“That was the most epic peel out ever!” Jack yells. “Eric, you should have seen it. It was awesome!”
Another guy comes walking up. His name is Rick, I think. I remember seeing him at the coffee shop. “Are you talking about that great car?”
Jack says, “Yes. Tell Eric how ridiculously cool it was.”
“It was beautiful, that was for sure,” Rick replies.
“I am a little jealous I didn’t get to see it,” Eric says a little apprehensively.
Shrugging my shoulders, I say, “Oh, he will be around. You will see it.”
“So, can I have your number?” Eric asks, pulling out his phone.
“Sure,” I reply, totally nervous.
Jack pulls out his phone. “I am putting it in my phone, too.”
“Uh okay,” I whisper in shock. “Why?”
He gets a devious grin, “So when you call me to pick me up from school, I know whose calling. Also, the next time we have a party, I can invite you to come. Did you have fun at the party you went to?”
Dumbfounded, I say, “Huh?” Then I remember Jeremy saying that. “Oh, yeah, tons, I felt a little out of place being the youngest one there, but they were cool. Sunday we all went for a ride, it was nice. Though I rode on Josh’s crotch rocket, and those things aren’t as comfortable as you think they would be.”
“Josh? Is that one of Jeremy’s friends?” Eric asks.
“Yeah,” I reply. “He cheats at video games though. He wouldn’t give me a handicap.”
Rick snorts. “There aren’t handicaps in video games.”
“I was told that,” I laugh. “There should be though.”
Eric interrupts us. “So, what’s your number, before the bell rings?”
“Oh, 555-9921,” I reply.
“You should put my number in your phone,” Jack says.
I pull out my phone and hand it to him. “You can put it in there. I have no clue how to do it.”
“Here,” Rick says, grabbing it from me. “My friend has this phone. Okay, go into your contacts here. Then you press this symbol, see the cross?” I nod my head. He continues, “Then you enter the name and number here. Then press save. If you want it to have a special ringtone, then you scroll down here. Got it?”
“Yeah,” I reply. “Thanks.” Suddenly the bell rings. “Oh, I have to get to sociology.”
“I will walk you there,” Jack says, “I am going over to physics.”
That makes me smile. “Okay.” I have never had someone walk me to class before. I turn to Eric. “See you later okay?”
“Definitely,” he replies with a smile. I think my heart may actually beat out of my chest. This is unreal. I am afraid I am going to wake up and realize I have been in a coma this whole time, and this is just a dream.
Jack and I walk to class. He tells me about the party and who was there. I know some of the people, and but the other people, I have no clue. When we get to my classroom, I turn and say, “Thanks for walking me to class.”
“Yeah, no problem,” Jack replies. “See you later.” I wave and walk into class. For the rest of my morning classes, I can’t really pay attention. My mind is all over the place and on everything that has happened this weekend.
At noon, I grab my lunch and walk outside. It is still nice enough to sit out here. I don’t really go into the cafeteria. Sonya usually makes my life a living hell. I sit down under a tree and start to take my lunch apart. “Why are you out here by yourself?” I look up to see Eric.
“Eating. What are you doing outside?” I retort. “You always eat in the cafeteria.”
“I had to go to my car to get something. You know you can come in and eat with us, if you want to.”
My mouth opens and then closes. Then I stutter, “Oh, I don’t want to impose. I don’t really hang out with your group.”
“You really need to stop being so shy,” Eric says, with a smile. “Just come eat with us.”
It doesn’t take me long to say, “Okay.” I throw all my stuff into my bag. Eric sticks out his hand and I take it.
He pulls me up and grins. “You know, I like your outfit.”
“Oh, yeah, I went shopping this weekend,” I reply, looking down.
“Well, it’s cute, good choice.”
Bashfully, I whisper, “Thanks.”
We walk into the school and my stomach does flips. I am extremely nervous about this. Eric opens the door to the cafeteria. I walk in and I am relieved when everyone doesn’t stop what they are doing to stare at me. Eric gestures to one of the center tables. I look at him with a dead stare. He laughs and puts his hand on my back. Carefully pushing me, he walks us to the table. “Hey guys,” he says, “Isabelle is going to eat with us.”
