A Perfect Fit

3

Isabelle

"You were sitting next to Jackson Carter?" my best friend Jen gasps, as we sit across each other at a local diner for lunch.

Jen and I befriended each other back in freshman year of high school when I was the new kid and we immediately bonded over our shared love for Taylor Swift, movies, books and rom-coms. In senior year, when I realized I didn't want to follow my family's footsteps and pursue a career in law, Jen was the one who really pushed me to apply for fashion school and chase after my fashion designer dreams.

"He's moving back to New York too," I add, taking another bite of my club sandwich.

I currently work part-time as a barista at the Maple Leaf Cafe, my favorite coffee shop—a job I've had since my last year of high school. I spend the other days of the week working on and fulfilling orders for my online business By Isabelle Curtis, in which I design and handmake womens' clothing. It's been two years since I launched my business and I'm not at the stage yet where my profits are enough to support me on a full-time income level basis, particularly given the cost of living expenses in New York. Originally, I had planned on working for a company first after graduating and starting my own business later, but when the pandemic happened, I ended up just going for it. It's funny how life pans out sometimes. 

"Damn," Jen pauses for a moment, her brows furrowed and her blue eyes in deep concentration. It's her classic thinking face. "What are the chances that you happen to be on the same flight as him, and end up sitting next to him?"

"Greater than the chances of him learning how to be humble and calm his ego down," I easily reply. "I kid you not, the guy is even more arrogant than he was in high school."

"Okay, so personality-wise it's still a no," Jen concludes. "How about appearance-wise?"

"If his personality is like poop, it doesn't matter if he could probably be a runway model," I say.

"So you do think he's hot," Jen presses.

"I mean, objectively speaking, he's not so bad-looking," I exhale. "But," I add, placing extra emphasis on the 'but' as I take another bite of my food. "Truth is, he was, and still is an arrogant prick."

There's a brief silence before Jen speaks again. "My theory is that he secretly had a crush on you back in high school. That's why he kept teasing you."

I almost choke on my food at that. "There's a difference between teasing and being a flat-out jerk. He's just always had it in for me ever since the paint incident."

The paint incident was our very first interaction and the catalyst for Jackson's jackass attitude toward me and our subsequent feud and academic rivalry.

Flashback to one afternoon during my first week at Cherrybrooke High. I had been sitting at the top of these stairs in the courtyard, doing some painting and minding my own business. All was peaceful until I accidentally spilled over one of my paint jars, causing droplets of paint to fall through the spaces of the stairway railings and then plummet downwards.

Guess who just happened to walk past at the same time?

That's right, Jackson Carter. Plus his best friend, Aaron Cho. Except the drops of paint ended up falling on the top of Jackson's head only.

Not exactly the best way to make an impression on a new classmate, and it didn't exactly help that I had immediately burst out laughing when I heard Jackson utter "did a bird just shit on me?" to Aaron.

Okay, I admit I probably looked a little suspicious, but it's not like I did it on purpose. In fact, even though I apologized to Jackson and explained it was an accident right after he and Aaron glanced up to see me sitting there on the stairs, he's still had it in for me ever since. To this day, he probably still thinks I spilled the paint on him on purpose.