“Have fun, Ali. Don’t worry about Mr. Loofe. He’s dumber than a box of rocks.” Mac grabbed Jake’s hand and they left.
I sat around waiting until almost everyone cleared out. Marlie and Justin found me and talked to me for a minute but then had to go.
“So you’re stuck with me this year,” I heard a voice from behind me.
“I guess so.” I turned my head almost kissing him.
“Whoa, slow up. I’m not my brother,” he winked and I blushed.
“As if this day couldn’t get any worse I’m stuck with another Thomas,” I sighed.
“We’re not all that bad. Give me some time. I’ll convince you otherwise. You ready to go?” He grinned.
“As I’ll ever be,” I grabbed my bag and stood up.
“You look good by the way,” he commented on my outfit.
“Thanks. I guess this is how girls dress here every day,” I shrugged.
“You got that right.” We walked toward the lockers.
“Where’s my locker?” I looked at the numbers.
“You’ll be right by me since they designated me helper of the newbie.” He stopped in front of his locker and pointed to the one next to him.
“Thanks, I just love being labeled ‘the newbie,’” I rolled my eyes.
“You’re not labeled ‘the newbie.’ So far this morning I’ve heard ‘sexy,’ ‘hot,’ ‘a good ride,’ let me think, ‘fresh meat,’ ‘new and improved Chelsea,’ and the best: ‘the Thomas’ next target,’” He laughed.
“Oh good Lord.” I sighed heavily.
“Don’t worry. It gets easier,” he nudged me playfully.
“You’re nothing like your brother,” I noticed.
“You got that right. But he’s still my best friend.” He acted thankful that he wasn’t like Jake.
“So, off to first hour?” I asked.
“Ladies first,” he let me walk ahead a little.
“Did I mention another name for you was ‘legs for days and an ass that makes boys clap,’” he chuckled.
“Shut up,” I slapped him and made sure to walk side by side with him.
First hour was easy enough. It was advanced English 11. Second was Math 11 good thing too because I’m horrid at math. Third hour was psychology and fourth hour was a dumb one, sports science. Who takes a class like that? Fifth was split between a study hall and lunch. At lunch Carter kind of unintentionally ditched me. He really was fun to hang out with. He’s so playful and laid back. I wondered why Jake was so different. I went through the lunch line and let me tell you, the food here is better than in Colorado. I walked up to the sitting area and had no idea where to sit. A couple of guys invited me to sit with them but I dutifully declined. Finally I just sat by this kid Ryan who’s in my sports science class.
“Seat taken?” I smiled.
“Be my guest,” he offered me the seat next to him.
“So you’re in my sports science class, right?” I acted like I didn’t remember.
“Sure am. Why are you taking the class? You’re the only girl in there,” he smirked.
“Kind of didn’t have a say in my classes. Most of them are alright, except that one and math,” I made small talk again.
“Well I’m Ryan in case you forgot,” he took a bite of his sandwich.
“Ali,” I commenced.
“Oh, trust me. I know who you are. So far you’ve kissed three guys here and one girl. Impressive,” he winked and nudged me.
“Which one was the best?” I laughed.
“Probably the girl. Girls know what girls like,” he joked.
“You’re right. So why are you sitting over here by yourself?” I noticed we were stuck at a small table away from the crowd.
“Lunch is my alone time. Being friends with Jake and the ’in’ crowd gets tiring. Sometimes you just need a break,” he sighed.
“Wow, deep. If you want me to leave, I will,” I felt bad and started to get up.
“No, stay. You’re a good kind of disturbance,” he pulled my arm down.
“Well, gee, thanks. So why are you just a follower?” I noticed he was way more built than Jake.
“What do you mean?” his face looked perplexed.
“You’re more built than Jake. Usually the stronger and more ripped guy is the leader,” I shrugged, thinking of my old school.
“First of all, popularity isn’t shit here and second of all, I’m not a douche like Jake.” I obviously upset him.
