Chapter Two
"I'm Clare," Clare offered him her hand to shake, and Eli stared at it as if she were a leper, before accepting the handshake.
"So why did you move to Degrassi, Clare?" Eli asked, curiously.
"My dad filed for divorce last winter. The divorce was kind of messy for my mother, and she just wanted to have a fresh start in a new town with new people. She got a job working at the newspaper, and I get dragged here and transferred into Degrassi," Clare made a face.
"Aw, we're not that bad," Eli smirked.
"It's not Degrassi personally," Clare explained, "It's that I have to be away from all my friends."
Eli nodded, "I transferred here last year. It doesn't take too long to make friends here. We have all kinds of people, surely you'll find your niche."
"Thanks, Eli," Clare smiled.
"Sure thing. Hey, if you need someone to eat lunch with or something, you can always come eat with my friends and me. I think you'll like them."
"Alright, thank you so much," Clare was appreciative of his offer.
"No problem. We're all a bunch of misfits, so I am sure the girl that reads her textbook before the class even starts will fit right in."
Clare made a face at him, and was going to say something else but the teacher walked in just as she was about to.
"Alright, class. My name is Mrs. Winston, the drama teacher. As you all know, this is an advanced drama class, reserved for seniors only. It is a privilege to be in this class, and it a privilege for me to be teaching you all. We are going to be putting on a school play this year," Mrs. Winston explained, "And I think we all know who the writer and director is going to be."
Everyone turned and stared at Eli. Clare looked around nervously and felt as though she had just missed an inside joke.
"Eli Goldsworthy did such a great job on our play last year and he has been accepted into one of the top schools for theater in the US. Eli, I hope you don't mind taking on the role of writer and director again?"
"No problem, Mrs. Winston," he nodded to her, "I can have something typed up at the end of September for you to proof."
"Thank you," Mrs. Winston smiled towards him, and Clare could tell he was one of the prized students in the theater group, "Alright class, I am going to pass out the course syllabus, and then we can watch the DVD of last year's performance."
Eli leaned over to Clare, "Theater kind of means a lot to me," he explained to her, "At first, when I was asked to write the school play last year, I had no idea what I was doing. But as I got into it, I realized that it was something I was really passionate about."
"That's really cool," said Clare, clearly impressed, "I don't think I have any big passions."
"Do you like to write?" Eli asked, "I could always use an assistant. Of course, your name would be on the program and I'd give you a cut of all the glory," he was smirking, and Clare couldn't help but smile. That smirk of his was contagious.
"I don't know. I mean, I like poetry and sometimes I write short stories. But…my writing could never be good enough to be a play or anything."
Eli made a face and shook his head, "I'm sure you're writing is just fine."
Clare beamed at the compliment. Writing had always been a fun hobby of hers, but she never imagined she could ever help write the school play. She was only taking Drama for an elective credit. Maybe working on the school play with Eli would be fun. She decided to not write off the offer just yet.
Mrs. Winston passed out the course syllabus, and Clare glanced over it as the DVD was being set up. She noticed Eli's leg was bouncing up and down. Was he nervous?
"Are you okay?" She asked, curiously.
"Yeah," Eli shrugged, "I just get this way before people see my work. I mean, it's an alright play but it's not worth some of the hype surrounding it. The local newspaper even covered a story on it – can you believe that?"
"It's pretty impressive," Clare slid the syllabus into her notebook, "I'm looking forward to seeing it."
Mrs. Winston asked the class to quiet down, and turned out the lights as the DVD started up. As Clare watched the play, she found herself really impressed. The play was about a boy overcoming a mental illness. After a fight with his girlfriend, she hopped into her car and drove away angry. She had let her anger and emotions take away her concentration on the road, and crashed. She was killed in the accident, and her death caused the boy's mental illness to spiral further out of control. It was an intense play, and Clare had to admit, as impressive as it was, it scared her.
