Dreams and Dreamy Boys-3
1719 Words
An amused dimple toyed with me as he nodded over my shoulder, “Umm, interesting artwork.”
“Huh,” I merely uttered. I glanced back at my book and gasped. I’d drawn a stupid cupid. I rushed to flip my book over. “Thanks,” I mumbled, feeling my face blister. I tried to tune him out by facing the chalkboard, but his faint laughter kept drifting over my shoulder.
I’d forgotten about Sally until I caught her odd stare pointed at me. Her dark eyes were sharp as glass. What on earth was she mulling around in her head? I cut my eyes at her with a look of warning. I was about to ask Sally what her problem was, but Ms. Jenkins entered the class. I’d never been so happy to see a teacher.
Lunch rolled around, and I headed for the cafeteria. I followed the long trail of students. Once I passed the double doors, the smell of food smacked me in the face, resuscitating my stomach back to life. I didn’t eat dinner last night. I wanted to save my last coins for lunch today.
I got in line, grabbing a tray and flatware wrapped in a white paper napkin. Right away, my eyes went for the tamales. When I handed my coins to the cashier, I felt a finger tap me from behind. Startled, I twirled around, facing Sally. “Hey,” I answered.
Sally smiled, ignoring my solemn face. “Come sit at my table. I’ll introduce you to everyone.” I opened my mouth to decline, but Sally had snatched my arm and started dragging me across the cafeteria. Giving in, I let Sally lead the way. We came to a stop at a table of three. That meant that Sally was the fourth one. I reckoned I was the fifth wheel. Been there done that, didn’t care. Sally began the introductions, “Hey, y’all, this is my new friend in English. Everyone, meet Stevie Ray.” I nodded, straining a smile. Sally started going around the table. First, she pointed to a brown-haired boy, a little on the skinny side but still cute. “Meet Sam Reynolds.” She moved on across from him. “This is Jen Li.” The girl smiled and waved her hand. Sally pointed to the last person sitting next to the boy, Sam, a bleached blonde with deadly fingernails and a scowl glued to her face, “And my dearest and BFF, Gina Peters.” Sally bubbled with pride. Everyone smiled but the blonde. She rolled her eyes, giving attitude. “Whatever,” she snarled.
Then the skinny boy, Sam, interjected. “Gina, will it hurt you to be nice? How often do we get someone new to this tired town?”
“One too many,” she retorted, eyeballing me from my head to my toe.
I hesitated, debating whether I should sit somewhere else. I figured somewhere in the vicinity of the moon.
Jen came to my defense. “Just ignore Gina. She’s in a good mood today. It’s when she’s chewing bullets is when you watch out,” she smiled.
I laughed.
Sally spoke up. “Come on! Gina’s teasing.”
Sam got out of his seat and pulled the chair that separated him from the blonde. “Come sit next to me. I don’t bite,” he smiled, patting the chair. “I’m much purdier than anyone else here.” With his Southern accent and dazzling smile, I gathered Sam was the peacemaker. He earned a few brownie points with me. The twinkle in his eyes reminded me of Logan. I sighed with longing. I accepted his offer and took the seat he held out. Everyone seemed friendly enough, excluding the sourpuss blonde. Maybe she’d soften since the others were open to me.
Jen was the first to start with the questions. “Where did you come from,” she smiled warmly.
“West Texas, Sweetwater.”
Jen laughed. “Is the water sweet?”
Everyone snickered.
I laughed. “Not really.”
Sally asked. Her child-like voice leaped above everyone else’s. “How do you like our little town?”
“So far, so good,” I lied.
Sam leaned back, taking in a full view of me and chuckled. “You lyin’, gul!” he teased. “Nobody likes this place.”
I laughed. I seldom got called out. My eyes caught Sam’s deep browns. “What can I say? You caught me,” I shrugged, laughing.
The table burst into laughter, all but Gina. It seemed stewing was her perfume of the day. Then she started. “I heard your daddy was killed in a hit-and-run accident?” Her eyes were pointy like a witch’s wart.
How did this chick know? Then it hit me like a bat to the head, The Internet. “Yes. That’s right.” I responded with no intonation, nor did I clarify.
The Internet.The table became pin-dropping quiet.
