Every Little Thing

Chapter 6

The back of my neck was plagued with prickles from the tips of my hair. Times like these made me miss my sixth grade pixie cut, at least if I had my hair like that now it would all fit snug in my beanie. A flick to my forehead reminded me that I was walking alongside Megan. I couldn't help but zone out every time she rambled on about a million different topics. Her endless chatter proved to be handy when she mentioned I shared my next class with her stepbrother.

Our steps stopped at a fork in the hallway. My class to the left and hers to the right. The entire time I was saying goodbye she kept giving me a full inspection with just her eyes. And then she stopped at my face. 

"One more thing," she said. In a split second my beanie (along with probably some of my hair) was in her hand. Like lightning she stormed off to the right, throwing open a door, and waving before going inside. Great.My stomach dropped and my hands began to grow clammy. I was about five feet from my next class, thinking of ideas to hide my very obvious pink hair. Then I hear someone familiar. 

"Nice hair," says the familiar voice. I turn around and see Dylan with a small smile decorating his face. He was taking in the sight of me in a similar way Megan did. For my sake I was hoping Dylan was the opposite of his stepsister.

I smile back,"pink really isn't my style, but y'know, high school is all about making mistakes." The now empty hallway echos with the sound of his chuckling. His smile only grows as he opens the door. He holds out his hand and I walk in, his own steps not far from my own.

"Choose your seats wisely, they will be permanent until the second semester. If you end up hating the person beside you it's not my problem," my history teacher, Mrs. Ellis, says. She was an old lady, or at least appeared old. If I had to guess, I assume she's was around her fifties, late fifties. Her brown hair was streaked grey, which was pulled back into a low bun. Black, square rimmed glasses sat happily on her nose, along with a smile.

I sit in the back next to a large window. From my view I spot a large tree  sitting on a patch of grass, surrounded by cement. It's a nice tree with leaves of different shades of red, orange and yellow. If the tree had a voice I'm sure it would talk all day about the wonders of autumn. 

A hand taps my shoulder and I see Dylan pointing to the notebook at the corner of his desk. "Pretty tree, right?" I read. I simply nod my head in agreement and smile. His hand begins to scribble something else on the paper. While he writes I notice he writing on his hand, it's covered by his sleeve. I turn my head to try and see it, but all I can see are the letters J, S, and the numbers 4/5.

Not realizing he has been waiting for my response, I glanced at his paper. Where were you during break?  How am I going to explain what happened on only one piece of paper. "Tell you later," I mouth. He turns back to the teacher and I take it as an "okay". I didn't bother paying attention, the routine was the same in all classes: syllabus, class rules, school rules (basically the same thing), dress code, introduction.

I regret not paying attention, I had no clue we were doing personal  introductions. Dylan elbows me when I still didn't come to the realization that it was my turn to introduce myself. I glance around the room and my eyes meet with grey ones. Then a breath gets caught in my throat once I finally recognize the owner of the stormy eyes. He was here.

"Um..my name is Carter." I nearly mumble, it came out very bleak, making me think of how bad my first impression is.

"Tell us something about yourself." The teacher suggests. At this point in the day no one probably cared about what anyone had to say. I f I'm being honest I believe we should have stopped this where are you from and tell us about yourself  business after kindergarten. 

"I have pink hair," is all I had to say. I sit  back down and pull a book out of my backpack. I didn't think what I had said was funny, but apparently it was because some people were laughing. Glancing up I see Josh smile. Was he smiling at what I  said? The reason behind his smile really didn't interest me, so I give my attention to my book.

*          *          *

Once the lunch bell rings I slowly feel the fuckery of school slowly getting to me.Class after class I had the luck of encountering endless idiotic people. It seems this school was created to test my patience.

Every step I take further from stats class felt better than the last. Math is not for me, now that I've survived my first dreadful lecture I can finally make my way towards my slice of heaven. Taking out my book, I walk into the library and sit at the back. I breathe in the sent of ink on paper. Personally I would ditch all my classes, so that I can read peacefully in my sanctuary.

"Mind if I sit?" Looking up from my book I see non other then Josh, because of course out of the hundreds of other people he had to be the one to interrupt me. And of course out of all the other available tables he chose mine.

"Yes," I say without a trace of hesitation. The look on his face remained neutral, unfazed by my answer. 

Instead of being a normal person and accepting my rejection he says,"too bad." Pulling out a chair he sits a seat away from, making me wish he sat an entire ocean away.

It surprises me I had enough self control not bang my head on the table. I wanted so badly to continue reading my book, but I kept catching Josh gazing me. He seems to be nibbling on the inside of his cheek, a sign he wanted to say something but is holding back. 

"I wanted to say sorry about what I said. I'm really not that type of person. I just have a lot of stuff going on and it made me act out. Can we start over?" His voice seems genuine. But who was he kidding, teenagers become Oscar worthy actors in high school. He was exactly that type of person. The type of person to manipulate his image and get rid of anything or anyone that posed as problem.

My eyes focused on his soft grey eyes. Turning to give him my complete attention, my fingers gently trace the table and land on his arm, "no way in hell." His eyes take me in at me and I try so hard to keep from laughing once I notice they have widened. 

"Are you serious?" He asks. I simply lean my chin in my palm and retrieve my hand from his arm. He obviously didn't get rejected often. Did he really think I was going to forgive him? Was I a ruthless person, in some cases, yes. But, I still had a heart and when I saw flecks of sadness emit in his stormy eyes, something inside me began to stir. 

"Nah I'm totally messing with you dude." I fake a laugh and he laughs too. He smiles at me. Hurting people is not what I do, the least I can do is pretend to forgive him. Even though he's probably a terrible person, we probably would only see each other in classes. There really was no point in holding a grudge, he could even prove to be useful in the future.

He slides into the seat in between us. Then without any warning he begins shooting tons of questions at me."So, what book you reading? How come you came straight to the library? How are you liking it here? Do you mind helping me with some history homework?"

I stare at him and sigh,"I'm reading Eleanor and Park. I come straight to the library because I love reading, and anything that has to do with literature. I don't care to eat during school, I prefer to eat at home,or I'll snack on something during class. It's okay here and no, I will not help you," I answer him. I take a small breath of air and retreat to my book.