The six other people at the table kind of give me weird looks. I turn to dart away, because this is my worst nightmare. Eric snags me before I can get anywhere. Suddenly, Jack comes walking up. “Hey Isabelle, are you eating with us?”
“Yes, she is,” Eric says. He pulls out a chair and looks at me.
I sit down in it. Jack takes the seat on the one side of me and Eric takes the other. Okay, that makes me feel a little better. Nervously, I take my lunch apart. “So, you are Isabelle?” One of the girls asks.
“Yeah, sorry if I am intruding.”
The girl laughs. “Intruding, why would you be intruding? We don’t bite. Well maybe the boys do, but we girls behave. I am Holly. That is Rose and Ashley. These three numbskulls are Leo, Jeff and Walt. I think I have a class with you. Honors Psych?”
“Oh, yeah, I think you are right,” I reply. “I kind of zone out in class.”
“Yeah, I have a hard time paying attention in that class, too. Some of it is so incredibly boring,” she retorts.
Leo snorts. “You can’t pay attention in any class.”
“Hey,” Holly snaps. “I get better grades than you, so I would keep my mouth shut!” She sticks her tongue out at him.
“They are really mature,” Eric whispers. That makes me laugh.
The rest of lunch is pretty nice. I am surprised how much they involve me in the conversations. Suddenly, I hear my phone go off. I quickly pull it out of my pocket. It is a text from Jeremy: How is it going toots?
I can’t help but smile. Eric looks at me, “Jeremy?”
Nodding, I say, “Yeah, he must be on lunch break, too.”
“That guy is so flipping cool,” Jack says, with a grin. “I want to be his best friend.”
“You just like his car,” I retort.
Snapping her fingers, Rose goes, “You are the girl!”
I shake my head in bewilderment. “I’m the girl?”
“Yeah, your boyfriend is GORGEOUS.”
“Jeremy? You know him?” I ask, confused.
She pulls out her phone, “No, but I have a picture.” Rose hands it across the table. I take the phone and look at the picture. My jaw drops. “That’s your boyfriend, right? You were the girl at the coffee shop?”
“Someone took a picture of Jeremy?” I gasp.
“Yeah, look at him. Someone needs to show him off,” Rose giggles.
My hand comes up to cover my mouth. “Oh my gosh. He is going to flip.”
“He will be mad?” Eric inquires, sounding concerned.
That makes me laugh. “No, it will pump his ego until next year. Jeremy knows very well how good looking he is.”
“Well, it’s true,” Rose sighs.
“Do me a favor,” I say to her, “forward that to me. I want to send it to him.”
“Okay, what’s your number?” She asks.
I lean forward, “555-9921.”
A few seconds later, she exclaims, “Sent!”
Picking up my phone, I wait for it to come in. When I get it I lean over to Jack. “Okay, show me how to forward this to Jeremy.”
“That’s easy,” he laughs. “Just go into here and press forward. Then scan to Jeremy’s name. You can put a comment in with it.”
“Tell him it’s t
he school’s new wallpaper.”
Ashley interjects, “He can be my background.”
“He is pretty, I know that, but he is such a great guy, too,” I say. “Did it send?”
Jack nods. “Yup, he should get it momentarily.”
Sitting back, I finish eating my lunch. Suddenly, my phone rings. I pick it up and answer, “Yyyyesss.”
“Where in the world did that picture come from?” Jeremy laughs hysterically.
“Someone took it at the coffee shop. They think you are hot. So hot, they needed to take a picture. I don’t understand their fascination.”
There is a shout of, “Hey!” on the other end. That makes me giggle. “I am quite handsome,” Jeremy boasts.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, don’t we all know it?”
“See, you DO find me attractive. That’s good, I find you pretty, too. So we are even,” he replies. My heart drops a little and I actually sit there silent for a second. He finds me pretty?
A little shocked, I just say, “Thanks.”
“Oh, oh, oh, I have a great idea! Hold on. I am going to hang up the phone and send you a picture, but you need to promise to make it your background.”
Shrugging my shoulders, I hesitantly say, “Okay. I don’t know if I trust you though.”
