Mr. Anonymous

Chapter 2

As Audrey settled into her seat in her study hall, she felt eyes on the back of her neck. She slowly turned around and saw Reese Headley staring at her with huge eyes.

Audrey had known Reese since the day she moved here and he had always pushed her buttons. Something about him irked her and she couldn't help herself from constantly being annoyed in his presence.

Audrey rolled her eyes at Reese's facial expression.

"What do you want Reese?" She asked, devoid of emotion. She had always heard that if you didn't give your tormentor a reaction, that they would get bored and leave you alone. Audrey hoped this would be the case with Reese.

"Can't I just sit and stare at your beauty without wanting something, Hepburn?" Reese replied sarcastically. Audrey hated the nickname Reese had started calling her the day he met her.

"Shut up, Reese Cup." She replied, snarky, knowing he was equally annoyed by the nickname she had given him. She turned back around quickly when the teacher cleared her throat and asked for their attention.

"I know that this is your study hall, so I won't use up all your time, but as you all know, Valentine's Day is just around the corner." Mrs. Varner said. "Since the junior class is lacking funds for prom this spring, they decided to put on a fundraiser for the whole school! It's called 'Dollar Valentines.' Everyone who would like to participate, bring a dollar today or tomorrow and fill out this questionnaire. In a few days, you will receive a list of names in order that you were matched with along with a percentage. The percentage will show you how much of a match the two of you are. The closer to 100% the more compatible you are!" Mrs. Varner said, her facial expression giving away how excited she was.

"If you receive your results and would like to get in contact with your matches, you can go to the front office and if any of your matches wanted to get in touch with you, you will be allowed to take their contact information! But only if both parties allow their contact information to be distributed so don't worry about strangers getting your phone number!" Mrs. Varner tried to joke. No one was paying attention to her anymore and everyone was turned around in their seats, talking about the Dollar Valentines.

"So, you gonna do it?" An unfamiliar voice spoke in Audrey's ear. She jumped and turned around to see Noah. She couldn't believe she had never noticed him in her study hall before. Although, it really wasn't that surprising considering 1: they had only met that day and 2: she always spent this class completely lost in her books/music, not talking to anyone.

Audrey laughed in relief. "You scared me!" She said as she swatted at his arm.

"You didn't answer my question, though. Are you gonna fill out the survey?" Noah asked.

Audrey shrugged and looked up front to where kids were already paying for surveys. She considered the idea, but then thought about the possibility of being matched with someone like Reese and shuddered.

"I don't know..." Audrey said to Noah, shaking her head.

"Please! I want to, but if I go up there by myself, I'll look like a loser. I'll even pay for your survey." Noah pleaded.

Audrey sighed and agreed.

What's the worst that can happen? If I don't like my matches, I just won't give them my contact information and that can be the end of it. She thought to herself.

As Audrey waited with Noah while he paid for their surveys, she quickly scanned the room. As she did she made eye contact with a pair of deep green eyes across the room.

Since when is Jack in this class?! Audrey thought to herself, her heart rate skyrocketing.

"Audrey here's your survey, dear. Just bring it back up to me when your done!" Mrs. Varner said sweetly, smiling at her.

"Thanks." Audrey muttered scrambling back to her seat. She tried to casually look around the room, secretly just wanting to look at Jack. When she finally gained the courage to look over at him, she found he was sitting by himself, looking through his backpack for something. She noticed that on the desk in front of him was an open novel with a bookmark sticking out the back.

Ugh. As if he wasn't attractive enough! She thought to herself. Imagining Jack reading a novel in front of a cozy fireplace, she didn't even realize that he had abandoned his backpack search and caught her staring.

Her face turned red as she quickly averted her gaze and decided to get started on her survey.

Question 1:
The most overused saying is...
A) Cool
B) Dude
C) Hey baby
D) F'get about it

Audrey thought back to that morning with Christian and immediately circled C as she rolled her eyes.

Question 2:
Your phone/iPod has...
A) 0-100 songs
B) 100-500 songs
C) 500-1000 songs
D) over 1000 songs

Audrey didn't have to check and quickly circled D. She couldn't live without her music.

Question 3:
On a Saturday night you usually...
A) Party with friends
B) Watch TV, text, etc.
C) Sleep
D) Take advantage of the empty library.

Audrey sighed as the question made her realize her lack of a social life. She thought back to the previous weekend, when she had spent the evening reading in the comfy chairs in the historical fiction section of the local library and circled D.

Question 4:
The best way for someone to notice you is...
A) Introduce yourself
B) Smile and wink
C) Have a friend introduce you
D) Do the worm in the hall

Thinking it was best to be honest, Audrey circled C.

Question 5:
Where do you see yourself in 3 years?
A) university
B) working
C) still in high school
D) what am I... a psychic

Audrey shook her head and circled A. Audrey knew exactly what she was doing after graduation. She had been accepted to Wesleyan University and was finally going to learn to be an author. She couldn't wait for college. She couldn't help but hope that it would be the change that she needed.

After many questions on various things like "Are you a night owl or a morning person?" "What kind of music do you listen to?" And so much more, Audrey finally came to the last question.

Question 20:
Do you believe in love at first sight?
A) Yes
B) No
C) Maybe

Audrey stared at the paper for a long time. She finally circled her answer and turned in her survey just as the bell rang.

Audrey glanced at the stack of surveys Mrs. Varner had received and was disappointed when she realized none of the papers said "Jack" at the top. She didn't know why, but she had hoped he would turn in one, too.

She walked out of the room and picked up her pace when she realized Reese was trying to catch up with her.

"Can't wait to match with you, Hepburn!" Reese called after her. Realizing he meant the Dollar Valentines, Audrey face palmed. If she matched with Reese he would never let her live it down.

Audrey met up with Jade in front of her Jeep and the two headed to Jade's house to get ready for the show that night. Jade gushed the entire way home about Christian, completely oblivious to Audrey's lack of interest.