To Be or Not To Be

Sophomore Year Part II

    As I sat in my Geometry class, I fought some storming thoughts. I couldn't seem to get a pair of green eyes out of my mind. What was I thinking? My best friend wanted him. Besides, relationships weren't really my thing. I was way too focused on keeping my G.P.A. up and trying to get into Penn State. Granted, Pennsylvania was a far cry away from the quiet state of Idaho, but it was a dream. I wanted to be a historian and Penn State offered the best of the best for my goals. I did sports, I volunteered at a local doctor's office, I mad honor roll in Texas, but now I needed honor roll here at Jerome High to top off my ever growing resume. Getting into Penn State was the equivalent of the elite getting into Yale or Harvard or even Brown. I planned on going from Penn State to Brown. Emma Watson was my major idol and she graduated from there. I had plans to follow in those footsteps, at least academically.

    I began to bring my thoughts back to reality just in time for the bell to ring for the next class. I glanced at my schedule. Law. Thank God. An elective. Usually I found my electives extremely enjoyable. I walked to my locker in the narrow hallways. It was located by the Biology classrooms. I slid my Geometry textbook in and grabbed a bag of pistachios to snack on and a bottle of water. I always kept my locker stocked just in case. Since I didn't get a chance to eat breakfast this morning, I was glad I made a habit of keeping food and drinks stashed away. 

    When I approached the door that lead into my class, I spotted Aimee and Demon. She was clinging to him like he was a life line, pushing her chest, which by no means was small, against his arm and batting her eyes at him. She had Italian blood in her and she had the darkened skin and midnight black hair to prove it. I chuckled softly to myself and shook my head as I approached. She was one determined spitfire. 

"Selina! You have this class too?! How amazing is that!" Aimee squealed 

"I'm afraid I do." I replied, grinning from ear to ear. I was slightly grateful that I had a class with people I knew and not only people who have only recently remembered my existence. 

"Glad to have you aboard, Miss Selina." said Damon. I eyed him skeptically, searching for any hint of sarcasm in his statement. He had a small smile playing on his lips and his dreamy eyes fixed on me like he was waiting for me to give him an answer to a test. 

"Thanks for having me, Captain." I said jokingly, sweeping into a low bow. He laughed and stood next to the door.

"Ladies first." He bowed.

"Isn't he such a gentleman?" Aimee said dreamily as she walked down an aisle to sit in a chair towards the back. 

I laughed and shook my head. This woman was smitten. I chose the seat right next to aisle and sat down. I usually sit in the front of classrooms. But for this instance, I'll make an exception. 

Damon strolled by me and sat in the seat beside me. Placing himself between Aimee and I. I did my best to ignore the way the heat just radiated off of him as the teacher came in and began introductions. Fortunately, this teacher didn't do the whole tell-us-about-yourself scenario. I hated being the center of attention so standing up and talking about myself was something I dreaded every year on the first day of school. Texas was the worse by far. Students would smirk and snicker behind their hands at the way I spoke. Like I could help that I had a small lisp. 

I shook my head to rid myself of the unpleasant memories. I wasn't in Texas anymore. I grew up with these kids and have known them most of my life. I looked out of the corner of my eye at Aimee. She was seated as close as she could get to Damon without crawling into his skin. I have never in my life seen her work so hard to get the attention of a guy. This was bizarre.....and rather entertaining. A woman used to getting any and all guys that she wanted, she didn't really have to put up much of a front to get her way. It appeared Damon wasn't in the slightest bit affected by her charms. 

I focused my attention on the teacher. She was rattling on about the proper procedures of how court hearings commenced. I jotted some notes down. 

1. Defendant pleads guilty/not guilty.

2. Defendant's lawyer opens with why said client is innocent.

3. Prosecutor lists reasons defendant is guilty.

4. Evidence is laid out.

5. Jury makes decision and states if found guilty or not guilty.

6. Judge delivers sentence.

   As I wrote the last note, I felt a hand squeeze my knee. I gasped and looked over at Damon. He was sitting completely still and looked absolutely intent on listening to the lesson. I removed his hand and scooted an inch away. Enough to put distance, but not enough to be noticed. I glanced at Aimee and she was writing her own notes and showing them to Damon. This was proving to be the longest class period yet. My skin tingled where he had put his hand and I could feel a slight blush creeping up my neck. This isn't good. Aimee was my best friend. I have never gone after one of her targets, and I was going to begin now. Any guy would be lucky to have her. She was beautiful, had dreamy brown eyes with flecks of gold, dark hair to give her an air of mystery. So why was this guy touching me? It had to be my imagination. 

    The bell rang for lunch. I packed up my pen and notebook. 

"You gonna go to lunch with us? We usually grab some pizza from Little Ceasar's." Aimee asked. 

"Yeah. That sounds fun. Let me just take this to my locker real quick and I'll meet you in the cafeteria." I said.

I began my walk to my locker and threw my stuff in before racing to the cafeteria. 

"Yay! You're coming with us!" I smiled at Dana as she jumped up and down in excitement.

This redhead was the most outgoing and excitable person I knew and I adored her for it. She was always up for an adventure.

"That I am. Hey, after school, wanna hit some trails? I brought back a couple of horses and I know how much you love to ride."

"Like you gotta ask me twice! I'll call mom and let her know." She smiled. 

"You two are still riding horses? They smell! I don't know you can stand it." said Aimee, shaking her head in disgust.

"The wind in our hair and feeling of freedom and speed make it worth it." I chuckled, high fiving Dana.

"I've never ridden a horse. Any chance I could join? Maybe get a riding lesson?" Asked Damon.

"Yeah! We could make an afternoon of it!" Matt chimed in. 

So much for some quality girl time. I didn't make many friends in Texas, much less female ones. I missed the companionship and having a confidant. I looked at Dana.

"It's your call. I have more than two."

"Sounds good to me. You and I can load them up and head up into the hills Saturday and have some girl time." She smiled.

"Now that sounds like something I could handle." I said.

We all loaded up into Damon's truck. I sat in the bed and admired the brand new paint.

"This thing must be new. Not a single scratch and definitely not old." I observed.

"It is. 2010 Chevy Silverado. I had it painted burgundy from white. Easier to keep clean and hide dirt." He smirked as he hopped into the driver's side.

"Of course it is." I muttered. From the looks of the rig, money wasn't something his parents must be short on.

I faced forward and saw his green eyes fixed on me through the side mirror. I felt my stomach clench and looked away. We just met this morning. Why did he affect me this way? This was just weird. 

We headed down Tiger Drive towards town. We turned on to a side road and turned into the parking lot to Little Ceasar's. I hopped out of the bed and dropped the tailgate to let everyone else out.

"Limber as ever, I see." Dana said jokingly.

I laughed. "You're damn skippy I am."

She started laughing and hooked her arm through mine. "I missed you, Selina. It hasn't been the same without you. It's nice having my adventure buddy back home."

I smiled "I'm not going anywhere now. At least not until after graduation, but you graduate before I do anyways. Still planning on attending CSI?"

She shook her head. "No. Actually, I began looking into the bigger schools. I've found an interest in Penn State. They have a really good Vet program."

I stopped. "No way! I'm applying there too!"

She squealed "Oh, my god! Yay! Maybe we can be roomies!"

"That'd be killer!" I laughed. "But you'll be a year ahead of me. Unless you're gonna take a year off." I somewhat asked quizzically.

"Absolutely not. The sooner I get that degree, the happier I'll be." She grinned.

I was grinning from ear to ear. Some of the trepidation of being somewhere new again began to fade. College wouldn't be so bad when I have one of my best friends nearby.