Insanity Stains Red

twelve

Monday welcomed the first day of a new school week, and found me back on the bus headed to school. There was no Fredrick this time thankfully, because I was not in the mood to put up with any more of his taunts. Rose had been in tears when I left her this morning, somehow finding out about what I had done to Mr Jenkins. She had expressed her disapproval – to put it mildly, and we had gotten into an argument which ended with me storming out. I regretted that now; I hated fighting with her, but there was nothing I could do until this afternoon. Maybe I could pick up a treat for her somewhere.

It was probably due to my thinking too hard on the matter, but I didn’t notice until we were almost at the school that someone had sat down beside me. I don’t know how long they’d been there. Even stranger than that, was that the guy was staring at me. I wondered if he had tried to talk to me or something while I was deep in thought. I couldn’t think of any other reason. I looked at him pointedly, hoping that he’d turn away and mind his own business. Unfortunately, he seemed to take that as an invitation to talk.

“You’re Evelyn, right?” I frowned, but nodded. I’d been attending this school for years – why was this guy suddenly talking to me as if I was the new kid on the block? The guy nodded his head also, mimicking my movement. “I’m Shawn Miller – I think we have English together.” I didn’t even bother responding to that, wishing that he’d get to the point already.

“Right. Well hey, I was wondering if you’d like to go out some time. You know, like on a date?” If I had been drinking any form of liquid at that point, I probably would have spat it out at him. Instead I somehow managed to choke on my own saliva, wasting a few awkward moments relearning how to breathe.

“You’re asking me out on a date?” I was sure I’d heard him right the first time, but it just sounded so absurd – I had to confirm it. His determined nod told me that I’d heard right, and I bit my lip, wondering what the fuck I was meant to say to that. ‘A normal person would probably say yes. Isn’t he one of the popular kids?’ I looked at the guy – Shawn; really looked at him.

He was cute, with soulful brown eyes and hair to match. He was the sort of guy you could picture with a career in modelling, his face was perfectly sculptured and not a hair was out of place. His clothes betrayed his back-woods status, however. Simple jeans and a ripped t-shirt as opposed to the designer labels you found in magazines. But still, I didn’t know what to say to him; the offer was just so unexpected.

‘You should say “yes”, that’s what. No normal person would turn down that offer - look at him, he’s gorgeous!’ Exactly, so why is he suddenly asking me out? It seems a little suspicious. ‘Maybe he’s been watching you for a while but has been too shy to ask you out?’ He doesn’t seem like the shy type. ‘Will you just shut up and agree to it already? We’ve never been on a date; I want to know what it’s like!’ I smiled at Shawn. “Sure, I’d love to.”

He grinned at me, all charm. “Great! How about tomorrow after school? I can borrow dad’s car and we can go see a movie or something.” I agreed and he winked at me. We spent the last few minutes of our ride in comfortable silence. He seemed completely unaware that inwardly I was kicking myself. What the hell was I doing? I knew better than to agree to something like this – dating was not something I could participate in.

Before I could gather my thoughts to tell him I’d changed my mind, we pulled up to school and Shawn jumped off the bus with a ‘cya later!’ I cursed and tramped down the stairs to the pavement, my boots thumping onto the concrete. I guess I was going on a date tomorrow; joy.

My first class of the day was English. Surprisingly, it seemed to be my best subject – no doubt thanks to Rose and her love for the classics – the kind of books we studied. The teacher was a little old lady, bent almost double with age. She was actually a pretty decent teacher, as far as teachers went. Sure, she was a little crabby at times, but altogether not too strict. And I think she had a soft spot for me. Her name was Ms Burkner, and we got along well. The only downside was that she smelly funny – like oranges and mint; it was a little off-putting.