Love Like This

1

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"... and there, right outside of my tent, was a giant footprint!" Hunter exclaims, thrilled. His blue eyes light up, dark brown hair curling out from underneath his beanie. As he shares the story with his rowdy group of friends, they hang onto every word he utters like dogs begging to lick their master's plate clean. "Bigfoot was literally three feet away from me."

Jane subconsciously looks up from her bent-up book and watches the teenage boy chatter on and on and on about his dumb camping trip. She glances back down at her book and tries to read again, but the boys are disturbing her peace. There's no way she can focus with that rascal telling a bogus story as loud as he can while his friends urge him to say more.

Jane's temper flares, and finally, she decides she's had enough of it. "Aren't you a little too old to be a Cub Scout?" Jane asks the boy, raising her eyebrow. A couple of students chuckle behind her, and a wave of satisfaction fills her chest.

"Funny," Hunter replies, clearly not amused at all.

"You know what else is funny?" Jane rhetorically asks the group, gazing at all of them. "You guys are going to be graduating in a month, and you all still believe Bigfoot is real."

"Because it is!" Hunter argues, standing up only to throw his hand in the air for emphasis. "I saw its footprint with my own two eyes!"

"If you definitely saw Bigfoot's footprint, then did you must've felt the ground shake when it walked by your tent, right?" the girl asks, pursing her lips and pushing a lock of short brown hair behind her ear.

"I didn't," the boy reluctantly admits, crossing his arms. His biceps flex, emphasizing his strength.

"Did you smell an awful mix of body odor, wet hair, and death hanging in the air?"

"No."

"Did you hear it make a growl or a grumble?"

"No."

Jane raises her eyebrow again, letting a doubtful chuckle escape from her lips. "Did you even take a picture of it? The footprint, I mean, because you obviously didn't see Bigfoot in the flesh."

Hunter's broad shoulders sink, defeated, and Jane knows his answer before he even has to say it. "No, my phone died."

"My point exactly." The clever girl smirks to herself as she turns to all the boys staring with a mix of shock and awe. Oh, she definitely won the battle against Hunter by a long shot.

Jane draws her chin downward to her book, finally able to lose herself in the fictional world because she successfully put an end to the classroom's background noise.

While she reads, Hunter tenses, irritated, as he balls his hands into fists. His fingernails dig into his palms like sharp knives as humiliation rushes through his veins. A wave of heat reddens his cheeks as he angrily watches his opposer. Yeah, he realizes that it's a little outlandish for grown people to believe in such silly myths, but he swears the giant footprint he saw belonged to some creature straight out of a fairytale.

Hunter steps closer to the satisfied girl and jerks the book from her hands, slamming it shut and slapping it onto the desk. "The footprint is probably still there," Hunter insists, searching her eyes for a twinkle of belief in Bigfoot. "I'll show it to you."

"You lost my page!" the girl snaps, reaching for the book. "Give it back!"

Hunter reflexively hides it behind his back, smirking at her feeble attempts. "I'll give it back to you if you let me prove to you that Bigfoot is real."

Jane narrows her eyes at the insistent boy before glancing at the book sticking out from behind his back. "Fine," she reluctantly agrees, rolling her eyes at the elated Hunter, "Now please give me the book."

Backing away, Hunter smirks as he sits down in his seat. "I'll give it back once the deal is done."

At this exact moment in time, the teacher walks into the classroom and gets settled behind his cluttered desk.  As she raises her hand and calls his name, Jane notices little brown pet hairs all over his tan trench coat.

"Yes, Jane," Mr. Windsor asks, pulling his laptop out of his suitcase and starting it up. He glances at the petite girl through his black-rimmed glasses.

"The boy wearing the beanie stole my book, and I'd love it if he could give it back." She smiles to soften the accusation.

The teacher pauses, looking at Hunter who is seated in the front row. "Mr. Holt?"

"I have no idea what she's talking about," the boy shrugs, opening the book. "It's obviously my property; my name is written right here on the inside cover."

And sure enough, Mr. Windsor spots the student's name written dark blue ink. "In that case, Miss Perkins, it looks like you are caught up in a case of mistaken book identity. Next time, please be confident that you witnessed a crime before accusing another student of theft."

Jane's jaw drops as everyone goes back to minding their own business. She can't believe that Hunter had the nerve to graffiti her property and turn the teacher against her. Normally, she would let it go and let him keep it to end the stupid feud. But tucked inside that book are notes she traded with her best friend Kai during math class trashing teachers and students. If they fall into the wrong hands, she could be in serious trouble.

Jane should have thrown the notes away, but now it's too late. The only way to retrieve the book and the notes is to go along with Hunter's plan and find that footprint.

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