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“Elliott, you can’t go out with Julia Jacobs,” he whispered.
“I can do whatever I want Jesse.”
He got unusually serious for a moment and his face and voice grew menacing.
“You’d be smart to stay away from her Elliott. Trust me, you’d be the smartest person in the world to stay away from her.”
“Whatever Jesse. That’s enough ordering me around. Class is about to start.”
I tried to pass off what Jesse said but it really rubbed me the wrong way. It wasn’t so much what he said, but how he said it that gave me the willies. I decided to ignore it. I had better things to think about, like Jules’ hair and skin.
After rocking it out for an hour and a half. I thought about changing my sweaty t-shirt but was too excited to see Jules. My hair even stuck to the back of my neck, I was so sticky with sweat.
I threw my book bag onto my shoulder, stuck my sticks in the back pockets of my jeans and hauled over to Mr. Belkin’s Chemistry class. I sat at the lab table in the back with my little friend Sawyer Tuttle. I say little, but the guy was at least six foot two with a broad chest that could probably take a few punches, darn it.
Jules wasn’t there yet so I took my sticks out of the back of my jeans to play with on the lab table while I waited for her to walk in. I really got into whatever it was I was playing because when she strolled in Tut had to shove at one of my elbows, causing me to drop one of my sticks, to get my attention that she was there and not because he thought Jules and I were talking. I’m pretty sure he didn’t have a clue that Jules and I were talking. It was because she was drop dead and that didn’t escape even one of the guys’ attention in that room.
No one wanted anything to do with her but they could not disagree that she was the most beautiful girl in that school. I knew. They all knew. Hell, she was the most beautiful girl in the entire world. It kind of infuriated me that Sawyer Tuttle noticed her; that all or any of the guys noticed her, really. It infuriated me even more that Tut thought I’d want to be one to delve into whatever private thoughts he was having about her.
I don’t know what got into me but I stood up, leaving the stick on the floor, eyed Tut like a dog eyes a piece of meat and walked right up to Jules. Placing my hand at the small of her back, I leaned into her ear, breathing in the scent of her hair.
“You haven’t changed your mind have you?” I whispered.
“No, Elliott. When Mr. Belkin asks me who my lab partner will be I’ll be sure to say your name. Now sit down and stop being mean to Sawyer, despite our history he’s still one of the few here who treats me nicely.”
She smiled and lightly tapped me twice on the face sending a short burst of sparks cascading from my cheek. I just stared into her eyes with a huge grin on my face. She was original, my Jules. Original and too smart, for my own good.
“Sit down Mr. Gray,” Mr. Belkin said beneath his reading glasses.
I walked back to my seat and Tut’s mouth matched his eyes, wide and in disbelief.
“Are you going out with Julia Jacobs?” He asked bluntly.
“No.”
He relaxed in his stool.
“Not yet, anyway” I threw out so his body language could grow back the tension I wanted it to be at.
The bell rang and Mr. Belkin began taking roll. When he was done, he went down the line of lab tables and asked each student who they’d like their lab partner to be. When he got to Jules, I straightened up in my stool, crossed my arms and winked at Tut. He smiled the most insincere smile I’d ever seen and I could almost hear the curses in his head.
“Julia Jacobs?”
“Yes, Mr. Belkin?”
“Who is to be your lab partner?”
“Elliott Gray, Mr. Belkin.”
“See ya’ around Tut,” I gloated.
I joined Jules at her table and she shot a look of disapproval my way. I just stared ahead, knowing well what I’d done but not caring. When he finished pairing everyone up, Tut got stuck with Robby Banden, sucker. Mr. Belkin explained the lab we were doing that day and gave us a few minutes to prep.
“What’s up with you?” I asked.
“You forget Elliott Gray. I can feel everything that you feel without touching you, if the feeling’s strong enough.”
“Oh,” I said, embarrassed, “the anger I felt for Tut you must have been feeling toward me and I couldn’t tell the difference.”