Once the curtain dropped and the actors came out for the bows, the classroom clapped. Clare joined in, and noticed the small blush creep across Eli's cheeks. For someone who was so cool and collected, he seemed pretty shy when it came to his play and all the attention it was receiving.
Mrs. Winston assigned some homework just before the bell rang – the class had to read a portion of Oedipus before tomorrow. Clare had never heard of the play, but Eli seemed excited. After the bell rang, and they were packing up their bags, Eli stopped her.
"What's your next class?" He asked.
"History," Clare glanced down at her schedule, "With Peterson."
"Okay," Eli nodded, "And after that?"
"English."
"With?"
"Brooks."
"Me too! How about after English, you come eat lunch with me. I can introduce you to the guys. I am sure you'll like them. Like I said, they're all kind of misfits. You'll fit right in."
Clare rolled her eyes at his smirk, "Thank you for your offer. I really liked your play. That was really amazing!"
"Thanks," Eli hiked his backpack on his shoulder, "It was a tough one to write. Like I said, when Mrs. Winston first asked me to write the play, I had no idea what to do. I even said no. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it'd be something I could at least try. The play got so much attention, I was contacted by a school in New York City. They want me to attend there next fall."
"Wow!" Clare exclaimed, "That's really…wow!"
Eli chuckled, "Yeah. I guess it is a little impressive, huh? So, you have fun in History and I will see you in English."
"Okay," Clare waved goodbye and headed to her locker. She tried to ignore the butterflies that were swarming in her stomach. She shook her head, trying to regain her composure. Ali was the one that always was boy-crazy. Not Clare. Now, here she was on the first day of school, and she was already falling for a guy she had just met.
She tried to keep herself calm, and collected. It wouldn't do her any good to focus on some silly little crush. But Eli was just so…so unlike anyone else she had ever met. His play, and his personality haunted her. She found herself looking forward to English class and lunch with Eli.
I don't know what's wrong with me, she thought to herself as she headed to her History classroom, I mean look at me! I have a flower in my hair! I don't usually go for guys in all black who write plays about mental illness and death. What in the world am I doing?
History class went by quickly. The teacher just passed out the course outline and explained about tests and grades and class projects. Clare found herself staring at the clock, waiting for English class to come quickly.
Finally, the bell rang and Clare headed quickly to her English class. When she arrived at the classroom, she grabbed a seat towards the back and waited for Eli to arrive. She couldn't believe how she was feeling or how she was acting. Clare had never really paid much attention to guys in the past. She always thought guys stood in the way of grades and friends. Now, she found herself absolutely infatuated with Eli Goldsworthy. She had never met anyone like him, and he both terrified and fascinated her.
The classroom door opened and Eli strode inside. He ran a hand through his messy hair, and took a seat next to Clare, "Hey," he grinned at her, "How was your History class?"
"It was alright," Clare tried to sound confident, "Degrassi really isn't as bad as I was afraid it would be. I still miss my old high school and my friends, but so far, Degrassi isn't completely awful."
Eli chuckled, "It's got its issues, but it's not too bad."
"So who are we going to be eating lunch with?" Clare asked, curiously.
"Well, there's Adam – he's really awesome. You'll love him – everyone does. Then there's Drew, Adam's brother. Sometimes he eats with us, when he's not busy with his jock friends, or with his crazy girlfriend, Katie. Don't get on her bad side though, because she is the class president and pretty much runs the school," Eli rolled his eyes, "I don't really care what she has to say about me though. Um…then there's Bianca. She's really awesome too."
"I can't wait to meet everyone," Clare said, trying to keep her nerves at bay. But she was transparent to Eli.
"Don't be nervous. They're all really nice. We don't bite, I promise," he smirked, "Unless of course…you want us to."
"Don't be a creep," Clare rolled her eyes.
"Ah, but 'creep' is my middle name."
Clare shook her head, "You're impossible."
"I try," Eli smirked again, and ran a hand through his hair.
Mr. Brooks came into the classroom and introduced himself. The syllabus was passed out, and an essay was assigned over what everyone did during their summer. Before Clare knew it, the bell was ringing and she was following Eli to the school cafeteria.
