How We Began

by Sandra Corton

  She had to laugh at her overactive imagination. He had probably meant that wink for one of the prettier girls that were in her dance class. It wasn’t like Isaac Thornton; one of the popular and most notorious guys at her school had begun to notice her. The idea was plain ridiculous.

  Having her Mum’s minivan today would help her to avoid Isaac. It was more to stop encouraging her imagination than anything else was. Her heart was envisaging all kinds of loving kisses with an Isaac who would actually want a relationship with her. She knew that wouldn't happen, but her heart refused to listen to her logic. Her crush on him only deepened with just a simple wink.

  She put her heart and soul into her dancing, instead of overthinking what happened with Isaac. She felt the rush of air, as her limbs stretched, and she moved gracefully around the room. She followed her dance instructor’s words, while she spun and leaped in time with her friends.

  Finally, dance practice was over, filling Kayla with the rush of adrenaline at her achievements of the day. She relaxed back into the stretches she was doing, letting her mind wander. Inevitably, it led straight to thoughts of Isaac, and the way he had kissed her. She let out a sigh and touched her lips, knowing that she would treasure that memory for the rest of her life.

  Someone shook her shoulder, as the other girls fell into a giggling bunch of crazy. Nadia raised her eyebrows at her, before pointing to the doorway. Kayla frowned, not happy at being the focus of whatever was going on.

  “Isaac’s here!” One of the girls screamed at the same time that Kayla glanced in his direction.

  She heard his voice that made her want to shiver, but she could barely see him, as all the other girls surrounded him. The deep timbre of his laugh washed over her, making breathing difficult, and she knew it was time to leave.

  She puzzled over his arrival, as she used him as a distraction to head to the change room. She had no idea why he was here when she normally took her friend’s home on Wednesdays. It made no sense, especially considering that she had heard him complain to Hayley about what else he could be doing numerous times before.

  In the shower, more reminders Isaac made her sigh. The way his brown hair always looked mussed and messy, the gleam of those dark blue eyes, or that devastating smile. He was perfection in looks, and she had to admit at kissing as well.

  His kiss set her body on fire just thinking about it. She found herself drifting away on a blissful memory of those wonderfully soft lips. No wonder she was having trouble facing him, especially when she was mooning over him in the change room of her dance studio.

  She looked into the mirror in the change room, and assessed herself to try to stop her mind from wandering to Isaac. She knew she was more girl next door than the pretty, vivacious girls that Isaac normally dated. Her Dad had always described her as cute as a button, and she agreed with him.

  She had decided long ago that cute was much more her style too. She wasn’t plain, but she wasn’t gorgeous either. The only thing she would want to change would have to be her high forehead; she hated how she appeared to be half-bald. She simply wore a hat to solve that problem. Other than that, cute was her perfect medium.

  She popped out her contacts with a sigh of relief, and dug around in her bag for her glasses case. The world came into focus, as the other girls began streaming into the room. Chatter filled the air, so much of it about Isaac that she wanted to run away to avoid talking about him.

  She grabbed her bag and headed hastily back to the studio, deciding not to be dragged into the conversation again. Thinking it would be peaceful in there, the argument she heard surprised her.

  “No, Isaac, bugger off!” Hayley yelled at her brother.

  “I just want her name, Hayles,” Isaac shouted back furiously.

  Kayla sighed, and knew she would have to step in. Sometimes neither Isaac nor Hayley could see how out of control their arguments could get. She always seemed to be the one breaking up the many fights they got into, so this was nothing new for her.

  “That’s enough you two,” Kayla thrust a hand between them, so they would actually notice her.

  “He deserves any yelling for being such an unobservant arse for the last few years,” Hayley scowled at her brother.

  “Hayley, whatever it is, it doesn’t really matter right now. Are you still getting a lift home with me?” Kayla decided to focus only on Hayley, and to pretend that Isaac didn’t exist. It was hard when the smell of his cologne wafted over her.

