Secret Heat: Golden Heartthrob or Forbidden Temptation

Chapter 3

My first class of the day was English. I had the same teacher as the last time I was here, Mr. Edwards. He and the art teacher were my favorite and I sat at the front of class, excited to learn about everything he had to teach. My freshman year I had a crush on him. He was in his mid-twenties with dusty brown hair and told me he could see potential in my writing work.

I'd loved writing since I was a little girl. When I grew up, I wanted to be one of three things: a writer, a singer, or a veterinarian. My mother pointed out I can't sing very well and I cry every time I see an injured animal. That left writing. Sandy and I used to pretend play with the most extravagant adventures. Growing up, I wrote down some of our adventures and one day hoped to turn those stories into a YA novel.

I neatly organized my notebook, pen, and pencil. Hearing giggles behind me, I turned to find the source. Two girls, one a clearly dyed dirty blonde and the other a wavy-haired redhead, were whispering back and forth while stabbing glares my way. Confused, I patted down my naturally blonde hair and used my phone to check my teeth and under-eyes.

Mr. Edwards tapped a finger on my desk while he walked by. "Cellphones face down on your desks, eyes up front," he said, speaking to the entire class. I followed his instruction with the rest of my classmates and listened intentively to his introductions for this semester in his class.

Getting back into a school routine from homeschooling was exciting and boring. Everything took longer. There was a lot more conversation than I was used to and I found myself hiding in my thoughts as the teacher spoke before the bell rang, announcing the end of first period.

My locker was easy to find but I hadn't brought anything to store in it. I opened it and stood, awkwardly, as hoards of students busied themselves around me. Maybe public school life wasn't for me. So far, V-do was the only person who had spoken to me and that felt embarrassing since he didn't even recognize me.

My next class was photography. It wasn't a subject I was too interested in, but I thought it might be fun to learn something new, especially since the school had so few options for electives.

This class had assigned seating and I found my name that was attached to a desk. There was a girl already seated next to me, someone I didn't recognize. The first thing I noticed about her was her striking blue eyes. They were deep and dark, not the usual pale or almost gray, and they were made more distinct against the backdrop of her light skin tone framed by dark brown and shiny waves of hair.

I took my seat and she immediately greeted me, "Hi, I'm Anise." She held out an expensively manicured hand and I shook it. Her hands were dainty and gentle, everything about her screamed popularity and beauty queen. I was a little intimidated but introduced myself as well. "Jelly, that's such an interesting name! Although, I like Evangeline too."

The bell rang again and the teacher started his introduction as everyone settled down. He went over camera usage and safety before we all received the ones we would be using for the period. Our objective would be to take our first picture anywhere on school grounds, then come back and learn how to edit them into black and white on the computers.

Anise had a wicked smile when we were dismissed to find our perfect pictures. She wrapped her arm through mine while we were leaving the room. "Come with me and I'll show you why this is my favorite class." I didn't say anything as I followed her through the halls and out the front doors.

Outside, Anise was nearly skipping as we entered the slightly forested area behind the student parking. She led us to a small pond and pulled up a rock that held a plastic bag underneath. Pulling the pack from the bag, she grabbed a cigarette and lit it before offering me one.

My brother was a smoker and occasionally I would steal one or two of his just so I could feel cool. I could just go buy my own, being eighteen, but it felt too dangerous for some reason, too out of place for me. I had never had menthol before and I pulled the thin white and green stick from the pack.

We sat by the pond smoking and I watched Anise carefully as she smiled and took in the sun. I wasn't sure why she chose me to sneak off the school grounds with, but my previous feeling of not fitting in was starting to disappear. "So, where are you from?" I asked her.

"Texas." This surprised me, she didn't have that typical Texas accent, though I could picture her in cowboy boots and hat, jean shorts and an American flag top. "Have you ever done modeling?" I asked out of curiosity.

"How did you know?" She beamed. "A commercial once too, when I was younger." That seemed to fit her personality and I asked why she had come to this tiny, uneventful town.

"My dad. We move around a lot for his business, but next year I'll be in college, so I'll finally get to choose where I go. What about you?"

I told my story too. I told her I was actually born in the next town over but we moved here when I was really young for the man my mom was dating. He had gotten her the job at the oil company and although they are no longer together, they're still friends. I told her about my brother and my homeschooling and briefly mentioned Heron.

When I finished telling her, I realized I hadn't spoken that much to someone I just met in my entire life, let alone tell them everything about me. Anise listened attentively, taking the occasional drag from her cigarette.

"Want to know what, Jelly? I kind of like you," was all she said before crushing the end of her cigarette in the dirt and putting the butt in the bag. My own had burned itself out with me not dragging on it much and I also put it in the bag. She placed it back in her secret hiding spot and snapped a photo of a bird sitting across the pond.

She stood and held out a hand to me. I took it and stood with her. I took a photo of her with the pond as a backdrop before we headed back towards the school. On the way, she pulled hand sanitizer, gum, and perfume from her bag. Sharing each one with me, I made a mental note to pick up some of my own for my book bag after school.

At lunch, Anise sat with me. I was a little giddy that my newest friend wanted to do so. We chatted about the school and Texas and what we liked to do in our free time. She was astonishingly normal and welcoming to me, despite being out of my social league. I thought of my outfit, hair, and makeup that I had spent so much time perfecting. I guess fake it until you make it really does work.

A few other people came to sit with us, friends with Anise. They briefly spoke to me, they seemed to be thrown off by my shyness compared to Anise's outgoing personality. I sat quietly by my new friend while everyone around me socialized. Anise didn't seem to care that I was different from her other friends and went out of her way to make me feel included.

The rest of the day went by like a breeze. I didn't share any other classes with Anise and didn't share any with V-do. My art teacher was the first to remember me from my first year and welcomed me with a warming smile. By the end of the day, I felt pretty happy about how it went and was excited to get home to tell my mom about my day.

Rolling down the windows, despite the cold, I blasted my favorite tunes and sang out loud while my hair whipped in the wind. I officially completed my last first day of high school.