[[[ Assignment ]]] ch. 1
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
*I am not going to look up, I will not look up. It's best if I just keep my head down the remainder of the period and focus on what Mr. Johnson is saying, rather than being distracted by her.* Clark Kent kept advising himself of this throughout Mr. Johnson's last period english class. At intervals of five minutes, he would accidently look up, see the back of Lana Lang's head, get distracted, and then curse himself.
His friends, mostly Pete Ross and Chloe Sullivan, would assume this easy distraction was a daily occurance because of Clark's obsession with Lana Lang. But this had nothing to do with it today. Nor did it have anything to do with it this week... or the past month.
Ever since the incident that occured on the day of Lex Luthor's wedding day and Clark's decision to leave for Metropolis for the summer, he would no longer call it an obsession. No doubt, he was still infatuated with Miss Lang. But now, he was more cautious of his actions and almost of afraid that his next move will turn into a disaster.
During his freshman year, it felt that the only consequences of his actions around Lana were embarrassment and humiliation. From years of experience, he has learned that there are deeper penalties for what he does than just embarrassment.
So here was Clark, sitting in class, wondering what was currently going through Lana's mind. He wanted so badly to know how she felt about where they stand now. For so long, Clark had wanted to speak of Lana as a 'girlfriend'. And now he was desparate for just 'friend'. Were they friends? It was so hard to tell with the awkwardness they encounter around each other. At first, Clark had felt that things would go back to the way they were, especially after the whole ordeal with Van, the guy that classified him and meteorite-effected people as freaks.
But things between them were still wierd. So no, it's not obsession that gets Clark distracted by Lana in class. Infatuation would not be the blame in this case either. So that only leaves the possibility that Clark's curiousity and constant need to fix things are making it difficult for him to pay attention to Mr. Johnson's never-ending lecture.
"The due date is May 30th. I expect you all by tomorrow to have an idea of who you're going to be working with, at the least," Mr. Johnson had concluded right before the bell rang.
Clark's head was still down as he found that he accidently ripped through all the pages in his thick notebook because of his strong grip on his pen. While the rest of his classmates were scrambling around looking for a partner for Mr. Johnson's assignment, Clark recalled how excited he used to get when a teacher would give the class an assignment that required teamwork. He would look up with a bright smile on his face and search for a partner. It didn't require too much to find someone to work with, because he would immediately come into eye contact with Pete, who would be staring at Clark with expectation.
But now, there was no anticipation in finding a partner. Lana probably found herself someone to work with, which left Clark not caring who he would end up with.
"Ahmm... hey Clark. Would you like to be with me?"
Clark's head shot up violently when he heard those words being said by that voice. For a split second, he actually thought she was referring to something other than the project. "What?"
"You know... the project we just got assigned to. I was wondering if you wanted to work together to get it done?" Lana asked him with uncertainty, unlike how she normally would... sweetly and flirtaciously.
Clark's nose scrunched up as something dawned on him. "Ummm.. Lana I'd really like that, but I don't even know what the assignment is."
Lana stared at him for a few seconds and then answered, "You know what? It's okay if you don't wanna work together. Just tell me and I'll understand. You don't have to make up silly excuses to get out of it."
Clark rushed to fix what he felt was going to turn into another argument. "What? No, wait... I'm serious. I'd really like to work with you. But I dozed off when Mr. Johnson was giving the assignment. All I heard him say was that it's due next month and that we'd have to pair up by tomorrow."
She let out a tiny giggle and covered part of her face with her hand before continuing, "I'm sorry. I sounded paranoid just now, didn't I? It's just with everything going on lately with us, I guess I was aiming for an easy argument."
By now, the room had emptied, leaving only Clark and Lana to exit. They silently walked together into the hallway, and before they knew it, they were at Clark's locker. Feeling foolish from how she had just responded, Lana didn't know what to say. As she tried to quickly come up with something to say, she found herself getting side-tracked by Clark's eyes. It wasn't the first time she had realized the possession Clark's eyes held. It was probably the only part of Clark that held no secrets.
"So what do you say?" Clark asked eagerly.
Lana snapped out of the trance. "Hmm? What were you saying? I'm sorry. I guess you're not the only one who seems to be dozing off today," Lana apologized.
"Well, I was just suggesting that maybe later on we could get together at the Talon, possibly during your break, and talk about the assignment. For a head start, I would like to know what the assignment is. That is if you're still up for working together," Clark suggested hopefully.
It didn't require her to talk in order for him to know the answer. As soon as her bright smile shone and her dimples appeared, Clark knew what she would say. "I would love that. So see ya later, partner."
Clark watched as Lana walked away, and he didn't tear his eyes off of her until she turned the corner and disappeared. Then, his shoulders relaxed and he sighed with relief. This was a good start. *At least she doesn't hate you, Clark. You're off to a good start.* As Clark turned around to open his locker, he heard a riot coming from the other side of the hallway.
Pete was sprinting down the hall toward Clark's locker. The look of fear on his face brought worry to Clark. Students were moving out of the way to let Pete through, no one attempting to stop him, afraid for their personal safety. Pete finally made it to Clark and had to use his fists to stop his motion by leaning on Clark's arm.
