, running track and participating in basketball, hockey and volleyball, Henri was built sturdier, her shoulders were wider and more angular and I knew beneath her baggy jeans were well-muscled legs.
"How was China?" I asked as Jo slid into the front seat of my Mazda 3 and Henri dropped in behind her.
Jo pulled on her seatbelt as I put my car in reverse, heading to Kat's place, "Nice."
"Too hot," Henri complained.
I laughed, "Good to know."
"There were so many people, I swear, if I had let go of Jo's hand even for a second, I would have lost her," She said around her mouthful of toast.
Jo sighed, exasperated, "What did I tell you about eating with your mouth full?"
In the rear view mirror, I saw Henri shrug, uncaring. "I'm hungry and I have a lot to say."
Even though Kat lived the closest to me, I always picked her up last due to the fact that she was perpetually running late. No matter how early she woke up, she was always the last person to school. Currently, her beat up fiat 126 was in for servicing, and the twins didn't have their own car, so it was left to me to chauffeur everyone around. The good thing, though, was that I never paid for my own movie ticket; a consolation prize.
A second later, I pulled into Kat's drive way and beeped the horn again, in the same way I had for Jo and Henri.
Henri leaned forward, "Twenty bucks says she can't make it out in under five minutes."
"Deal," Jo said. We watched the door and I timed, waiting to see how long it would take. Two minutes passed and we sat there, staring. At the four minute mark, Henri groaned and I tooted again. At exactly six minutes, Kat emerged from her house in a flurry of movement, shoving loose bits of paper into her bag and picking up the bits that fell to the ground. Her blonde hair was damp and fell in her eyes as she hurried to my car. She got in, slamming the door shut.
"Sorry," she said, shoving her bag down at her feet.
"You should be," Henri grumbled. "You cost me twenty bucks.'
"What?" a quizzical frown appeared on her face.
"Never mind."
I took off down the street towards the school when Jo asked, "So, what did we miss?"
"Oh. My. God. The hottest guy has transferred to our school. Charlie," she drew his name out and fanned her face. "Imagine tall, dark and handsome, but sexier. And so adorable!"
"Damn," Henri muttered. "We always miss out on the good stuff."
"He was at the café yesterday," I said unthinkingly. As soon as it was out of my mouth, I knew I'd made a mistake. Kat's eyes bulged as she glared at me.
"And why didn't you tell me?" She demanded. "This stuff is important!"
I shrugged, "Does it matter?"
"Yes! What happened?"
"He ordered cake," I told her, grinning.
"You know what I mean," Kat groaned. "Tell us everything."
"This isn't the beginning of another obsession, is it?" I asked worriedly.
"Name one time I've had an obsession with someone at our school," she scoffed.
"Pat Miller, fourth grade. You made us ride our bikes around every afternoon to search for his house," I said dryly.
"Noah Beasly, sixth grade," Henri added.
"Joseph Blaise, seventh grade," Jo added. "If I remember correctly, that obsession lasted two years."
"Freshman year, that foreign exchange student from Cadiz," I said. "You were so depressed when he left."
"And last but probably not the absolute last, junior year Scott Nateman," Henri finished.
"Fine, so I've had a couple of crushes," she emphasized. "That doesn't mean anything this time, I mean, Grace saw him first."
"Oh man, he's spoken for already?" Henri whined.
"No," I said at the same time Kat said yes.
"Okay, how about this; you tell us everything that happened yesterday afternoon, and we'll decide if he's spoken for or not," Jo said.
"Fine," I sighed. I told them everything, from bumping into him, to getting in trouble from Macy to the brownie.
Henri sighed when I finished, "He's spoken for."
"No, he's not," I laughed at her crestfallen expression.
"He brought you a brownie," Jo said, raising an eyebrow.
"Only because I said they were really good!" it was my turn to be exasperated. "Besides, we have gym first up and he might be in our class, so Henri will be able to amaze him with her sporting prowess."
