The bell for the next class rings before I can respond.
The walk down the hall to my math class is awful. I ignore more stares from girls with perfect makeup and designer outfits. I duck my head to avoid looking at the couples kissing.
They really should be in class.
One girl shoves past me, and I stumble before regaining my balance. When I turn towards her and exclaim, "Hey," she simply looks me up and down and smirks.
"What was that for?" I demand.
"Figured you deserved it. Maybe I did you a favor and knocked some sense into you. Oh wait, nope. You're still wearing that." She cackles before joining her friends, who are laughing like a pack of deranged hyenas.
I get to math class, which I have with Mrs. Darsen, and the only assignment is a short packet of questions about fractions. I try to clear my mind and focus on the classwork. I finish within the first twenty minutes of class. Math has always been one of my best subjects. It just comes naturally to me, like riding a bike or walking. I feel thoughts of the girl from the hallway slither back into my mind, so I spend the rest of the period immersed in a book I checked out of the library yesterday.
Finally, after what feels like years, the bell rings, and I grab my bag and head to my next class: Media Communications, or Media Comm, as most of the kids in Ms. Miller's class call it. In Media Comm, we learn how to make movies and use different special effects. I've already learned how to use a green screen!
I rush through the hallways, ignoring more stares. Honestly, don't these people have something better to do? Math will save my life before fashion saves theirs!
I can't help but smile when I enter the classroom and see Jake's bag hanging on one of the double hooks on the wall. I hang mine on the hook next to his, then sit down next to him and wait for Ms. Miller to give us our instructions for the day. She waltzes into the room, her brown hair tied in a ponytail and paint flecked on her cheek.
After calling role, she turns on the projector and we see our next assignment: an old-fashioned movie. She shows us how to use a black-and-white filter, then she sets us free.
Jake and I automatically turn towards each other. I grab a piece of printer paper out of my backpack and start sketching out different blocks, sort of like a comic. The movie has to be between three and five minutes long, including the title and credits, so I have the idea to make a music video for a song. Jake agrees.
"But which song do we use?" He asks.
I pause. I hadn't thought of that. "What about 'Choctaw County Affair' by Carrie Underwood?"
Jake hesitates, so I pull out my phone (it's allowed; phones are used for recording) and look up the song. We listen to it, and Jake nods as the final notes wrap up. We start planning it out. Jake draws the panels. Another thing he's better at than me. I can't draw to save my life.
"We could have the title during the musical introduction and the credits as it fades out," I muse. Jake nods and starts sketching it out.
During the opening notes, Jake writes the title of the song, laying out images with the lyrics. I acted as Carrie and Cassie O'Grady, and Jake was Bobby Shaver, the DA, and the foreman of the jury. For Carrie, I wore a sort of Western jacket and my jeans, and, for Cassie, I wore one of the dresses that Ms. Miller permitted the usage of. Jake wore a faux leather jacket and jeans for Bobby, a tuxedo for the DA from Jackson, and his normal shirt and jeans for the foreman of the jury.
As for the film itself, we simply acted out our interpretation of the song. We were about halfway through when the bell rang for lunch.
Completely unprepared, Jake and I scrambled to put away the computer, my phone, the costumes, and pack up our backpacks.
The walk through the halls isn't nearly as bad when I'm with Jake. He somehow makes everything easier---or, at least, more bearable.
A/N
Oh god rereading this gives me flashbacks. You should've seen some of my Spotify playlists...
Odd question, but what's your longest Spotify playlist? (Or whatever music app you use)
I'm at over 400 on one of mine and my best friend has totally given up on me
YOU ARE READING
Izzy, Not Isabelle
RomanceJake and Izzy have been best friends since before either of them can remember. From the good to the bad, they've been there for each other. Purely platonic, of course. Yeah, right. But just as Izzy is realizing that she might like her childhood be...