“Did the police find the killer,” Gina asked, not a lick of empathy in her voice. This girl was out for blood.
The last thing I wanted to do was spark a fight on the first day of school. Instead, I gave her a curt reply. “No.”
“I bet your daddy looked like roadkill?” Gina barbed.
Before I could stop myself, I’d sprung to my feet. Everything else went black. Fists loaded, I lunged for the blonde’s throat. Sam leaped in front of her, blocking me from ripping out that fake, bleach-blonde hair. “Watch it!” I stretched my arm over Sam, grabbing for Gina. “No one talks about my dad like that and lives.”
“If you don’t like it, leave,” Gina bellowed, stepping back from my reach.
I looked up, and the whole cafeteria had swooped in around us. Amidst the crowd, I heard some of the jocks chanting, “Fight, fight, girl on girl!” Without warning, I went air born over someone’s shoulder, feet dangling. I heard an older man’s voice shout. “Get her outta her’ now!” The deep voice sounded like my history teacher, Coach Matthew.
In my next breath, I’d blacked out.
When my eyes opened, the scent of rain swirled my senses. I was sitting propped against something hard. I lifted my gaze and saw the bruised clouds beyond the foliage of the tree. My brow perked. “Where am I?” I murmured to the chilled air, pushing through the cobwebs in my brain. Rubbing my eyes, I grumbled. “What happened?”
My hand grazed something underneath me. I looked down and noticed a dark coat underneath me. Someone had propped me against the large oak outside the cafeteria! “But who?” I looked around, noting that the rain had stopped. But the cold continued to linger. A shiver rolled through me.
A male clearing his throat pierced my mind, knocking me back to the present. I bolted to my feet too quickly and stumbled, falling into someone’s arms.
“Oops! Steady does it,” a velvety voice pierced the brisk air. When our eyes locked, my heart stopped. The new boy! Why was he here? I twisted from his embrace.
The new boy!Not a word uttered, he scanned me with agitated eyes, dark and ominous like the sea before a storm. “How do you feel?” He drawled in a lazy tone.
“How did I get out here?”
“I’m Aidan Bane. And you are?”
“Stephanie Ray.” A headache had reared its ugly head, and the throbbing was blinding. “I’m light-headed.”
“It’ll wear off in a while.” He sounded like a doctor, remote, and clinical.
“Are you some kind of expert?” I snipped.
“Here, take my jacket.” He ignored my question, holding out his jacket.
Our eyes locked for a heartbeat, and then I dropped my gaze and took his hoodie. “Thanks,” I whispered irefully.
“You’re welcome.”
I fumbled with the large coat, trying to find the arm.
He drew back a sultry smile. “Here, let me help.” He snatched the hoodie from my clumsy hands and laid it over my shoulders. All at once, a heady mix of spice and churned earth swallowed me.
Nothing was making sense. Why were we out here in the damp weather? “W-w-w-what happened?”
The boy shoved his hands in his pockets as he casually answered. “No worries, love!” For a minute, I let myself sink into his chiseled features.
Silence loomed between us as he leaned against the tree, his arms rested across his chest. The new boy’s gaze slowly drifted over me as if we’d known each other intimately. I sensed it too. A familiarity lingered between us. Yet how could that be? I’d never laid eyes on him before today.
“Did you get to eat something,” he asked. His voice still held no emotion.
I shook my head. “No.”
“I can get you a burger.”
Why does he care? “I’m fine. Thanks,” I snapped. “You can go back inside. I don’t need a babysitter.” I shrugged his jacket off and handed it back to him, or I attempted.
“I can stay.” He ignored my gesture.
Why is he stalling? “No. It’s not necessary.” I was short with him, still extending the jacket.
The boy paused for a minute, imprisoning my gaze. My heart kicked up a notch, staring into his intense eyes. He made me uncomfortable as I shifted my weight from foot to foot. His face remained unreadable, almost cold as he finally spoke. “As you wish.” He pushed off from the tree, snatching his coat from my fingers, sauntering off like in the movies, tossing the hoodie over his right shoulder, disappearing inside the building.
He didn’t bother giving me another glance. I didn’t know why, but it tugged at my heart. Maybe I could’ve been more polite. Though when he wouldn’t explain how I ended up under the tree, it grated me like sand in my shorts.
- Writer
