The Wolf Prince

Chapter 2

He was beautiful. Undeniably beautiful. The kind of beauty you see in runways or magazines, not in school. I know I'm not the only one who thinks that, the rest of the class were gossiping when he walked in.

"Hi, I'm Lawrence Lopez, nice to meet all of you." he said in a voice that's as beautiful as him.

The class erupted in cheers that the teacher had to silence us.

"Hush kids, okay Lawrence, you may take that empty seat."

I looked around and realized that the only empty seat was the one beside me. I fixed my posture as he walked towards

me.

"Hi" he greeted me.

"Hello," I replied shyly.

The class continued with the quiz, and since he was a new student he was exempted. I tried to concentrate on the quiz but every now, and then I would catch him looking at me. It made me shy, and I could feel my cheeks getting red. It was a hard quiz and all the things I studied, I forgot them all. When the class ended, he walked to the door right away.

"Did you answer everything?" It was Darren.

"Nope, I'm sure I'll fail".

"Don't say that, just be positive." He patted my head like I was a little girl, a gesture he's been doing since we were kids.

For the rest of my morning classes, Lawrence was my classmate for three more times, an unhealthy amount of time. I saw how people responded to him in the same way, everyone enamored by his beauty. I was not an exception. Even though I don't easily get attracted to physical appearance, I still feel attracted to him. I would throw quick looks at him in the hopes that he would look back, but he didn't.

Come lunchtime, Darren and I were in our usual spot in the cafeteria. I was having my favorite lasagna with Diet Coke while he had a chicken burger with iced tea. He's not really a fan of soft drinks.

"What's your plan for the weekend?" I began to ask.

"The usual. I need to accompany mom to the shop." His mother is a flower shop owner while his dad is a police officer. "What about you, what are your plans?"

"Nothing really. I'll probably just be home." I don't really go out so I just usually spend it on reading or painting. I love painting. It's a hobby I got from my dad.

We were still talking about our dismal weekends when they walked in. I realized he wasn't the only newbie in school. He was with a friend. An equally handsome young man, a foot shorter than him. The crowd broke into murmurs again. As girls follow their every move, while boys look at them with envy. I wonder what that feels like, to be the center of attention. To have everyone like you. I will never know how that feels. Aside from being plain Jane, I don't have any friends. If not for Darren I'd probably be eating alone. Darren has a lot of friends though. His science club president, member of the debate team, chess club president and student council member. He is my mom's male version, that's why she likes him. My gaze followed Lawrence again, and this time he looked in my direction. Our eyes meet for a split second, but it was already enough to make me blush.

I was still blushing all the way to my next class. I don't know what's going on with me. Is this what it feels to have a crush? But I just met him? I haven't even talked to him. I don't know anything other than his name. The rest of my class went by in a blur. I don't remember much other than the hope that he was my classmate again. But vain hopes he wasn't.

I was already on the way home, when I received a text from Ashley, our school paper editor-in-chief, that she needed to see me. I went to our office, and she greeted me with those ungenuine smiles of hers. She doesn't like me. She thinks I got in because my mom used to be the editor at her time. That's the reason why she gives me the hardest articles to write.

"Steph, I have an assignment for you." She began to say. " I want you to write an article about Lawrence Lopez."

"What?" I didn't hide the surprise in my voice. "Why?"

"Because he's the newest campus darling. People would go crazy if we wrote an article about him. Our school paper would be a hit."

Why me? I wanted to say, but I already know the answer to that, so I just stayed silent.

"I want the interview as soon as possible. We will upload a snippet of it on our website. Okay?"

I nodded my head and just walked out of the door.

My next mission was to find him and ask about the interview. I know I could do it tomorrow, but I wanted it out of my way by today. Why? Because I was nervous. I can't imagine spending an hour or two with him without turning red.

I looked for him in the cafeteria and the school gym, but he wasn't there. Next, I tried the library, and just my luck, he was there. Looking good while simply reading. I cleared my throat and practiced my speech as I walked towards him.

"Hi, I'm Stephanie, can I talk to you for a minute?"

He looked up from his book, and stared at me, "Why?"

Some students were beginning to look, and I felt like sinking on my feet. "I'm part of the school paper, and we were wondering if we could interview you." I intentionally made my voice louder, so the other students could hear and realize I wasn't hitting on him or anything.

He closed his book, "No," he said flatly.

"What?"

He then got out of his seat and left, leaving me completely looking like an i***t.