"Clark, dude, she knows." Pete stopped to take a breath. "She knows everything."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
*I am not going to look up, I will not look up. It's best if I just keep my head down the remainder of the period and focus on what Mr. Johnson is saying, rather than being distracted by her.* Clark Kent kept advising himself of this throughout Mr. Johnson's last period english class. At intervals of five minutes, he would accidently look up, see the back of Lana Lang's head, get distracted, and then curse himself.
His friends, mostly Pete Ross and Chloe Sullivan, would assume this easy distraction was a daily occurance because of Clark's obsession with Lana Lang. But this had nothing to do with it today. Nor did it have anything to do with it this week... or the past month.
Ever since the incident that occured on the day of Lex Luthor's wedding day and Clark's decision to leave for Metropolis for the summer, he would no longer call it an obsession. No doubt, he was still infatuated with Miss Lang. But now, he was more cautious of his actions and almost of afraid that his next move will turn into a disaster.
During his freshman year, it felt that the only consequences of his actions around Lana were embarrassment and humiliation. From years of experience, he has learned that there are deeper penalties for what he does than just embarrassment.
So here was Clark, sitting in class, wondering what was currently going through Lana's mind. He wanted so badly to know how she felt about where they stand now. For so long, Clark had wanted to speak of Lana as a 'girlfriend'. And now he was desparate for just 'friend'. Were they friends? It was so hard to tell with the awkwardness they encounter around each other. At first, Clark had felt that things would go back to the way they were, especially after the whole ordeal with Van, the guy that classified him and meteorite-effected people as freaks.
But things between them were still wierd. So no, it's not obsession that gets Clark distracted by Lana in class. Infatuation would not be the blame in this case either. So that only leaves the possibility that Clark's curiousity and constant need to fix things are making it difficult for him to pay attention to Mr. Johnson's never-ending lecture.
"The due date is May 30th. I expect you all by tomorrow to have an idea of who you're going to be working with, at the least," Mr. Johnson had concluded right before the bell rang.
Clark's head was still down as he found that he accidently ripped through all the pages in his thick notebook because of his strong grip on his pen. While the rest of his classmates were scrambling around looking for a partner for Mr. Johnson's assignment, Clark recalled how excited he used to get when a teacher would give the class an assignment that required teamwork. He would look up with a bright smile on his face and search for a partner. It didn't require too much to find someone to work with, because he would immediately come into eye contact with Pete, who would be staring at Clark with expectation.
But now, there was no anticipation in finding a partner. Lana probably found herself someone to work with, which left Clark not caring who he would end up with.
"Ahmm... hey Clark. Would you like to be with me?"
Clark's head shot up violently when he heard those words being said by that voice. For a split second, he actually thought she was referring to something other than the project. "What?"
"You know... the project we just got assigned to. I was wondering if you wanted to work together to get it done?" Lana asked him with uncertainty, unlike how she normally would... sweetly and flirtaciously.
Clark's nose scrunched up as something dawned on him. "Ummm.. Lana I'd really like that, but I don't even know what the assignment is."
Lana stared at him for a few seconds and then answered, "You know what? It's okay if you don't wanna work together. Just tell me and I'll understand. You don't have to make up silly excuses to get out of it."
Clark rushed to fix what he felt was going to turn into another argument. "What? No, wait... I'm serious. I'd really like to work with you. But I dozed off when Mr. Johnson was giving the assignment. All I heard him say was that it's due next month and that we'd have to pair up by tomorrow."
She let out a tiny giggle and covered part of her face with her hand before continuing, "I'm sorry. I sounded paranoid just now, didn't I? It's just with everything going on lately with us, I guess I was aiming for an easy argument."
By now, the room had emptied, leaving only Clark and Lana to exit. They silently walked together into the hallway, and before they knew it, they were at Clark's locker. Feeling foolish from how she had just responded, Lana didn't know what to say. As she tried to quickly come up with something to say, she found herself getting side-tracked by Clark's eyes. It wasn't the first time she had realized the possession Clark's eyes held. It was probably the only part of Clark that held no secrets.
"So what do you say?" Clark asked eagerly.
Lana snapped out of the trance. "Hmm? What were you saying? I'm sorry. I guess you're not the only one who seems to be dozing off today," Lana apologized.
"Well, I was just suggesting that maybe later on we could get together at the Talon, possibly during your break, and talk about the assignment. For a head start, I would like to know what the assignment is. That is if you're still up for working together," Clark suggested hopefully.
It didn't require her to talk in order for him to know the answer. As soon as her bright smile shone and her dimples appeared, Clark knew what she would say. "I would love that. So see ya later, partner."
Clark watched as Lana walked away, and he didn't tear his eyes off of her until she turned the corner and disappeared. Then, his shoulders relaxed and he sighed with relief. This was a good start. *At least she doesn't hate you, Clark. You're off to a good start.* As Clark turned around to open his locker, he heard a riot coming from the other side of the hallway.
Pete was sprinting down the hall toward Clark's locker. The look of fear on his face brought worry to Clark. Students were moving out of the way to let Pete through, no one attempting to stop him, afraid for their personal safety. Pete finally made it to Clark and had to use his fists to stop his motion by leaning on Clark's arm.
"Clark, dude, she knows." Pete stopped to take a breath. "She knows everything."