Linger

T W O

"So what do you guys think, dark blue or light blue?"

" I don't know, Chels. What if we don't even get asked?" Alice asked

"So?" Chelsea scoffed. "I can still go to the winter formal looking cute without a date. Besides, I have you guys."

"Well, that was deep & cute" Sasha called from over my shoulder.

I laughed & turned around to see her, snatching my phone from my desk in front of me & plopping herself on my bed. We were doing a 3 way call with Chelsea & Alice while Sasha & I were studying at my place. And to us, studying means calling our friends who we just saw 2 hours ago to talk to them even more. Tonight, we were discussing the upcoming winter formal.

"No, but seriously guys, what color dress should I get? If I can narrow down the colors, then picking the style would be easier." Chelsea's voice said through the speaker.

"Maybe this weekend we can go the shops & see what they have there?" Alice proposed.

"Or instead of waiting all the way until Saturday, I can bring the new catalogue that just arrived. It has all the newest arrivals, Chels!" Sasha told her, sitting up on my bed with her legs folded.

"Yeah! Bring it tomorrow to school & we can all choose dresses for us."

"Yes! That sounds perfect! I'll see you guys tomorrow! Sasha, do not forget the catalogue." Chelsea told her.

Sasha giggled. "I won't" And hung up. "That girl frets too much. I mean obviously the most important part about the formal is getting a date, right?"

"No, it's most definitely the dress." I answered her smiling & bringing my hair to one side, covering my neck.

"Easy for you to say. I'm still trying to get noticed by Ben."

"Don't you two have math together?"

"Yeah & lit. discussion. Which reminds me, you weren't there today-" her sentence was cut off by her phone ringing & I was grateful. If she was going to ask about why I wasn't at the discussion, I wasn't sure what I would tell her. Apparently, my lame lie about finishing a science project wasn't reasonable enough to stop her from questioning me.

"I've gotta get going. Jackson's practice got cut short so I have to help Mom prep dinner now." She looked up from her phone. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Alright, don't forget to bring the catalogue too." I gave her a hug as she headed towards the door.

"Right."

"Bright & early!" I called as she went down the stairs.

"Bright & early!" I heard her laugh at our little joke made to make school mornings just a tad more enjoyable & then the front door close.

I sighed as I went back in my room, sitting on the white cushioned desk chair. I had been so busy talking with the girls about winter formal that I hadn't had much time to think about what happened today with Mr. Hayden. Not that it wasn't unforgettable, it was just unbelievable. How someone actually felt the same way towards me as I felt for them. But not just anyone. My teacher. It sounds wrong, but it doesn't feel like it. At least, not in that heated moment it didn't. I smiled at the thought of being with him. How it felt to be so close to him, to hear him whisper words for me & only me to hear. I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks. If I didn't stop thinking about him now, I wasn't going to get any homework done. Maybe it'd be better if I just focus on doing the homework he assigned us tonight,instead of getting carried away with just the thought of him. Like he said "Whatever happens, happens." & it was just a kiss. A wonderful, breathtaking kiss that I never wanted to end. I looked over at my bag on the carpeted floor waiting to be open. If anything, seeing Mr. Hayden tomorrow was definitely motivation enough for me to complete my homework.

My phone buzzed, waking me from a nap I didn't even know I took. "Ugh" I fumbled with my phone desperately wanting it to stop buzzing right in my ear. "Maddie! Dinner's ready!" I heard my mother call from downstairs.

I lifted my head from its resting position on my desk & looked at my clock that now said it was 6:55pm. I had slept for nearly an hour! Great, it was going to be a late night. I checked my phone to see I had two messages from Sasha & one message from Alice about the homework. I dismissed them, tossing my phone on my bed.

I dragged myself downstairs to where the rest of my family was ready to have dinner & seated myself next to my sister, Katie. She was four years younger than me, and we got along quite well. My brother, Michael, sat next to her, he was 8 years younger than me. We weren't very close, but he was a good kid, which I was grateful for.

"Katie, have you told Maddie what you're trying out for?" My mother asked as she passed the salad to my father.

"Oh that's right! Maddie, I tried out for the junior soccer league today!" Katie exclaimed reaching for the bowl of potatoes.

"Awesome! How did you do?" I asked her as I served myself a slice of lasagna. Katie was the complete opposite of me: athletic, outgoing, & creative. I wasn't the most artistic person, nevertheless we did get along.

"It was so cool! We did all these different drills & I scored! 4 times!" She told me, still holding onto the bowl of potatoes.

"That's great Katie! You're totally going to get a spot on the team."

"I hope so. Playing forward on the Northside Blue Jackets is my dream. Well, in middle school at least." She said staring off into the distance.

"Katie, honey." My mother called her, catching her attention.

"Huh?"

"The potatoes." She gestured to the bowl of potatoes Katie was still holding onto.

"Oh. Right." She passed them to Mom despite her still empty plate.

I giggled, noticing her thoughtless action & my brother joined in.

"So Maddie," my father said "how was school for you?"

"Oh, it was..."I began, then suddenly conscious of what had occurred this afternoon & who I was having dinner with, I reached to bring my hair one side covering my neck. "It was good. School was good." I concluded with a smile, then took a bite of my dinner, hoping no more questions would be asked.

"And you, Mikey boy?" He moved on to asking my little brother about his day, in which Michael proceeded to tell him all about his day starting from the very minute he was dropped off.

I was thankful no further questions were asked about my day. Unfortunately, high school years weren't as great as those good old elementary school years. I couldn't tell about my day, minute by minute. Childhood was a beautiful thing. There was innocence, happiness & not a care in the world, almost the complete opposite of high school. But in high school, there were also friends, dances, and in my case, almost too-good-to-be-true teachers. High school may not be the best years of my life, but thank god I have some pretty rad friends that make it not seem like the worst ones. And thanks to them, and Mr. Hayden of course, I'm definitely looking forward to going to school tomorrow. And hopefully, I'll have my homework completed by then too.

***********

Plot twist: It's actually not a one-part story XD Let me know what you think of this chapter ! Please & thank you ! :)

(Btw that's Madison on the left and Sasha on the right in the photo above)