Keith
"132, 133, 134... aha!" I stopped in front of locker 135 and held the code to my combination lock up so I could read it better. Honestly, the print was so tiny. I tried to open my locker with no avail about three times before I realized the number I'd been reading as a '5' was an '8'.
"Stupid thing..." I muttered to myself and twirled the lock quickly, shaking my head in disgust.
"Having trouble, Keith? Poor thing."
I gritted my teeth at the sound of a voice I knew only too well. It belonged to none other then the girl I'd had a mad crush on last year: Jana Morgan.
Boy, there was a mess if ever there was a mess. Ugh. Last year had been just horrible. See, I'd been going out with Jana's best friend, Beth Barry, for like a year when I started to see how cool **Jana was. I hadn't really hung out with Jana much before 7th grade- but when we started junior high, guys and girls went out in groups a lot together and since Beth and Jana are best friends, when I was Beth, usually we'd also be with Jana and her boyfriend, Randy Kirwan. So it wasn't until we were hanging out together in groups that I'd got to see Jana a lot. And developed a really big crush on her. I'd realized she was just the kind of person I wanted for a girlfriend... everything about her just fit. But there was one big problem.
Unfortunatly, she's been going out with Randy Kirwan for ages. You should know right away that Randy is one of the most popular boys in the entire school, and Jana is one of the most popular girls, so imagine how well known it is that they're a couple. And the weird thing is, everyone always talks about how perfect they are for each other. Which I personally just cannot see. Jana is way to good for Kirwan.
Or at least I thought so. When they split as an experiment or something in 7th, I saw my chance to get Jana once and for all, so I broke up with Beth. But when I started asking Jana out, she kept turning me down and saying stuff like 'Beth's my best friend' and 'I won't date my best friend's boyfriend'. Honest! At first I couldn't believe it. Talk about DUMB. I mean, it was like Beth ruled her life or something. Anyway, to get back to the main point, I told everyone at school that something was secretly going on between us. I guess I knew Jana would hate me more for that, but deep down I kept hoping for some reason she'd come to me whenever everyone in the school started snubbing her. But to my dismay, things backfired on the schoolground one morning, and to make an embarrassing story short, Jana and Randy got back together, and I became the loser. For awhile anyway. Guys don't hold stuff like that against you very long. Except Randy. He still hates my guts. Not like I care.
Anyway, I stayed away from the 'Perfect Couple' for the rest of the year and didn't see either of them over the summer. But I couldn't go on hiding forever. I would have to face Jana sooner or later and show her she couldn't make a loser out of me.
Just then my locker popped open and I smiled to myself.
"No, Jana. Actually I'm not having trouble with my locker. But thank you so much for your concern," I said equaling her sarcasm and turned around to face her. But she wasn't standing right behind me like I thought she'd be. Instead, I realized she'd moved across the hall and was working her own locker combination. Still, there weren't THAT many kids in our area, so I knew she had heard me.
"Whatever," she muttered, tossing her hair, and then turned around herself and paused a moment to give me a withering look before moving down the hall. But I barely noticed the glare she gave me. And I couldn't even fire another smart remark. I was too in awe.
Was that really Jana Morgan?
Man, I thought she was cute last year. Where had she been this summer? Camp Make-Over? I'd never seen anyone change so much in 3 months. Talk about hot. She was a couple inches taller and her figure was nothing short of fantastic. Her thick brown hair was sunstreaked and hung below her shoulders, and she had one of the darkest tans I'd seen. The overall impression was, I don't know... I'd say, like, radiant or something, but that sounds pretty dorky. Still, I couldn't think of a better word then that.
"Oh, geez," I thought, leaning against my locker with a sigh. How was I ever going to be able to hate her this year?