“Just trust me, this will be great!” He exclaims. “Bye toots!” With that, he hangs up the phone.
I just shake my head. “What did he say?” Rose asks.
“He is sending me a picture that I promised to make my background. I hope it’s nothing dumb. He would do that to me, and think it’s funny,” I sigh. Everyone kind of sits here, waiting. Suddenly, my phone rings and I open up the message, and then I squeak.
Jack leans over. “What is it? Holy cow! Jeremy is ripped.”
“I want to see!” Rose squeals excitedly.
Snagging the phone, Jack hands it over the table. I just sit there, with the image still engraved into my brain. It’s Jeremy, without his shirt on, in his works pants leaning against his motorcycle. It’s one of those dirty, bad boy pictures. It’s hot, I mean, make me drool, hot. I shouldn’t be having these feelings or thoughts, but how am I not supposed to after that picture!
Rose gasps, “Isabelle! I want this picture!”
My mouth opens, closes and then I stutter, “I…I don’t know if he wants anyone to have it.”
“I don’t care,” Rose mumbles as she futzes with my phone. “Good, sent it.”
“Send it to me too!” Ashley shouts.
My mind is still not processing right. I watch as the phone passes to Eric. He looks at it and his eyes get wide. “I think he puts most other guys to shame. I feel as though I need to go to the gym. That’s not ripped, that’s chiseled.” Eric looks at me, “What does he do? Exercise in his sleep?”
I shake my head. “No, he runs, I know that much. He is also into martial arts. Other than that, I personally have not seen him work out, but we aren’t together all day, every day. So, who knows what he does when we are apart.”
“Aren’t you afraid of some older chick taking him away from you?” Holly asks.
“Oh,” I say quickly. “It’s not like that.” What do I say? “We are really close. If he wanted to date someone else, he would just tell me. We are in a weird situation.”
Eric puts his soda down. “You should be careful that he doesn’t…..take advantage of you.”
I snort and laugh at the same time. “Jeremy? He would never take advantage of me. Actually, he wants me to take advantage of him. Better yet, I think he wants every girl to take advantage of him.”
“So, you and he aren’t…..” Holly draws out.
“Dear lord have mercy, NO!” I snap, blushing hard.
She waves her hands. “No, I was just curious because, well, he is older and everything.”
“Jeremy and I kiss, that’s it,” I state matter-of-factly.
With a sigh, Ashley asks, “Is he a good kisser?”
Trying really hard not to smile, I reply, “Yes, I can say that he is.”
My eyes drift from her to Eric. I catch him looking at me, and he quickly adverts his gaze. “Anyway,” I start, “He is full of himself. I love that about him, because he does it in humor. I could never see him really believing that he is better than someone else. He actually has a very sweet side. I will deny I ever said that about him, too.”
“Talking about your Jeremy are we?” I hear from behind me. I hang my head in defeat. She’s bbbaaaccckkkk. “I heard about him and the car.”
“Wait, it gets better,” Ashley gushes. Obviously, oblivious to the fact that Sonya tortures me. “Look at this picture!”
Sonya groans, but takes the phone anyway from Ashley. Her eyes widen. Then instantly her face changes into a rather cold expression. “Still not exactly sure what you are doing with him.”
“What do you mean by that?” Eric asks.
“Nothing,” Sonya says, giving me a look. “I see you have done something with your….look. It’s different, that’s for sure.”
Eric interjects. “I think she looks fantastic.”
That makes me blush and smile awkwardly at the floor. “Yeah, well it was a great improvement,” Sonya snickers.
My phone rings and I quickly pick it up to answer it. Anything to shut Sonya up. “Hey.”
Jeremy is laughing, “So what did everyone think?”
“You will probably be around the school in about two hours,” I reply, halfheartedly.
“What’s wrong Isabelle?”
Sighing, I whisper. “I need the guillotine back.”
“Oh baby, I am sorry,” he moans. “Do you want me to come over there and put her in her place?”
I can’t help but giggle. “I wish, but I will be fine. I have to go though, class is starting soon.”
“Well, I will probably talk to you later, if not tonight, tomorrow.”
