A/N: Thanks to Kristin and Pargoletta for reviewing. Sorry it's been a while! I've been really busy these past couple weeks. I'll try to post more often though. Enjoy, read and review!

Chapter Eight

A few days later, I found myself having a hard time focusing on what Mrs. Lawrence was teaching us about. I looked out the second-story window. The trees were softly swaying in the gentle wind, and the flag in the front of the school, was lightly blowing.

"Justine?" Mrs. Lawrence asked me.

I looked back to the front of the room and focused on what she had written on the white board in the last few minutes. "Yeah?"

"What is the log of 256?"

"Um…" I hesitated and looked down at my textbook. I should know this! We did this last year!

"Can anyone help her out?" Mrs. Lawrence asked the class sounding annoyed at me. I watched her eyes look around the room. They went behind me, along the back wall, and then to the left of me, which happened to be where Ryan was sitting with his hand raised. "Ah! Wonderful!"

"It's about two-point-four-one." Ryan explained looking down at his notebook.

"Thank you Ryan," she said looking at me.

I looked at Ryan sitting across the room from me, near the door, and found him staring at me. He gave me a quick smile, before turning back to face the front of the room.

I sighed. That was so embarrassing! I know how to do this, and I just made myself look like a complete idiot!


After the bell had rung, our class packed up our note and textbooks, and then left. Ryan waited for me, outside in the hall. I joined him a couple seconds later and gave him a weak smile. "That was so embarrassing!" I confided.

Ryan laughed.

"Hey! That's not funny!"
"Sorry," Ryan mumbled trying not to laugh again. "What's up?"

I looked at him and shrugged. He did not need to know about my problems!

"Well, are you okay? You were really spacing," Ryan replied as we started walking towards my English classroom.

I looked at him for a second, and then turned my attention to the artwork on the wall. There were self-portraits of the students in Into to Art. "Some of these are really good." I pointed to the pictures.

"Justine," Ryan prodded. "You changed the subject!"

I mumbled an "I know" before heading into my next class. I heard a faint good-bye, but didn't pay attention to it as I picked my favorite seat. The third desk in, in the second row. I took out my English notebook as Laura came in and sat down at the desk next to me.

"Hey!" She greeted. After a some-what long pause, she said, "So, are you and Ryan going out or something?"

"What? No. No way!" I replied. "Why? Are you interested?" I turned to look at her. She was looking back at me, with her curly dirty-blonde hair and blue eyes.

"No. But you certainly look it."

Just then, John Vera, our English teacher, walked in the open door. He looked so relaxed in his blue jeans and old Beach Boys t-shirt. Nice John! I thought sarcastically. After he put his binder, with his attendance sheets in it, on the table, he sat on his desk in the front of the room and looked out at all of us. "What did you guys think about the I Odyssey?"

A few boys in the back griped some lame response about how they loved it. "I bet none of them even read it," I whispered to Laura. She smiled back.

"Justine. What did you think of it?"

I thought for a sec. "I enjoyed it. Some parts were a little gruesome, but yeah. It was good."
"Can you elaborate on the gruesomeness of it?"

I nodded. "Like the part where Odysseus and his men were in the cave with the Cyclops, and then they blinded him with the… with the…" I smiled at him.

"Okay, well, today we are starting a new book." The whole class groaned. "This one's called Robinson Crusoe." John then went on to explain the characters, and the basic plot to us after passing out the books.


After the bell had rung after English, signaling the end of the school day, I headed back to my locker. I looked up from my cell phone, and realized that Ryan was leaning against my locker. I gave him a questioning look.

"Am I in your way?" He asked flashing a flirty smile.

I smiled back and replied, "Just a little." I spun my combination lock to the correct numbers, without really looking at it, and opened my locker. I took out my English binder from my backpack, and stuck it in my locker. Then, I took out my French textbook from my locker. "So, why are you over here anyway?"

"Looking for you," He replied taking my textbook from me, so I could close my locker.

I looked at him. God, he has nice eyes! "B-but why?" I asked turning away from the row of lockers and starting to walk down the hallway.

"'Cuz, I was wondering if you wanted to hang out." Ryan paused waiting for my response. When I didn't give him one, he continued. "Ya know, study together."

"Like a date?" I asked stopping dead in my tracks and looking at him squarely.

"Yeah, like a date." He smiled, making me smile too. "Does that mean you accept?"

I nodded and started walking towards the parking lot again.

"Great!" Ryan exclaimed a little loudly. He looked at his watch, on his left wrist. "I gotta run, or Emma'll leave without me." He gave me my book back and headed outside.

I chuckled silently to myself and headed out to meet Sam, Greg, and Katie in the senior lot, just outside the main office.

"Someone's happy," Sam said to Greg as I climbed into their beat-up car and slid in next to Katie.

(A/N: Okay, how was it? Let me know! Please Review!)