“You just said something about the ‘in’ crowd and so I just assumed that popularity was a big deal here,” I backed up.
“Sorry. I just get sick and tired of girls always thinking that popularity actually exists at this school. Do you see any cliques? No. Everyone sits where they want,” he motioned around to some of the tables.
“I’m not like most girls,” I rolled my eyes, of course he thought I was just like every other girl here.
“Look, I’m sorry I pissed you off. I didn’t mean for it to come out like that.” He looked apologetic.
“It’s fine,” I messed with some grapes on my tray.
“You’re cute when you’re upset.” He took a drink of his milk.
“I’ve heard it all today. Please. I’m so not in the mood,” I sighed thinking of all the guys that have groped me and flirted with me today.
“There’s no mood to be set. I was just commenting. A girl like you is going to get attention around here,” he shrugged.
“Thanks,” I growled.
“You don’t like me, do you?” I heard him smile.
“No, I do. I think. You’re cute and funny. Maybe a little crazy but then again, who isn’t?” I commented.
“Crazy? Nah, I’m not crazy. Cute, funny, and charming? Yes. But crazy? No,” he nudged me again.
“Here’s my number. Call me,” he handed me a folded up piece of paper.
“Really? This wasn’t a one- time deal?” I asked.
“Sure. Why not? You, me Friday night. Let me take you to dinner,” he grinned.
“Yeah, sure, of course,” I felt myself blush.
“I’ll see you later.” He went off down the hall.
Soon I was walking to my locker in a haste hoping not to lose Carter. I got to my locker and there he was with Chelsea hanging on his hip.
“Ew,” Chelsea snarled.
“Chelsea, stop,” Carter groaned.
“No, forget it, Carter. We need to get to the next class.” I grabbed my books from my locker.
“You’re right. I’ll talk to you later, babe.” They kissed and she walked off in a different direction.
“I’m sorry about that. She’s just jealous.” We walked to our next class.
“She shouldn’t be jealous. But it’s okay, honestly,” I looked at the ground.
“Well, she shouldn’t have done that,” he shrugged.
“Hey, what do you know about Ryan Mitchel?” I got off topic.
“He’s cool, why?” he looked at me.
“Just wondering,” I shook it off.
“Tell me,” he pressed.
“He’s taking me on a date Friday.” I felt my blood boil again.
“Well, well, well. That didn’t take you long,” he nudged me.
“Haha. Very funny.”
“Don’t worry. He’s a good guy,” he grinned.
“Okay, good.” I laughed nervously.
“Relax, Ali. Come on. It’s time for class,” he put his arm around my shoulder.
“What class?” I was done with the day.
“P.E of course.” He hid his amusement when he saw my face.
“You’re joking, right?” My shoulders slumped.
“You’re a dancer. You should like this stuff.” We turned towards the gym.
“I’m a dancer, not an athlete,” I drug myself into the gym.
“Last time I checked dancers are athletes. You’ll have fun and anyway it’s required,” he opened the doors.
“So much fun,” my voice was drenched
in sarcasm.
We got told the rules and then were directed to the locker rooms. The best part about this class was that I actually had it with Marlie. We shared a locker and she let me borrow a change of her clothes because I didn’t bring any from home. We changed and headed back out to the court. The guys were in basketball shorts and cut offs. The teacher separated us into teams and we played dodgeball for the remainder of the class. I was out almost right away every round and Marlie would follow close behind. I told Marlie about Ryan and she would not stop freaking out about it. Supposedly it’s a big deal. I guess I didn’t see it. I was interested and all but I didn’t see it lasting forever.
“So he gave you his number?” Class was over and we were changing.
“Yeah, he did. He seems really interested.” I gave her back the clothes.
“Oh, Ali, let’s hope you don’t completely suck at dance like you do when it comes to sports,” Chelsea popped her head around the corner of my locker.
“Trust me. I’m much better,” I glared at her.
“Well, we’ll just have to see,” she glared right back at me and stomped off in a tiny rage.