“Okay,” I reply. “Talk to you later.”
Whispering, Jeremy says, “Say I love you.”
“No!” I exclaim. “Why would I do that!?”
“To get under her skin, but NEVERMIND! I will talk to you later toots.”
With a snicker, I draw out, “Bbbyyyyeee!” Hanging up the phone, I smile at everyone and ignore Sonya. “Thanks for letting me have lunch with you guys. I need to go get some of my books.”
“You should eat with us tomorrow again,” Jack says. “You are more than welcome.”
Wow. “Thanks, I may just do that.”
Eric stands up with me. “I will walk with you. I have to get my anatomy book.”
We start to walk and I brush against Sonya, slightly shoving her. She yells, “Hey, watch it.” I just look up, meet her gaze and smirk. That makes her jaw drop. When we move past her, my heart starts to beat a mile a minute. Did I really just do that? Where in the world did that come from? It’s like teasing the lion. Who knows what she will do now. The thing is, is it going to bother me? I don’t know.
For the rest of the day, all I can think about is lunch and well…..that picture of Jeremy. I mean, I knew he was good looking but not like that. No wonder girls are all over him. And people wonder if we are dating, pppffsshhhh, that would never happen. I wouldn’t even know what to do.
I grab my art project and sit down in class. My drawing of Jeremy is nearly complete. I have really taken my time to do this one. If he is going to ever see it, I want it to be perfect. I am completely oblivious to the world around me while I work.
Suddenly, I hear that all too annoying sound. “So, your hair….it’s…well, it’s alright.”
“That’s funny, your friends thought it was great. Actually, you are the only one who said it’s alright. Complete strangers have said it was great,” I reply, not looking up at her.
“What are you trying to do, have a magical make-over?” Sonya asks.
Brushing my fingers on to the paper, I reply, “I decided it was time I grew up. So, I am growing up. You should think about doing that yourself.”
&
nbsp; “How dare you!” She snaps.
“By the way,” I say, looking up at her. “You seem to have had a magical make-over yourself. I just can’t seem to put my finger on it.” I tap my finger on my nose. “I wonder what it was.”
That obviously strikes a nerve. “It was for my deviated septum.”
“Uh huh, you keep telling yourself that,” I laugh. What in the world am I doing!? She is going to kill me.
“No matter what you do to yourself, you will still be you,” she hisses quietly. “You are a loser. Always have been, always will be.”
I grab my phone and turn it around, showing Jeremy’s picture. “A loser who gets to have that.”
“Whatever!” Sonya exclaims.
“Isabelle, no phones,” my teacher says.
Putting it away, I yell, “Sorry, Mr. Billings. I was just showing Sonya the person I am drawing.”
“That’s fine, just no phones. Miss Sonya Stewart, do you not have a project to work on, or are you getting some pointers from Miss Nimon?”
“I would never,” Sonya growls.
My teacher walks over to us. “Well, it’s not a bad idea. She is a very gifted artist.”
Sonya softly screams and turns to walk away. My teacher gives me a little smirk, and that makes me smile broadly.
I walk out of school later, with a skip in my step. I have NEVER felt this good. It’s like a guardian angel has come down and changed my life. When I get to the curb, I stop dead in my tracks. “What in the world are you doing here?”
Cassandra sits in her little convertible Bug. “I thought we could go shopping.”
“I have absolutely no money on me,” I say, walking up to her car.
She just smiles. “You can pay me back.”
“I can’t do that Cassandra.”
“Fine, Jeremy gave me the money. He wanted us to go out together. The boys and him are going to do guy stuff tonight and wanted us entertained,” Cassandra replies with a grin.
Groaning, I whine, “Why does he keep spending money?”
“He says if you complained, he wanted you to know he expects to be paid back….someday.” That makes me roll my eyes. She pats the seat. “Come on, get in.”
I throw my backpack in the car and get in. Like I am going to pass this up? Really? She cranks up some dance music and pulls away from the curb. I see Sonya and her friends. I wave and then flick them off. I realize that isn’t very mature, but I have put up with her crap long enough.
The Art of Life Page 17