  “How about you get the lift home with me?” Isaac’s suggestive words took the breath from Kayla, shocking her. Hope warred with uncertainty inside her, as she decided what to say in return. Her mind instantly turned defensive to try to stay on top of the conversation.

  “You don’t even know me.” Kayla frowned, not even daring to glance his way, as she snapped back the first words that she could think of.

  “Really? I do remember a certain kiss from not so long ago.” He teased in a low voice that thrummed across her nerve endings.

  In disbelief, her gaze felt drawn to his, only to find him staring at her. She couldn’t believe they he remembered kissing her in amongst all those other girls. Surely, she had just been one in many of that day. She couldn’t bring herself to answer him, so she turned back to Hayley.

  “So?” She asked her friend softly.

  “No, it looks like I’m going home with the jerk of the century.” Hayley replied with a roll of her eyes, as she pointed to Isaac.

  “What’s your name?” Isaac reached out to touch Kayla’s shoulder, as he asked in a rush.

  Kayla hastily stepped back with confusion overwhelming her. Her emotions swirled, as she tried to understand what Isaac suddenly wanted from her. The hope inside her grew until it fell, dashed by how much he had never taken any notice of her, until recently.

  Anger took flame, as the negativity grabbed hold. She had been in the same classes as Isaac on and off for the last few years, yet he had no idea of what her name was. It made her infuriated that now he saw her, but still didn't know exactly who she was. Earlier that day, he had walked past her without saying a single word, so she knew that he didn’t really know her.

  “You never cared before today, so why start now.” Kayla said sharply, before realising that all the other girls were watching and waiting with great interest. “Let’s go.” She pointed out to the car park feeling furious, whether with herself or Isaac she didn’t really know.

  Without meaning to, she turned to look at Isaac. She felt shocked to find that he was still watching her with an indescribable expression. Her anger eased turning once again to confusion, as she tried to understand Isaac. What did he want from her?

  Hayley stood tapping her foot next to her brother, appearing serene and rather smug. Kayla groaned, as she wondered what her friend was doing. When Hayley’s look turned sly, as she glanced between Isaac and herself, she only grew more worried.

  She went to school the next day feeling a little trepidation combined with a whole lot of excitement. If Isaac saw her, finally registered her existence, then Kayla’s day would be prefect. She had hardly slept between thoughts of Isaac's kiss to what may happen the following day.

  Isaac didn’t look at her once, not in the two class they shared, in study hall, or anywhere else. He kept scanning around, as though searching for someone, but he always overlooked her. She found herself gazing at him in the class they shared, but not once did his eyes meet hers.

  Disappointment gnawed at her, along with doubt and even more confusion. She chided herself for being so stupid, and getting her hopes up. Nobody had ever noticed her, especially Isaac. She was starting to think that nobody would.

  She was in no mood to go to dance class, but she knew that the younger girls depended on her to give them a lift home. Due to Kayla being the only one that was yet to pass the test to get her driver’s license, her life was full of increased responsibilities. With a sad heart, she headed out to the car park to meet up with the girls.

 
They all hugged her close to the point where Kayla quickly backed away. They were treating her as if someone had died. She frowned at them, before opening the rear door of the minivan, so they could stash their bags.

  In a flurry, Hayley had ripped her hat from her head, as Kayla opened the sliding side door for everyone to get in. Kayla snapped back, and turned to her friend swiftly. Hayley simply grinned, and pulled out Kayla’s haphazard bun, before jumping in the van with an unsubtle wink.

  “Dance class time, hey?” Isaacs’s voice trembled along her limbs, before the disappointment of the day flooded her.

  Why was he suddenly acting as if this was the first time he had seen her today? She decided that saying nothing was the easiest way, especially around the tears that wanted to fill her eyes. She walked around to the driver’s side, and got in before he could say anything else, or she ended up embarrassing herself. She drove off and left him there looking stunned.