Kat groaned as I pulled into the school parking lot, and into the same spot as yesterday, "I forgot about gym. Though, that does remind me, John is after Grace again."
"How did gym remind you of John?" I asked in disbelief.
Kat shrugged, "John's in our gym class."
"Oh. But he's not after me, he's a creep who likes to wind me up to get a rise from me."
"When are you going to face up to the facts, Gracie? That boy likes you," Jo sighed.
"Even if he does like her, there is no way he's dating her. He's a jerk, heck, he's king of the jerks," Henri said, her protective side coming out.
"I'll face up to the facts when they actually become facts and not just speculation," I quipped. "Talking about facing up to the facts, when will you put Jordan out of his misery and go out with him?"
Jo blushed, "I'm too busy at the moment; senior year is a busy year and I need to get that scholarship."
"Yeah, yeah," I said, locking my car. "Come on, we'll be late if we don't hurry."
We made it up the front steps in record timing and Kat called, "I'll see you guys in gym," as she sped off to her locker. Gym was the one class we shared all together. I waved to Jo as she headed to her locker, and Henri walked beside me she had homeroom with me, her locker situated right beside mine. As we hurried down the hallway, Henri slowed her pace to match mine as her legs were longer than mine. In fact, from my little group of friends, I was the shortest at five-two and they were constantly having to take smaller steps. Kat was closer to my height at five-five, than Jo or Henri.
Henri glanced down at her jeans, "Did I ever thank you for these?"
"I'm pretty sure you did, though I don't mind if you want to marvel in my gift," I grinned. Her jeans, which I had given her last year for her birthday, had started out as a normal pair of jeans, but, with a little creativity from me, I had decorated them in patterns of gold, silver, red, purple, blue and green, drawing pictures and making patterns. Art was one of the few things I seemed to do well at, and it was something I enjoyed doing; watching the colours come to life and give shape and definition to my thoughts, ideas or memories. Art, languages and history was my forte. Sciences and math was Jo's, sports and health was Henri's and music and drama was Kat's. We were like four puzzle pieces from completely different puzzles that somehow fit together perfectly to create a big picture.
As we turned a corner in the hallway, I saw Charlie ahead, walking in the opposite direction to us. When he spotted me, he smiled. "Thanks for the brownie," I said.
"Was it to die for?" He joked.
"You have no idea." Henri cleared her throat and I jumped, having briefly forgotten she was even there. Okay, so maybe I had it bad for the new guy. "Oh, Charlie, this is Henri, my best friend, Henri, this is Charlie."
"Hi," she grinned, holding out her fist for a fist bump. I nearly laughed. During informal introductions, Henri always fist-bumped, Jo always shook their hand and Kat fluttered her eyelashes when it was a guy, or raised an eyebrow when it was a girl and I always seemed to half-wave or smile. We were weird like that.
Charlie seemed surprised at Henri's antics but nevertheless bumped his fist against hers, "Hi."
Then the bell rang and we hurried off, heading for our lockers quickly and then to homeroom. Mr Hudson said nothing as we arrived late, indifferent to when we got there as long as we did get there. Mr Hudson was probably the mellowest teacher in the whole world, or close to it.
"That was Charlie?" Henri asked, even though she had heard me say his name. "Holy moly, he is smokin'."
"True," I laughed. "He has amazing eyes," I sighed.
"Jesus, I didn't even get to his eyes, I was too busy looking at his face."
"Well, when you do, you'll know what I mean."
We sat down, chatting, but the next thing I knew, the bell was ringing and we were heading to the girls locker rooms, changing into the horrid regulatory uniform; blue shirt with the school logo on the chest, and black sport shorts. The school required all students to take gym; however, for those jocks like Henri, Sport was an actual class, so they did two lots of sport each week instead of one.
Finding Jo and Kat, we hurried over, sitting against the wall. From where we sat, I could see Charlie talking to the Coach. So, he was in this class.
