THE JOCK JUST WANTS THE PREP [ 1 ]

21 - WHY DID SHE

||NOAH||

"Are you okay?" Annabel asked me as she was sat on my left side.

"Huh?" I said, my head perked up to look at her.

"You just seem quiet is all," she said as she leaned on her arm.

"I am fine, just... thinking," I said and stared at my notes.

My conversation with Brad lasted when my parents called me for dinner last night. We talked about a lot of stuff such as what he likes to do and what I like to do, though it was mostly what I like to do because he seems very curious about me. It kept me entertained for a while. The more I got to know him, the more I realized that he seems to be an interesting person.

"What are you thinking about?" Annabel asked as she wrote down on her notepad.

"N-nothing," I stuttered. I looked to see Annabel with a face that looks completely unconvinced. She rolls her eyes, "seriously? You're thinking of 'nothing'. That's really contradicting," she said with a tongue stuck out jokingly before her playful expression falters.

With a grumble rising from my throat, I decided to just come clean, "okay..." I sighed, "... I was thinking about Brad." I wrapped my arms around myself in efforts to comfort myself with warmth.

"Is that so?" Annabel glanced at me before returning to her notes. I nodded at her. "What got you thinking about him?" She asked curiously. I then told her about my conversation with him through a call last night. She listened while I talked. "He seems really into you," she said with a smile. I felt my face warm up. Through my confab with Brad, I got to learn more about him on the inside. I looked at Annabel who was not who was meeting me back in my eyes. A lingering question revolved in my head. I completely turned to her and asked in low volume, "Annabel, may I ask what he was like when you two dated?" I asked interrogatively without sounding too invasive. She frowned a bit. "I-I'm sorry, you don't have to think about it or tell me," I said sounding regretful.

Though, she shook her head, "no, it's okay. You should know him better if you're interested..." she started.

"Brad is a nice guy, he seems rugged and intimidating looking, but that's his shell. The reality is, he can be a compassionate guy you know. Throughout the months of being with him, I've learned good things from him. He'd take me out for food, go to the movies, have fun and walk in the park together. He really cherished me and would hug me for comfort. And whenever he felt sorrowful, I tried my absolute best to make him happy in return. When I managed to do so, he held me so tight and would whisper how he loved me. Our time together, It was... fun when it lasted, but..." her voice faded with an unfinished sentence. A panged frown plastered on her face. I looked at her with a saddened expression. With that being said, there were just things beyond my compression. Why is it that a perfect sounding relationship that she had described, end within a strong year and a half? What bothered me the most is, 'why' why did 'she' end it? What happened? "I'm sorry," was all I said as I wrapped my arms around her for an embrace. She laced her hands on my arms and sunk closer to me. A few seconds went by before she decided to pull away, almost as if hesitant. She looks at me with a sweet smile, "I should finish this..." she said as she picks up her pencil and resumes writing on her notebook.

"Thanks for talking to me," I whispered to her. She gestures me with a nod and remains silent for the entire period. I looked at my own half-finished paper and sighed. Grabbing my mechanical pencil, I wrote down my answers with ease.

-

"Alright, I've graded your papers. Make sure to check your grades online. I recently added in your scores," Mr. Masson handed in our history worksheets. After obtaining mine, I quickly checked the top right corner and saw that I got a 98%. It was somewhat frustrating when I saw the question I missed. With an annoyed grumble, I folded the paper and slid it inside my notebook. Looking to my left, I see the teacher handing out Brad his paper. With eyes squinted, I tried to look if he really got a "decent mark," but I didn't even get a good view when Brad quickly hid it behind his back. Judging by the side expression he's giving me, he obviously didn't want me to know how he did. I glared at him and raised an eyebrow. He gives a worried smile and shrugs. Taylor, who was sat next to him, quickly snatched it while Brad was distracted, crumpled it up, and threw it in my direction. "Taylor!" Brad whispered loudly with his teeth gritted. The rubble landed next to my feet. Bending down to pick it up, I unraveled the piece of paper, and low and behold, 75% was written in vibrant red. I rolled my eyes and scowled at Brad who was sweating profusely, his hand rubbing his shoulder while his foot tapped at a pace. With a sigh, I just laid it on top of my desk and leaned on my hand with my elbow on the desk. I looked at James's seat. He isn't here at the moment because of a dentist appointment he needed to attend, though he should be able to return in time for choir, then again he might not be able to sing for a while.