“I have dance with them tomorrow morning until the end of the year,” I sighed.
“I’ll pray for you,” Marlie laughed.
“I’m going to need it. Shit, I need to get to my next class,” I grabbed my bag, looking at my phone.
“What’s the class? I can get you there.” Marlie grabbed my schedule.
“History, that’s all I know,” I shrugged.
“Oh that’s easy, come on. In fact, I think we’re together,” she looked giddy.
I followed her to the next room and luckily we did have the class together. I was a little pissed at Carter for ditching me like that though. We sat down by each other and I saw Carter come looking flustered. When we made eye contact, he relaxed.
“Where did you go?” he sat behind me.
“I came to class because you ditched me,” I gave him the cold shoulder.
“Chelsea told me you already left so I went ahead and walked her to class then came here.” He wouldn’t let me get away with my attitude.
“Well I hadn’t left. Marlie and I walked here together,” I snapped.
“Hey, I’m sorry. I saw you walking down the hall. I feel bad.” He was genuine so I pulled down my front.
“It’s fine, don’t worry about it. What class is after this?” I turned to him.
“Accounting. Sorry,” he grinned at the look on my face.
“You are so helping me with that this year,” I poked him playfully.
“Promise,” he pinky promised me.
Class started by that time and the teacher basically talked about the grading and all that boring stuff. Accounting wasn’t as miserable as I thought it would be. I was with Carter which was always fun and the teacher was really cool. Her name was Ms.Newton but we were allowed to call her Newt, which I thought was weird. But whatever. After school was over I walked back to my locker talking to this girl that was in accounting with me. Her named was Sarah. She was a little nerdy but she was sweet.
“We should do something sometime,” we stopped in front of my locker.
“Yeah, sure, here’s my number,” I wrote it down on a piece of paper and gave it to her.
“Am I interrupting, ladies?” Carter came up to us.
“Uh, no. Hi, Carter,” Sarah turned bright red and I had to hold back a giggle.
“Hey, Sarah, right?” I could tell he was putting on an act.
“Yeah. Well, um, I should go. Thanks, Ali,” she got away as fast as possible.
“You’re not very nice,” I stated to Carter.
“I always do that stuff to her. It’s cute to watch her melt. I think she’s had a crush on me since first grade,” he smirked.
“Try being nicer. Hey thanks for helping me today. But I got a handle on it now if you want to go your own way,” I grabbed my book bag which was empty.
“No way. You aren’t getting rid of me. See, we’re sort of friends now,” he whispered and I laughed.
“Okay. Sounds good to me. I’ll see you tomorrow? I think I’m about to miss my ride,” I waved to him and walked off.
“Ali Cat.” I heard someone call me.
“Yeah?” Jake approached me.
“What are you doing?” he looked at me.
“I’m kind of late for my ride and the name’s Ali, not Ali Cat,” I was feeling a little irritated.
“Let me take you home. And I like your new nickname,” he beamed.
“Ha. Ha. Fine, what do you have to keep me waiting for anyway?” I quickly texted Marlie.
“Ice cream. I figure spending all day with my brother might call for some ice cream,” he walked off in the other direction and I followed him.
“Alright, but I can’t be too late. I can’t be late, I have to get home and take care of some stuff.” I didn’t feel the need to tell him anymore.
“Call Ryan? Yeah I heard.” He shook his head.
“How did you find out?” my face was filled with shock.
“We’re best friends. He tells me everything,” he put his arm around my shoulder and led me to his car.
“Wow, nice ride,” I looked at his 2012 jet black Ford Mustang convertible.
“Thanks, birthday gift,” he opened my door for me and I slid onto the seat.
“Seriously? I think I got clothes and a Starbucks gift card,” I recalled my last birthday.
“My parents like to buy things for us. They have the money and have to show us love somehow,” he shrugged.
I felt awkward.
“It’s true. They’re too busy with their own lives to pay attention to us so they buy us things,” he looked at me emotionlessly. “If I’m going to teach you how to surf, we might as well get to know each other.”