  All that afternoon, Isaac debated whether to try to see the mystery girl again. Why was it that nobody seemed to know who he was talking about when he described her? He could only figure that she was in Hayley’s year. His sister was being no help whatsoever. She had hinted at the fact that he should know this girl, but Isaac was at a complete loss.

  “Are you playing, or what man?” Jay asked frantically, making Isaac focus back on what he was supposed to be doing.

  “Hell, no, I think I’ve had enough,” the rest of the team groaned, and sent him disagreeable looks.

  “What is going on with you, Thornton?” Jay snapped at him, as he tossed the football his way.

  “Nothing.” Isaac grunted in reply as he caught the ball.

  “Tell me, idiot, or we’re gonna lose this week’s game,” Jay slapped him on the back of the head.

  “Fine but not here.” Isaac gestured to the rest of the team.

  “Xbox later then.” Jay said and Isaac knew better than to say no. Jay had a bad habit of asking Hayley if he thought something was bothering his friend.

  Isaac drove home feeling like he was missing something in this whole mystery girl scenario. The way she had seemed almost devastated, and then furious that he was talking to her bothered him greatly. Had he actually seen her today, and not known that it was she?

  He slapped his forehead, and tried to recall seeing her, but nothing came to mind. His phone distracted him from his thoughts with its ring, so he quickly snatched it up.

  “Hayles, what is it?” Isaac muttered into the phone.

  “Can you come and pick me up from the dance studio?” Hayley asked in a sly voice.

  “Okay, I’ll be there soon,” Isaac went to hang up when it occurred to him that the girl he was after had driven everyone to dance class. “So, why can’t nameless girl drive you home?” Isaac prodded, his curiosity urging him on.

  “Nome of your business.” Hayley replied cheerfully, before hanging up.

  With his day brightened at the thought that he might see his mystery girl again, he spun his car back out of the driveway. As quickly as he could, he drove in the hope that he would see her again.

  He was surely becoming some kind of stalker, with the obsession he had with her. The problem was that he couldn’t seem to help himself. He wanted to see her and talk to her again, even if all she did was stare at him strangely.

  What he saw when he did arrive, threatened to knock him down with a harsh thump. The mystery girl stood smiling with utter joy at a man that Isaac had never seen before. She hugged him close, and let out a delicious laugh that he noticed when he opened the window.

  Jealousy ripped through him, catching him completely by surprise. He wasn’t the type to be jealous, because he was never with one girl long enough to care. This time he cared, even though he didn’t want to.

  He had never seen her looking so happy and carefree. Every time she glanced his way, she appeared anywhere between disappointed or downright scared, which he couldn’t understand. This man, he was getting the response from her that Isaac was dying to see. He wanted her to smile at him that way.

  When the couple’s closeness finally filtered into his mind, he felt like the biggest fool. He was completely into her, and yet here she was with a boyfriend. His stomach seized up painfully, as he watched the guy dote on her. He heard her giggle, and his hands clenched around the steering wheel hard.

  He watched as Hayley separated herself from the group, while he kept feeling as if this was the dumbest moment of his life. Her kiss had sucked him in, while she simply had a boyfriend waiting in the wings. He needed to smash something as hard as he could, but deep down he knew that it wouldn’t help him.

  “Geez, loosen up, Isaac,” Hayley’s amused voice was the least welcome thing to hear.

  “Who is the guy, Hayley?” He asked through gritted teeth.

  “Once again, it’s really none of your business.” Hayley answered smartly.

  “Is that her boyfriend?” He demanded, as he watched them drive off in the minivan together.

  “Fine, let’s put you out of your misery, no it wasn’t her boyfriend,” Hayley sent him a snarky look, as she crossed her arms. “Now, let’s go home.”

  Isaac puzzled over who the guy was, if he wasn’t her boyfriend, all through the late afternoon. Both his parents seemed overly concerned for his welfare when they got in from work, but he insisted that he was fine. When Jay arrived, Isaac knew his secret was about to be exposed, and it wasn’t a very pleasant feeling.

  “Hey, Jay.” Hayley called out.

