Damaged

13 | curious

The next morning, I park my car in front of the bookstore I went inside yesterday to meet Ava and Mika. We agreed yesterday to meet and grab some coffee before school and The Hideout is the best cafe in town, and the books are a definite advantage over normal coffee shops.

Choosing a table by one of the sun-lit windows, I sit down and take my book out of my bag. I look around and see that everyone is doing the same. The vibe of this place is amazing, it radiates warmth and coziness and immediately makes you feel good inside.

When my stomach rumbles hungrily I stand up from the table and go to the counter to order my breakfast. A middle aged woman takes my order consisting of a pumpkin muffin and almond milk latte with a smile on her face. As I'm waiting for my order I prop myself against the waiting area and fish my phone out to see where the girls are and if they sent me a message. As I'm checking the screen, the bell on top of the cafe's door jiggles and I look up.

Instead of finding one of the girls entering The Hideout, I'm left face to face with Mr Clarke. He enters in a hurry, holding a stack of papers on one hand while trying to place his car keys in his leather satchel. I look at him curiously, waiting for him to see me. I'm not surprised that he's here, this is the best cup of coffee in the county, but I'm surely taken aback from seeing him so early in the morning, especially looking like that.

His dark hair is a mess, sticking out in different directions on his head, as if he'd woken up and didn't have time to manage it. He's wearing a skinny black tie and black pants, combined with a fresh white shirt. I watch as the muscles in his back are strained by the fabric. He walks towards the counter as he's reading the papers in his hands and i wonder how he doesn't drop them.

"Luna," the woman says loudly once my order is done, reading my name from the paper cup and turning my attention. As her voice rings through the small shop Mr Clarke's head snaps up and looks around. His eyes finally rest on me and he wears a surprised expression on his face with lifted eyebrows, and his lips are graced with a ghost of a smile.

He pays the cashier and then walks towards me teasingly slow with eyes are glued to my own . His domineering height makes him tower over me which is surprising because of my high stature. He stops in front of me and cocks his eyebrows, proceeding to smirk at me.

"We keep unintentionally meeting each other outside of school," I detect the humor in his voice but there's also something else in his tone... Is it flirtation? It can't be.

"Isn't it curious?" I flash a smile at him, challenging him to make another move.

"It is." His eyes are intense, "are you alone?"

My heart flutters with his question. Does he want to spend time with me? I take a deep breath and answer, "I am, but my friends are coming to met me."

I think I see a change in his green eyes, but it's probably just the morning light playing tricks on me. He nods and runs a hand through his hair, making it even more tousled.

"I've better go back now, I have some marking to do," I feel myself getting disappointed but I shake the feeling and ignore it.

"I'm going back to my table," I give a small smile and excuse myself, "See you in English."

I walk back towards the table and stare at my latte once i've sat down on the plush armchair. The bell sounds once more and the girls walk into the cafe, immediately spotting me near the window.

"Good choice of seat" Ava smiles at me, "I love this place."

"Sorry we're late, my car was being temperamental today," Mika rolls her eyes and shakes her head side to side at her jeep wrangler.

"No worries," I say and take a bite out of my muffin which melts inside of my mouth in delicious chunks of pumpkin spice. I love pumpkin spice anything.

We continue chatting and Mika helps me with my Chemistry homework. We stay in the cafe until we absolutely need to go and we all agree to do this again sometime soon. We leave the Hideout and get into our cars. Mika's giving Ava a ride and she drives behind me to the school building.

I feel like I know both of them so well already. Ava even more than Mika, I feel like I've known her for my whole life. We split to park our cars and then the three of us meet again at the entrance where a poster with " Tuesday - all students must attend assembly during homeroom", scrawled on it.

We head towards the auditorium and find three seats near the front of the room. Students enter the auditorium in groups and voices echo off of the cushioned walls.

"Settle down everyone," the headmistress says and everyone gradually ceases to talk, the attention focused on the stage where Miss Black stands on a podium.

"First of all, welcome back to another year. I hope your holidays were wonderful," she smiles at the crowd and continues, "As all of you know, the tickets for homecoming started being sold yesterday and I advise all of you to buy them in advance, as the dance will be spectacular this year. You wouldn't want to miss out because of tardiness."

I roll my eyes at the way that teachers always seem to expect that students will mess up and be somehow be lazy.

"We're going, right?" Ava whispers and I nod affirmatively at her and at Mika.

"I want to remember all students once again that just because it's the start of a new school year, it doesn't mean that you should expect less work or lowered standards from your teachers," the headmistress continues drones on and my attention drifts away from her.

There's only one week left for Homecoming and there's so much I've still got to do. Mika, Ava and I are going together, so there's no worrying about dates but I've got to buy a new dress and a mask to wear along with it. I've also got to go to the hair saloon and get my makeup done...

I feel a elbow prodding me from the side and I look up, breaking my line of thought. I look to my side and see that Mika called my attention and she leans in towards me.

"Hey Luna, that hot english teacher is totally staring at you," She whispers and I look at the stage. The faculty is standing behind the headmistress on the platform and Mr Clarke is standing on her right, his figure standing dominantly on the stage.

Our eyes meet and I'm entranced with his hot gaze, his jade eyes boring into my own. I try to hold his gaze but I look away, feeling my cheeks burn bright pink. I peek upwards again and notice that he has a small smile on his face, and I wonder if it's because of me. I feel warm inside, like my body became melted honey and my heart beats excitedly. I feel my stomach clenching, a warmness spreading through my lower belly, and I switch my position on the chair uncomfortably.

For the rest of the assembly we keep playing this game. He looks at me or I look at him, and eventually one of us breaks the heated gaze. The headmistress eventually concludes her remarks and we're allowed to leave from the auditorium.

The three of us walk towards the main building, where Ava and I have history and Mika has german. She leaves us and Ava and I head towards the classroom, stopping at our lockers first. The lesson passes by quickly and I do all the work effortlessly. We finish the task before the lesson's over and talk for the rest of the period. 

I thank god for the double art lesson I have before lunch and start sketching ideas for my project. I flip to the previous pages where sketches of tattoos are drawn in pencil on the white pages and I wonder once again what's his tattoo like. I shake the thoughts of his from my head and focus on the project, immersing myself into the music pouring from my headphones and the palette of paint in front of me.