Catch Me When I Fall (h.g.)

Chapter 2

Once I'm home from school, I head to my room and set down my bag, taking out all the binders I need to do my homework.

"Hey, how was your day?" I hear my mom ask behind me.

"It was good. Oh, before I forget. Um, my friend Caleb is having a party at his house this Friday. Can I go?" I ask.

She hesitates at first, and I don't blame her. I rarely leave my room, let alone the house.

"Yeah sure. Just don't do anything crazy," she says.

I chuckle to myself, "Thank you, and I promise I won't."

My mom starts to walk out but stops herself.

"Oh and your dad is going to be working a little later than usual, so he won't be home until 7 or 8. Since it will just be me, you and Trevor do you want to go pick something up?" She asks.

I think for a moment, knowing my brother and I have very similar tastes and like the same restaurants. I usually never know what I want to eat, but anything he suggests sounds good to me. 

"Um, I don't really have a preference. Wherever Trevor wants to go is fine with me," I say.

"Okay, I'll ask him."

-

"Alright Breckyn, Trevor wants Wendy's. Do you want your usual order?" my mom comes back in with her purse draped over her shoulder.

I nod, "Yeah sounds good."

"Okay, I'll be back in a couple of minutes," she exclaims heading out the door.

After a little while, she comes back with the food, and all three of us eat while watching whatever movie was on the TV.

Later, I finish my English homework and put all of my schoolwork back into my bag. I run a hand through my hair and flop down on my bed. I reach for my phone and start texting the girls.

Me- "Hey, who is going to Caleb's house this Friday?"
Lexie- "ME."
Baileigh- "Girl, you know I am."
Ashia- "Yeah I am. Zeke and I are going together."
All- "Aww"
Ashia- "Oh shut up😂"
Rebekah- "Yeah, I'll go. I heard most of our class and the senior class are going to be there."
Me- "Well, shit. I'm going too. Do y'all want to get ready together?"
Rebekah- "Yeah, we can get ready at my house. Well, except Ashia. She'll get ready with Zeke😉😉"
Ashia- "I swear y'all are obsessed🙄😂"
Me- "😂Great. I'm really excited for Friday."

I feel good about this Friday. Usually right after I make plans, I get the feeling of just wanting to stay at home, and then I give a lame, made-up excuse for why I'm staying home. Or I'll dread going out the days leading up to it. I'm taking this peaceful feeling as a good sign. 

-Tuesday-

I walk into Physical Science and go to my usual seat in the back. I look at the board to see what we're doing and copy it down in my planner.

Soon, I hear the bell, and all the students are seated.

"Alright, class let's get started with our bell ringer," Coach Lockhart says.

I was uneasy at the beginning of my Junior year since I heard it was the hardest. But I mostly have coaches as my teachers, so it's easier than I thought. 

Then there was a knock on the door. Coach Lockhart opens the door to reveal a really cute guy.

"Sorry, I'm late. It's my first day. I got a little lost," he says in a deep, southern drawl.

"That's alright. What's your name?" Coach Lockhart asks shutting the door after the boy.

"Hayes Grier," he answers.

Coach Lockhart looks around the room for a second, and his eyes meet mine across the room.

"Ms. Hanley, raise your hand, please. You'll sit in front of that girl right over there," he says pointing in my direction.

Hayes nods his head and heads over to me.

I feel my heart begin to race. Not only do I not know this guy, but he is extremely cute. I try to pay attention to what my teacher is saying after Hayes sits in front of me, but I mean when a tall, fine specimen is in front of me, it's a little hard to concentrate.

Then my breath gets caught in my throat as Hayes turns around to face me.

"Hey, do you think you could help me get to my next class after this?" he asks.

Lord, this boy is flawless. Thank you God for whatever I did to deserve this moment.

I slowly nod my head and manage to say calmly, "Yeah sure."

He smiles, "Thanks."

I give him a smile back, and he turns back around to pay attention. After a long while, the lunch bell rang, and I quickly packed my things and got up.

"Hey, wait up," I hear Hayes' deep voice call after me.

I turn back around and wait for him at the stairs.

"Sorry, I forgot. My mind's on autopilot," I say.

He laughs a little, "It's okay. By the way, I never got your name."

"Breckyn," I say as we walk down the hall.

"That's really pretty. I've never heard it before. I'm Hayes," he says.

I blush and give him a small smile, "Thanks. So, what class do you have next?"

Hayes pulls out his schedule and hands it to me. I look over it and show him how to get to all his classes.

"Try to avoid the staircase in front of the bathroom as much as you can. It gets more traffic than the freeway," I warn him.

He nods and chuckles a little, "Noted."

I continue to explain how our school uses the block schedule. We only have 4 classes each day, but they last an hour and a half each. The classes that are marked A are the classes you go to on A days; the classes with a B are the classes you go to on B days. It sounds confusing, but after like two or three days, it's easy. But when I told him we have 5 lunch rotations, he almost fell out.

"Right after 2nd block, first lunch starts, and it goes on from there. It depends on which hall you're on. Since you're 3B class is US History, you have 3rd lunch on B days. On A days, you have 5th or last lunch since you're in Algebra II for 3A," I explain, handing him his schedule back.

Hayes looked shocked and a little disappointed. I don't blame him. I just learned how the lunch rotations work this year. 

"And, it's a B day right?" he asks.

I nod, "Yea, and you don't have to remember when to go to lunch; you're teacher will let you know."

"Thanks. I don't think I would've understood how this works if it wasn't for you," Hayes says.

"It's no problem. We all had to learn on our first day, and some of us still don't really understand how it all works. I have first lunch every day because I go to the career complex our school has for 3rd block. If your 3rd block class is at the career complex, you automatically have 1st first lunch every day since we have to be bussed over to the separate building," I explain with a few waves of my hands.

"Well, thanks again. I really appreciate it, and it was really nice to meet you," he says.

"You're welcome, and it was nice meeting you, too. Well, I better get going. I'll see you around," I say with a small smile.

He smiles warmly, "I hope so."