Euphoria

CHAPTER 4

*FINN'S POV*

English class. The worst. The teacher talked like an old lady and never had her s**t put together. As I walked into the classroom the first thing I noticed was the fact that there was no teacher in the classroom and everyone was on their phones.

I slid into my seat, which was right in front of Tinsley and tapped Evan on the shoulder.

"Does anyone know where she is?" I asked Evan once he had turned around. He shook his head and shrugged and then proceeded to talk about the video game we were playing last night.

I feigned interest when really I was listening to Tinsley talk with the girls behind me.

I turned around suddenly and butted into their conversation, “Where do you think the teacher is?” Two of the girls shrugged in response and I frowned in annoyance. When I glanced at Tinsley, I realized she wasn’t even listening. She had her earbuds in and seemed to be listening to something on full volume.

Annoyed, I turned back around to Evan, only to find that he had started talking to Jax in the front row. So I sat there not knowing what to do until I felt a light tap on my shoulder. I turned around to face a smiling Tinsley.

"I got something for you, when I went to New York for Christmas." She grinned and looked up at me.

I grinned back at her, "Oh yeah? What is it?"

“Here. Close your eyes.”

I shut my eyes and waited for her to give me it. Suddenly I felt her hands clasp mine and I almost opened my eyes in surprise but held them closed at the last minute.

I could feel her fingers wrap around mine and slowly pull my fingers away from my palm. Then I felt something light and cool drop into my palm. Her fingers were still touching my skin and I could feel the softness of her fingertips against my palm.

"There. All done. You can open your eyes now." When I opened my eyes, Tinsley was smiling widely at me. I looked down at my palm and saw the most beautifully made key chain. It had the words NY on it and the picture looked like it was taken by a professional photographer.

I looked back up at Tinsley and she was smiling at me in that cheery way of hers. "It's beautiful."

She smiled brightly at me, "I made it."

"You made this?", I asked her, surprised.

She nodded, "I took the picture on the Empire State Building. My uncle's a keychain maker. He helped me with it."

My eyes met hers and I tried to express my genuine happiness and gratitude through my eyes. She smiled back at me cheerfully.

“I’m glad you like it.”

I turned back around in my seat and slipped the delicate gift into my bag. Maybe Tinsley wasn’t so bad after all.

*****

School had just ended and I walked out of the front doors feeling tired and frustrated. My last period teacher had just given me a large F because apparently I had missed an assignment. f**k.

I hoisted my saxophone case higher up my shoulder and headed towards the back fields where we always practiced. When I got closer I saw one of the girls with a clarinet talking to who appeared to be Tinsley. Tinsley? What the heck? Why is it that wherever I go she goes? I got closer to them and purposely tried to appear inconspicuous as I eavesdropped on them.

"I'm sorry. My mom isn't going to come pick me up till 5. Maybe Liz can help." The girl with the clarinet tilted her head in another direction. I threw a glance in Tinsley’s direction as I passed and watched her wrinkle her nose at the name.

"Liz hates me." Tinsley said, looking like she was extremely desperate for a ride. "Please, Kate. I need to get home soon!" She tugged on the other girl's arm but she just brushed her off and turned away. I watched from a distance as Tinsley watched her walk away, looking like she was about to cry.

I decided to help her out. "Hey." She looked up and I could see the visible relief wash over her.

"Can you help me?"

I grinned at her and said, "I've got a car." Then I watched with a weird feeling in my chest as Tinsley's face stretched with a visible grin. "Oh thank god!"