“Alright. Well let me think. Um, I’ve never had an actual boyfriend,” I blushed a little but I let it pass.
“Really?” he raised his eyes in surprise.
“Well I guess I just haven’t been that interested in a guy.”
“Alright. What else. Honestly that’s the only thing that’s deep about me,” he wanted to hear more from me.
“Um, I was popular in Colorado but I hardly ever went out or anything. I usually stayed home and danced or read.” He pulled into a vintage-looking restaurant.
“By the way you’re dressed I can see that you were popular back home. You’re popular here too. That’s why Chelsea hates you,” he shut off his car and got out.
“Great, just what I needed--unwanted popularity and an enemy,” I got out at the same time.
“Don’t worry, you’ll be fine. You’re laid back. People like that,” he opened the front door for me and it looked like I stepped into the 50s.
“This is so cool!” I couldn’t help but sound like a five year old.
“I know. I come here every day after school. The vibe here is just so retro,” he ushered me to a booth in the back.
“Another thing about you. You like old-fashioned places,” I grinned as the waitress gave us our menus.
“Guilty as charged.” He looked at the menu for only a second.
“Can I get you anything to drink?” The waitress’s attention was directed at Jake. She looked like she was a freshman in college and I couldn’t blame her for staring.
“Ali Cat, you want anything to drink?” he looked at me and grinned.
“Um, I’ll just have a water,” I smiled at the waitress who was cold toward me.
“Me too. Gotta save room for the ice cream, right?” His mouth went up into a crooked smile and I saw a dimple.
“Alright, I’ll get the waters and come back to take your orders.” She lingered a little too closely to Jake.
“Thank you, ma’am,” he looked up and I could tell her ego was damaged as she walked away.
“Ma’am? She doesn’t look like a ma’am to me,” I laughed.
“Oh, I guess I don’t pay attention. I just say i
t. Another puzzle piece. Carter and I were raised to address our elders as ‘ma’am’ and ‘sir.’ That waitress was at least a year older than me, therefore she’s an elder and I’ll call her ma’am. If she was my age she would be miss but for some reason girls sometimes find that a turn on,” he acted as if he’d used that to get his way a couple of times.
“Well when you say it, yeah, it probably is.” I felt tingly again.
“You know if Ryan wasn’t going for you, I might just have to flirt with you.” He didn’t know, but I wish he was flirting with me.
“I think you already are, but it can be our little secret,” I grinned as the waitress brought back our waters.
“Perfect. I’ll have a layered chocolate sundae,” Jake handed her the menu.
“I guess I’ll have the same,” I handed her the menu and Jake looked surprised.
“It’s pretty big,” the waitress commented, observing my small figure.
“I can handle it. Thank you, ma’am,” I gave her a sneer and she took the hint.
“So what was with the mood swing earlier?” We sat waiting for our ice cream.
“What do you mean?” He took a drink of water.
“With your whole parents deal. You’re never serious.” I was confused.
“Oh. Well I just got a text saying they’re going on yet another vacation tomorrow and they’re gunna be gone for at least two weeks. Sorry, they just piss me off sometimes. I’ll try to stay light hearted,” he grinned.
“No, it’s fine. I like the real you.” Our waitress came with our ice creams and that was the end of that.
“Well, hope you’re an eater.” Jake took a drink of water.
“Trust me. I burn it all off when I dance and workout,” I crossed my legs.
“I’m sure you do.” I could feel the innuendo behind his words.
“Jake, whatever happened to being just my teacher?” I brought up our rules.
“Oh, I am just your teacher, trust me. You’re Ryan’s. Unless things don’t work out.” My feelings were hurt by that last statement.
“Thanks,” I looked down at my hands.
“Oh, hey, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. I’m sorry,” he looked guilty.
“It’s fine. I think it’s mostly a fling,” I felt like my skin was on fire.
“I bet you can’t finish that,” I pointed at the ice cream with my spoon.
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