********************
One more class to go. Then I’d see him again. If I had any favor with the cosmos, any favor at all, then Carlos would have gotten after school suspension today and I’d get Darren all to myself.
Taylor and I had three classes together, we had discovered, unfortunately, Algebra II wasn’t one of them. I would suffer this hour alone, with no one to chat with and no one to take my mind off the boy who’d given me my first kiss. A very public first kiss.
It was only five minutes into class and I was already ignoring Mrs. Moorer, planning out a fall wedding in my head. I immediately hated myself for being that girl, but at least I hadn’t started drawing hearts in my notebook with both our names in the middle. Not that I was sure which was worse. Mrs. Moorer’s voice thundered across the classroom.
“Melanie, Britney, phones please.”
Two blonde haired girls groaned and stomped up to the front of the classroom where they deposited their cell phones on Mrs. Moorer’s desk. They were twice as loud on the way back to their seats.
“You two know my policy,” she began. “Don’t text in my class unless it’s something you don’t mind the whole class knowing about. Let’s see…Melanie sent: “Omg! Omg! O…M…G.” Love the vocabulary Melanie.” She continued. “To which Britney responds with: “What?” Melanie answers with, “It’s her, the girl Darren kissed in front of everybody!” To which Britney responds with, and I quote, “Omg…Omg…Omg…”
If only someone had taught me how to turn myself invisible. The entire class was laughing and shooting me sideways glances. Mrs. Moorer picked up on it.
“Star quarterback, Darren?” she asked the class.
“Yes!” the girls answered in unison.
She eyed me and smiled. “Heck of a first day Ms. Adams. Well, as long as you don’t go breaking his heart before any of the games, it’s alright by me. This is our year, isn’t guys?”
The whole class hooted and hollered. Then, there was a knock on the door. Mrs. Moorer looked slightly embarrassed and said that it was probably just another teacher wondering what all the noise was about. She got up to answer and then stepped outside.
He followed her back into the classroom. My heart dropped down into my stomach. He handed Mrs. Moorer a note, and then came and sat down in the empty seat next to me. Shell-shocked, I pretended not to see him.
“Excuse me, son,” said Mrs. Moorer, eyeing the note. “May I have a word with you?”
He didn't answer. My curiosity won out; when I looked up, his big green eyes were staring at me. He wouldn’t even blink. My heart pounded against my rib cage. He smiled smugly, as though he could hear it, and then turned his attention to Mrs. Moorer.
“Okay,” he said politely.
“This note is supposedly from Mr. Pardonelli. Only, Mr. Pardonelli called in sick this morning. I don’t know who you are, but I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”
When his eyes found mine again, they were tense. “If I come for you, will you leave with me?”
I searched his face. He looked so desperate, so familiar…
I nodded. I didn’t remember telling myself to do so, but I had. I’d never seen someone look so relieved. He jumped up from his desk and darted for the door. A boy in the front row reached out his foot to trip him but he avoided it without even dropping his head.
He was gone. Once again, all eyes were on me.