"Did you bring your own lunch?" He asked her.
"No, I didn't."
"That's alright. I'll stand in line with you and make sure you get something that somewhat resembles food," he grinned and led her to the cafeteria. The whole cafeteria was packed with students, and buzzing with conversation, "We usually eat outside," Eli explained, "It's quieter."
As they waited in the long line of the cafeteria, Clare tried to tell Eli that she didn't need him to wait with her, "You can go ahead and eat," she urged, "You don't have to wait with me. I can just come find you if you…"
"It's fine," Eli objected, "I can wait. So, you and your mom moved here because of a messy divorce? Or is that too painful of a subject?"
"It's fine," Clare shrugged, "It's tough, but I'm working on getting over it. My dad…he had never really been around much anyways. Now we know the real reason – his secretary," Clare shook her head, "Mom wanted to leave and never look back, so here we are."
"I'm sorry about all of that," Eli said earnestly, "It must suck to have to move here and leave everything behind."
"Yeah, but Degrassi isn't so bad. I'm…I'm glad I met you."
"I'm you met me too," Eli beamed at the compliment, "So, will you help me work on the school play? Any little bit will help."
"Yeah," Clare agreed, "I think I can help you. Just tell me what you need, and I'll do it."
"For starters, a cookie from the lunch line would be…"
"Eli!"
"You said whatever I needed," Eli reminded her.
"Fine," Clare gave in, "I'll get you a cookie. So, tell me about that play. What was it called?"
"Monster," Eli folded his arms over his chest, and Clare couldn't help but think of him as a turtle retreating into its shell, "Did you really like it?"
"It was really good," Clare said, but then added, "But to be honest…it kind of scared me a bit."
"It's supposed to," Eli shoved his hands into his pockets.
"Why?"
"To make people aware…to make them realize what goes on. To make them…wake up."
"I can see how it'd spark all that attention," Clare said, grabbing a tray from the rack as the line moved further, "It was an impressive play. Do you think you'll be able to keep it up with this new play you've been asked to write?"
"We'll see," he smirked that infamous smirk of his, and Clare began to wonder if that was a signature thing of his.
The line moved forward, and Eli helped Clare pick out what was going to be edible – steer clear of the mystery meat, he had advised, and always go for the chicken. Clare upheld her agreement of purchasing Eli a cookie, and after she paid out for her lunch, followed Eli outside to the table where his friends sat.
"I'm nervous," she admitted, as they neared the table.
"Psh," Eli scoffed, "Like I said, we don't bite…well, they don't," and with that, he chomped his teeth at her, making Clare roll her eyes, but laugh.
"Guys," Eli announced, "I want you to meet someone. This is Clare – she just transferred here," then he shot them a look before adding, "Be nice."
"Hi, everyone!" Clare waved, trying not to seem as shy as she felt.
"Hey," a boy wearing a baseball cap waved, "So Eli, does this mean you're relinquishing your celibacy sabbatical?"
"Adam!" Eli hissed, "Shut up!"
"He hasn't dated anyone in a while," Adam said to Clare, "But to tell you the truth, this kid really needs a girlfriend."
"I'm going to kill you," Eli said, matter-of-factly, as he sat down next to the boy, "Clare, this pain in the ass is Adam."
"Pleased to meet you," Adam grinned.
Clare couldn't help but return the smile, "It's nice to meet you too, Adam."
"Ignore them," Clare turned her attention to the girl who had just spoken, "They're a bunch of six year olds," the girl with curly brown hair rolled her eyes, "I'm Bianca."
"Nice to meet you, Bianca," Clare slid down in the seat next to her.
"Excuse me?" Eli raised an insulted eyebrow, "I'm five, not six, thank you very much!"
"How could I have forgotten?" Bianca sighed, rolled her eyes, and bit into her sandwich.
As Clare was about to pop a bite of chicken in her mouth, she couldn't help but be grateful. Maybe moving to Degrassi wasn't such a bad thing after all…