Saved by the Bell: A New Generation

Chapter Three

Class had ended, meaning it was now lunch time. Boy, the morning classes sure did fly by then again Ariana guessed it was because she only ended up having one class to attend. And that was the class where she had met the ever so tolerable guy whom she vaguely catching glimpses at her when she shifted her eye trances. Did he even take notice of the lesson plan? Or was she more interesting than she initially thought? She didn't know though she did have to agree.

He was rather cute with his raging biceps and muscular torso from what she could see through his shirt—not that she was looking or anything. She did have a boyfriend after all. A boyfriend who wasn't here, she added. He could have been two thousands miles away and he still wouldn't be near her.

Things had changed between them, and the distance had only made things more difficult. Ariana wasn't even sure if she'd still have a boyfriend before the month neared an end. And in that case, she was sure her dad would be pleased that she was going to end the relationship because he had allowed her to date Logan, he had just never agreed that he was suitable for her. To her dad, Logan gave him the impression that he wasn't good enough for Ariana—that he'd never measure up to being a good guy to her.

But he did vow to Ariana that he'd hide his concern because she was happy and he only wanted her to be happy. Now, Ariana wasn't so sure. Maybe her dad was right. She was scared that being in a town away from her would give him an advantage to date around.

"So, we meet again mystery girl," the tall guy who talked to her earlier said as he trailed behind her, thus ending her train of thought.

"Are you following me or something?" she asked, stopping to study her directions of the school once again. She needed to know where the cafeteria was. Suddenly she was craving food—anything—to eat. She only hoped this cafeteria served better food than at her last school.

"Like you said, or something," he mischievously replied. "No, actually I'm heading to the cafeteria for lunch and I figured I'd take the time to walk with you. Show you where it is, you know, assuming you're going there."

"Uh, yeah I am and I have no idea where I'm going," she admitted, holding up her map of the school.

The guy laughed. "That's a given. You're going the wrong way. The cafeteria's that way," he pointed to the left in the opposite direction to where they were standing.

"Right, well I did say I was lost. I wasn't lying. So I'll take your offer to walk with me."

She followed him down the hall towards the cafeteria.

"I'm Chase Lanyard."

"OK. Am I supposed to know you?" asked a confused Ariana.

Ariana figured they had already come to an obvious answer on that dumbfounding question. She was new, hence coming to the conclusion that she didn't know him or any one else for that matter.

"I'm only the star quarterback on our football team," Chase explained.

"Well that's good to know."

What else was she to say? She wasn't into sport; she didn't know the fielding terms of sport so why was he telling her this?

"And your name is?" he prompted.

Ariana fixed a gaze onto Chase who seemed serious. "Sorry, I don't give out my name to strangers. For all I know, you could be a serial killer out to get new students."

Chase looked offended and waved his hand about. "If I were a serial killer, do 'ya think I'd be going to school?"

"I don't know…maybe you're here to suss out your next victim, named I don't know…me."

"Well, you obviously trust me enough to allow me to walk you to the cafeteria," he inflicted with a charming smile, grabbing hold of his back pack with his hand.

"Yeah, I don't why but for some strange reason I want your help," she responded.

"I promise you that I'm not a serial killer of sorts. I'm just an intrigued guy willing to know the name of a pretty girl."

"I bet you are."

"Uh-huh, so c'mon—I told you my name. It's only fair that you tell me your name," he insisted, eagerly.

Stopping outside the large white doors of the cafeteria, Ariana turned and looked at Chase. "To be fair, I didn't actually ask for your name. You just told me."

He ran a hand through his short dark hair. "OK. You got me there but you know my name and so it's only fair that in return, you let your own name slip to me—if we're going to be friends and all."

"Who said we were going to be friends," Ariana stated. This boy sure was cocky. No prizes for guessing that he was always this sure of himself. Did he always assume the best of things for his own personal benefit? Ariana wasn't even sure if she wanted to be Chase's friends. Then again, maybe she did. He was awfully cute as she took in the way his dark bangs fell around his face to dignify him naturally or his gleaming aquamarine coloured eyes that were definitely a standout of his features.

Not to mention his masculine body. Yet she wasn't sure why she was even taking notice of him when she had a boyfriend who she was supposedly very much into. Still, it was hard not to take notice of this guy with his incredible good looks, suddenly feeling guilt ridden that she was taking notice of another guy who wasn't her boyfriend.

"Thanks for guiding me to the cafeteria but I think I can make it on my own now," she said, pushing open the doors to walk in, leaving Chase to follow in behind.

Following the query of students lining up to receive their lunch, she spun around and saw Chase standing in the line behind her.

She uttered one word to him before completely walking towards the meals to define her choice of food. All she said was "Ariana."

Ariana—that had to be her name, right? She wouldn't have said it if it wasn't her name. Chase was intrigued. Ever since he had laid eyes on her in math class, he couldn't get her out of his head. There was a vivid descriptive image of brown haired beauty, perfectly implanted into his mind and now there was no way he was going to get the image out of his mind until he opted for another chance to possibly gain more knowledge about her.

This girl was definitely different to most girls he knew. All the other girls he knew were either fake looking or had fake personalities. They threw themselves at him due to his reputation and insane social status, yet this girl had never even heard his name before. She was neutral—she hadn't heard of his seemingly wild reputation that he had built for the entire student population to know within of his active lifestyle.

She looked different than the other girls too. She was really pretty with her long chocolate coloured hair and big brown eyes. She didn't act like she knew she was gorgeous. She probably couldn't care less whether she knew she was pretty or not. Her look was more natural than anything other—she didn't go out of her way to try and stand out from the other girls. She stood out anyway—whether she wanted the attention or not.

She was dressed in the simplest clothing unlike half the girls at school who'd either wear short and tight revealing clothes to gain the attention they prolonged desired. He enjoyed seeing girls dress up as much as the next guy though her style of clothing suited her. He liked how she didn't try to be someone else, rather she was just herself. He was drawn to her and he didn't even know her yet a part of him hoped he'd see her again and he had a feeling he would.

After all, she was in his math class so he guessed that she was a senior and so there was a chance that she could be in another class with him. If it turned out that mathematics was their only class together then he was going to find her again. He had to—because he was hooked.