Suddenly I Knew

Chapter Two.

When I enter the classroom, I see that everyone is already in their seats, and I notice four empty ones. I let go of Rose's hand and hurried to one of the empty seats, hoping Rose was sitting behind me. But when I turn around to look, I see Caleb sitting behind me. I glance around again and see Rose at the other end of the classroom, looking at me, confused. I look back at her and shrug my shoulders. The next thing I know, there’s a piece of paper suddenly on my desk. I sigh and open it. It says, “Hey, sweetheart ;)” Looking at the piece of paper, I’m confused, thinking it can’t be for me. I look around to see who would have sent it, and then I see the twins grinning. I suddenly knew in my bones that it was one of them. Probably Caleb, because he’s the one who calls me "sweetheart," like he knows me. If he did know me, he’d know that "sweetheart" is the last nickname I’d accept. I’m more of a spitfire, but who am I to correct him or his brother? I’m lucky they even know my name.

What’s strange is that they know my name, considering we never talk or hang out with the same crowd. Let me tell you a little bit about the Jones twins. First of all, they’re twins, which doesn’t happen much here in the first place. Secondly, they’re the most popular guys in school, which I can’t blame them for—those genes are something else. I’d probably be popular too. To give you an idea of them, they’re both almost 6'6”. That’s about the only thing they have in common, other than their amazing mint-green eyes. And, of course, they’re the most popular guys, so they’re team captains of the sports they play. Damian is the basketball team captain, and Caleb is more of an outdoors guy, so he plays beach volleyball. Of course, he’s also the team captain. But other than that, they’re completely different people. Damian is the calmer one of the two, more collected like he’s always thinking about the future and the consequences of things. Then there’s Caleb—outgoing, hyperactive, the type of guy who would punch first and ask questions later.

While thinking about this, I crumble up the piece of paper and decide to ignore it. Out of the corner of my Roseye, I see Caleb looking surprised at my actions. I’ve been in school with them for over six years, and in all that time, they’ve never talked to me. So I’m not going to start now. Another note appears on my desk. I ignore it. Another note? Ignored. Suddenly, I hear a low growl from where Caleb is sitting, and my head snaps toward the source of the sound. But when I look, Caleb’s table is empty, and he’s nowhere to be found. I glance at Damian, who’s shaking his head and sighing at what his brother did. Not thinking it has anything to do with me, I shrug my shoulders and focus on what the teacher is saying. The bell rings, and we head to lunch. I slowly get up, packing my things and putting them in my bag. I look for Rose, but I don’t see her, so I walk out of the classroom and wait for her. But when I turn around, I see something I never thought I’d see: Rose is talking to Damian, and she looks surprised. So, like any sane person, I walk away to the cafeteria, wondering what Damian could want with Rose. As far as I know, they’ve never talked or liked each other, so seeing them talk is something I never thought I’d witness. While walking to the cafeteria, I put in my earphones and played my music playlist, not wanting to talk to anyone. When I’m in line waiting to grab some food, I feel someone breathing down my neck. I turn around, and it’s Caleb, breathing down my neck. I see that Caleb is back in different clothes, which is strange because it is the middle of the day. But I decide that it doesn't bother me, so I turn back, completely ignoring him because I am suddenly not in the great mood I was in this morning. Next thing I know, he has taken one earphone out of my ear and is talking to me like we are friends. I sigh and really don’t listen to what he is saying at all, but suddenly I am so annoyed that he is talking to me, I turn around and say to him, "Look, I don’t know why you are suddenly all friendly to me, but let me be clear: I have been in your class for over six years, and then you didn’t feel the need to talk to me, so no, I’m not doing it now. Please go back to ignoring me." And with that, I grab my earphones out of his hand and put them back in my ear, then take a tray to put my food on. But before I have it in my hands, somebody grabs it for me. Sighing, I look at Caleb and try to think of a way to make sure something else gets his attention. Then it hits me.

"Where is your brother?" I ask nicely, trying to look around me and him to see if I can find him.

"I don’t know, but he’s probably somewhere around," he says. "And don’t think we’re done talking about this."

"Why? We’ve never talked in general," I say in my defense.

"What do you want to eat?" he asks me.

"My hands work just fine, you know. I don’t need your help," I say angrily, grabbing the tray from his hands and picking out a sandwich, an apple, and a cola. Then, to make things worse, I see his brother coming our way with Rose, who is struggling to keep up with his long steps. This would have been funny if they weren’t almost with us. I sigh and mumble to myself, "This is going to be a new thing," while taking the tray and walking to a table to sit down. Suddenly, somebody is sitting on either side of me: on the left is Caleb, on the right is Damian, and in front of me is Rose, with Logan Davis and Musa Knight next to her. They are the "best friends" of Damian and Caleb, although I have my doubts about Musa because nobody can just be friends with those two hunks of guys. But then again, why am I thinking like this? If it were up to me, I would ignore them again tomorrow and go back to my quiet life, forgetting about them just like they will forget about me. The thought of being left alone makes me want to cry for some reason. I can’t begin to like them because they’ll go back to their lives, and I’ll go back to mine. When I realize this, I am suddenly without an appetite. I try to give Rose my sandwich, hoping no one sees it. She notices it, looks at me confused, and I shake my head no. I grab my bottle of water and stand up.

"Rose, I’m going to grab my books for my next class. Are you going to be okay?" I ask her. She sees the look in my eyes and knows I need to be alone for a moment.

"No, I’m good. You can go, and I’ll see you in class. Otherwise, I’ll talk to you when you’re ready, okay?" she says with an understanding smile.

"Thank you, Rose. I owe you one. Oh, and you can have my apple," I say while walking away. Then I hear her whisper, "You guys need to slow down because this is freaking her out, and I don’t blame her for it." But I don’t care enough to turn around and ask what she meant by that. Like I said, I don’t care enough. I walk out of the cafeteria and feel like someone is watching me, but that can’t be because I am alone in the hallway. While walking to my locker, I feel it again, but when I turn around to look, there’s no one there with me. So I shrug my shoulders and open my locker to grab the right books for the last classes of today. While grabbing the books I need, I see a piece of paper fall to the ground. I bend down to pick it up and read what it says. I open the piece of paper: "Do not trust everyone you meet, but trust the closest to you," it says. I look around to see if anyone looks suspicious, but I don’t see anyone who does. So here I am, looking around like a complete fool. I put the note in my back pocket and grab the rest of my books.