Out

Chapter 4

Thankfully, no one heard me mutter his name. I wipe the smile off my face and say, "I'm sorry, I have no idea who you are." He looks genuinely hurt for a second, but he immediately puts that little smirk back on his face. What a jerk. I turn to Mr. Morris and ask him if I can sit down now. He puts me in a seat on the opposite side of the room as Jack, thank God. I don't want to be near him...but I don't really know why. I just...don't want to see him. Or him to see me, either.

The class lasts on hour and a half, so at 10:15, Mr. Morris dismisses the class. I gather my things and run out of the classroom. Once I feel like I'm far enough way, I pull out my schedule and read my next class. It's American History, again in the West Hall, with Mrs. Bevan, and it starts at 10:25. I check my phone and it reads that the time is already 10:34. I let out a long sigh and start walking to my next class...except, I have no idea where it is. I walk back in the direction of the way I came, but I have no luck. I'm now over twenty minutes late for class.

"Shophia?" a voice behind me asks.

I whip around and see a tall blonde girl standing behind me.

"Umm, yeah," I mutter.

She smiles and says, "Hi, I'm Alice. You're supposed to be in Mrs. Bevan's class right now, aren't you?"

"Yeah," I answer. "I was trying to get there but I got lost. This is a really big school..." I feel myself blush.

She steps towards me and says, "Yeah, it's huge. Took me a long time to get used to it."

I nod my head. I wait a second then say, "So...is there something I can do for you or...?"

Her eyes go wide for a second and she starts laughing. "Oh, yeah!" she says. "I was supposed to bring you to class!"

I nod my head and follow her back to the classroom, keeping my head down the whole time, glancing up occasionally to make sure I'm not going to run into anything.

"Why are you so quiet?" she asks me.

I don't answer.

"Are you scared? You shouldn't be scared, most people here are pretty cool."

I don't say anything.

"Do you have any friends?" she asks.

Once again, I say nothing.

"We could be friends, if you want..."

"No, we can't," I say.

"Why not?" she asks.

I don't answer.

"Why not, Sophie?" she asks.

"Because I don't want friends," I snap.

"Everybody wants friends! And I," she gestures to herself, "want to be yours."

I look at her for a moment. She's about average height, maybe 5'6". She's got curled blonde hair, but she doesn't strike me as the "girly-girl" type. She's wearing ripped jeans, a Nirvana band t-shirt, and combat boots. She doesn't really strike me as the "rebel" type either though. She's not a hippy, not an outcast, she's just...different, I guess.

"Why do you feel the need to be my friend?" I ask her.

She thinks about my question for a moment, then says, "It's not that I feel bad for you and think you need some friends, it's that I like you. You seem cool."

I raise my eyebrow at her, and she laughs. "I mean, you seem like a nice person. Why would you not want friends? Like, how could you just be like 'No, I don't want friends. Bye.' "

We finally reach the classroom. I look at her and say, "Because you don't want me as a friend. Trust me." Then I walk into the classroom.

"Ahh, there she is!" I hear someone say. I don't even have to look around to know...it's Jack. Of course.