  Isaac wasn’t to the door quickly enough to stop his sister. Frantic whisperings between the pair of them had Isaac groaning, when he finally arrived to drag his friend away. Nothing good could come from his sister, and his best friend teaming up.

  “C’mon Jay.” Isaac punched him in the arm, making his friend finally respond past the grins that he kept sending Hayley.

  “Homework had better be finished.” Dana shouted from the kitchen, as she walked into the room with a dishtowel in her hands.

  “Yeah, Mum.” Isaac called out, before heading to the sanctuary of his room.

  Isaac was uploading a game when Jay sent him an incredibly unsubtle look. Isaac threw him a controller, hoping to distract his friend, but he caught it effortlessly. With a tight jaw, and a barely constrained composure, Isaac began shooting anything in the game that moved.

  “Hayley told me that it’s a girl problem. I find that hard to believe with your love ‘em and leave ‘em attitude, but your sister is normally pretty cluey,” Jay said with a grin, as he quickly glanced to his friend.

  “Hayley is a massive tattle tale,” Isaac grunted in response.

  “You have to give me something. At the moment you’re acting like some love sick moron, that’s going to lose us the game.” Jay told him pointedly.

  “I already told you about her,” Isaac confessed, as he let out a long breath, only to see Jay grinning smugly. “Hell, you know who she is, don’t you?” Isaac turned to his friend who simply sent him an innocent look, before retuning his focus to the game.

  “Me? I don’t think so.” Jay scoffed.

  “Don’t lie, Jay! What’s her name?” Isaac demanded.

  “You need to find that out for yourself. I think you’re going to be surprised,” Jay replied with a smarmy grin that Isaac wanted to punch off his face. “Oh, and you just got us killed, jerk.”

  Jay pushed at his friends shoulder tauntingly, but Isaac had finally had enough. Nobody was helping him out with something that he as finding as vital as breathing, and it was driving him mental. He tackled his friend to the ground, and proceeded to thump him until he received answers.

  Nothing, he had received no information at all from his best friend. Isaac felt livid with everyone in his life. What was the big secret here? Why did nobody want to tell him anything about this girl? His life was becoming frustrating in the extreme.

  He barely slept that night, as his mind tumbled over all the facts. From his friend's smug grin, Hayley’s de
liberately misleading information, and reminders of that kiss. He was unable to focus on anything beyond that girl, and the turbulence that she had brought into his life.

  He went to school the next morning, determined to forget completely about the enigma of the nameless girl. The problem was that he still found himself searching for faces. It was as though he couldn’t restrain himself from the need to find her.

  To distract himself from his diabolical obsession, he did something he instantly regretted. He dragged one of the very willing girls that he knew into a well-hidden corner. Nothing was as good as the memory of his kiss with the nameless girl that he couldn’t find.

  “See you later, Marnie.” Isaac said, as he gave the girl one more kiss.

  “Hmmm, I look forward to it.” Marnie giggled, and Isaac closed his eyes.

  He wiped his hand over his mouth feeling quite disgusted with himself. He knew his life was turning bad when kissing a random girl just wasn’t enough for him. Geez, he had it terrible for some girl that he didn’t even know.

  As he watched Marnie walk away, he noticed a girl glaring at him. She had on a huge hat that covered a lot of her face. Her uniform was far baggier than it needed to be, but a sense of familiarity wafted over him.

  The fierce intensity of the look she sent him bore through him, although her face was mostly in shadow. The large armful of books she held against her, almost defensively. She stood frozen in the spot that she was in, her eyes never leaving him.

  Isaac knew her as everybody did. She was Hat Girl. Nobody had ever seen her face properly, because she was always hiding behind hats she wore. She rarely spoke to anyone, so she had simply disappeared off most people’s radar.

  His memory threw him an image of one of Hayley’s friends, one that he had mostly ignored. She was always wearing hats. Was this Hayley's friend that they had tried to keep hidden? Was his mystery girl the weird one that always wore a hat?