Fighting to go on

Chapter 4

The next day started out normally. Charlie and I headed to school together again. When we arrived, a few people called out greetings to him, and I encouraged him to go talk to some of his new friends. He did so reluctantly, after I practically shoved him in their direction.

            I headed to my locker and was surprised to see Sarah waiting there for me. I smiled at her and she smiled shyly in return. “I think we have English together as well,” she said.

            “Oh, sorry, I didn’t really notice anyone in my classes yesterday.” Aside from one rather large exception, I thought ruefully.

            “It’s okay, I know first days can be confusing. I only moved here last year for the second semester.”

            “Being the new kid sucks, doesn’t it?” I asked.

            Sarah nodded. “Yeah, it really does.”

            I gathered the books I needed and we headed to our English class. When we got to the room, we headed to the back. Ryan was already sitting in one of the seats back there, and I hesitated for a moment. My first instinct was to sit away from him, but something was suddenly telling me to sit beside him. I bit my lip as I slowly moved to the seat next to him and sat down. He glanced at me briefly and the corners of his lips twitched a little, but it couldn’t be classified as a smile.

            Sarah looked undecided as she looked between me and Ryan. She had obviously heard about his reputation. She finally decided to sit in the seat on my other side, so she wasn’t too close to him. I smiled. I was quite happy that I seemed to have made a friend.

            The class started and Mr. Meyer called us to order. The next words out of his mouth caused me to go pale, however. “We’re going to start on group projects. A lot of the work will have to be done after school, and you’ll have a month to complete it. The project will consist of you choosing a play and doing research on it, as well as acting out a small part of it.”

            I was really beginning to not like this teacher. He seemed intent on making me work with people, which made me uncomfortable. Especially because a lot of it needed to be done outside of class. He continued to tell us about it and ended by saying we could choose our own groups.

            Sarah and I turned to look at each other immediately and I let out a sigh of relief. At least I would be able to work with someone I got along with.

            I have no idea what came over me next. I found myself turning to Ryan and saw him watching me quietly. “Do you want to be in our group?”

            I heard Sarah gasp from behind me, but I ignored her. Ryan regarded me for a moment before nodding. I turned to Sarah again and she was staring at me with wide eyes. I frowned at her. “What?”

            She leaned forward to whisper to me. “You talked to him!”

            I thought I heard Ryan snort, but I wasn’t sure. “How was I supposed to ask him to join our group if I didn’t talk to him?” I asked.

            “Um, you just don’t ask him to join our group, that’s how. You do know he’s like, really scary, right?”

            I barely resisted rolling my eyes. “Obviously. But he needs a group too, right? And if everyone is afraid of him, then no one will ask him.”

            “I can hear you, you know,” Ryan said.

            I blushed as I turned to look at him. “Sorry,” I said.