BLACK

Bus Rider

The cool temperature descended a few degrees lower by later in the afternoon. I stood under an awning waiting for my bus number to be called when a familiar voice grabbed my attention.   

"Grace!"

James enthusiasm bled into his voice. He waved at me, bright smile pressed on his lips. I gotta to admit, he's starting to grow on me. 

I waved back at him. 

"Hey James."

James quickly made his way towards me, handing me sneakers bar. "are you waiting on a bus?"

I turned pale, embarrassed despite the joy of the chocolate bar. "I don't have my driver's license yet. Besides, we just moved from another state. I'll have to get a new learners permit."

He smiled after I said learner's permit. 

"Don't tell me you can't drive?"

"I can." Shakiness in my voice becoming apparent. "I just haven't taken my driver's exam yet."

He left out a soft chuckle. "Well, you're in luck. Why don't you get in my car? I could give you a ride home."

I hesitated, I don't know whether I should take the offer. It's my first day in this school and I don't know whether I could trust him or not. 

"I'm not going to do anything to you." James must've seen the hesitation on my face and picked up on it. "I promise." He made an exaggerated gesture of putting his hand to his chest. "I'm  gentleman."

His magnetic charm seemed to have worked its magic, since he got me to agree. 

We began to make our way towards the student parking lot when I felt a sudden tug on my head. From the corner of my eye, I saw Jake. His eyes were fixed on us, watching me and James as we made our way towards the parking lot. 

He's not alone, his friends from the cafeteria were with him. The smaller boy gave us the briefest glance before taking his attention to his friends, smiling as he greeted them. The muscular guy has a girl under his arm, too preoccupied to pay attention to anything else. 

The sudden pressure in my head made me look his way. It is as if instinct has took over and told me where he is. It was the strangest thing, to know exactly where to find him. 

He kept his penetrating stare locked on me, to the chocolate bar I'm eating, narrowing them slightly as his glance slid to the boy next to me. Something about his somber face hardened as though he disapproved at the sight of another male so close to me. 

Jake started to fall behind, walking slower than his friends. His unrelenting gaze remained pointed at me even after making it to the old white expedition that seemed to belong to the big muscular boy.

"What're you looking at?" James said after a while. We stopped beside a blue Toyota and I assumed this to be his car. 

"Umm, nothing. I got distracted."

He followed the direction of my stare and determined exactly who I was looking at. "I told you Grace, those guys are dangerous."

"How so?" 

He shook his head, fishing out his key from his pocket. James unlocked the doors. "Honestly, they're juveniles. You know their leader? The big guy? His name is Lucas. He gets into a brawl with men outside the school all the time. He's a troublemaker. 

His attention turned to Jake next. 

"Then Mr. stares a lot, Jake. He always comes to school with bandages, cuts, and bruises. As a matter of fact, all three of them do and sometimes the girl too. I don't know what they do on weekends or on days they're not in school, but they seem to be getting into trouble a lot."

He paused as to wait for my response. Most of his animosity tend to focus more on Lucas much to my relief. Maybe they have a beef I don't know about. 

"Maybe. I don't know. They're into high impact sports or something?" I said with a shrug. From what I gathered earlier today,  there's nothing in Jake's manners that came outright as dangerous. His facial features and his expressions were all mild. Sure, he looked like he can throw a good punch and he's built larger that most kids I've seen in high school but...." It's hard to believe they get into so much trouble outside of school."

James snorted. He didn't seem to like my response.

"Yeah, no sport will give you the kind of injuries those guys have. Wait til you find out. I bet you'll stay away from them like the rest of us."

The next day was better. Better because the temperature dropped enough for me to rummage through unpacked boxes of clothes in my room. I needed a sweater to put on. All because James made a comment about my tanned skin yesterday.

It was bad because the temperature plummeted enough for me to shiver at the cold. It's already colder than typical winter in Florida and it's only the middle of fall. I've always hated the humid summers of Florida, feeling like I'm being cooked alive in a sauna each time I stepped outside. Now, I feel bad about complaining because I know I'll be eating my words soon as winter arrives.

James managed to convince me to let him pick me up from home this morning also. I somehow regret allowing this to happen because I could feel all the curious stares glaring at me as I stepped out of his midnight blue Toyota.

This is not the kind of attention I want or looking for. It didn't help that we walked together to our first class, and then again to our second class. I could already hear all the whispers and gossips building about us.

Thank goodness we didn't run into Jake or his friends this morning. I don't know why? It's not like I needed to hide or anything. But there's a feeling in my chest and the curling in my blood telling me being with James is wrong.

The bell soon rang for lunch. I sat with James and his friends at the cafeteria. He offered me another one of his sandwiches which I gladly accepted. I swept my eyes almost to the point of dizziness, scrubbing through the large crowd of students looking for Jake. He wasn't there. None of his friends were. And I couldn't help the feeling of disappointment that seemed to weigh on me heavily.

"What are you looking for?" James asked after a while, he must've have noticed my restlessness the whole time.  "You've been so restless ever since we sat on the table."

I managed to calm myself down. I didn't know I was being too obvious. "Nothing. I was just people watching."

"People watching?"

"Yes, I enjoy observing people on my free time."

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Author's note:
Please let me know what you think so far? I'm also open to suggestions.