"John," the Coach called.
"Yes," he answered lazily.
"Take Charlie to the boy's locker room and get him a uniform and a lock," the Coach ordered. John mock saluted and walked away, passing us as he went, Charlie trailing behind.
"Dreamed about you last night," he said, slowing down so he could say this, but not stopping.
"Don't make me puke," I snapped at him.
"Oh, trust me, you were doing something with your mouth but it wasn't puking. Maybe we could make it a reality," he grinned wickedly, tauntingly.
"Any connection between your reality and mine is purely coincidental, and that's the way it's going to stay," my jaw clenched.
His grin only widened, but he left it at that, walking to the locker rooms. My face reddened as I felt Charlie's eyes on me, but I didn't look up at him. Way too embarrassing. I only looked up when they were far enough away and I watched them disappear into the locker room.
"Creep," Henri said.
"Jerk," Kat corrected.
"Pig," Jo added.
"All of the above," I laughed.
"So, that's Charlie?" Jo asked in a whisper. I laughed at how similar her response was to her sister's. Maybe they had more in common than I thought.
"That is Charlie," I confirmed.
"Oh my gosh," she said.
"Yep," I confirmed again.
"Did you see the look on his face just then?" Kat interrupted Jo and mine's musings.
"Yeah, he looked mad," Henri joined in.
"Did he?" I asked, surprised. I couldn't imagine a mad Charlie. But that was probably just because I'd only ever seen him smile.
"Mmm-hhmm," Kat said. "I wonder what that was about."
"I have no idea," I frowned. We fell into speculative silence.
"You know, I think I prefer bad boys," Kat said.
"What?" Henri asked.
"You know, Charlie is cute, like really cute, but I prefer the whole I-don't-give-a-damn attitude, pierced skin, tattooed guys. Charlie is too…farm boy for me. Too clean cut," Kat said.
"Right," I laughed.
"We forgot you like guys who are just as messy as you are," Henri added.
A second later, Charlie walked back in; his jaw clenched tight, his hands made into fists. He looked absolutely livid; a black look twisted across his face. Despite this, I couldn't help but notice he was pulling our ugly uniform off with ease, nor could I stop my eyes from running over his broad shoulders and firm-looking chest. I bit my bottom lip, worrying it between my teeth.
"What do you suppose they talked about?" Jo asked, looking like she felt sorry for Charlie, being in a fairly confined space with John.
"What all guys talk about; either themselves, sports, or girls," Henri said, her eyes were also glued to Charlie.
Suddenly Kat burst into giggles and we turned to look at her, "I just had a thought. What if they took out their thingies and compared sizes?" she managed to get out between huge, belly-deep laughs.
I blushed at the suggestion, surprised Kat would have thought up something like that. Then again, Kat wasn't exactly propriety incarnate. She said stuff like that all the time. Henri leaned against me to better speak to just us three, "Who do you think won?" she wiggled her eyebrows.
"You know," Kat whispered, "I heard you could tell by their shoe size."
"Where did you hear that?" Jo asked, laughing.
"In a book, I think," Kat replied. I couldn't help it; my eyes wandered down to Charlie's sneakers. My cheeks reddened even more as I realised they were big sneakers.
Kat laughed, "You so just looked," she accused me.
"Did not," I defended, but she saw right through me. I was a terrible liar; horrible really, except when it came to someone else's secrets; those I succeeded in keeping to myself rather easily, but anything else was open to the general public it seemed.
They laughed at my red face as the Coach's whistle blew and we groaned, getting up and gathering around him. "Today's sport is soccer, so Henrietta and Jared will be our team captains; choose your team," he told them. Henri walked to stand beside the Coach, glaring at him for using her full name. He either didn't see or didn't care. Naturally, Henri chose us first.
So, what did you think?
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I will be back to school tomorrow so my updating will probably become very irregular, so i apologise in advance. Sorry.
Anyway, thanks for reading!