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“She was raving about you. Making sure I knew I had a real writer on my hands.” She giggles nervously, like the thought of that actually scares her.
“I don’t know about that. But she was a great teacher.”
Ms. Julian nods. “Well, better get to your seat,” she says, even though the classroom is still empty. I nod gratefully, sensing she needs the out from our conversation as much as I do. Introverts unite and all that.
People start trickling in, and I check each time the door opens, my stomach clenching at the thought of Noah being in this class as well. The thought of having to be on guard in my favorite class sends terror running through my veins.
The door opens and a familiar face appears. Kyle. He makes a beeline for the desk next to me when he sees where I’m sitting, offering me a boyish grin. There’s someone at the desk already, but that doesn’t stop him.
“Get up,” he says casually to the girl sitting there who had just pulled out her notebook.
I wait for her to say no, or just say anything really, but she only shoots him a nervous smile and immediately gets up. I watch in wide-eyed amazement as she finds another desk without a word.
Kyle settles into the seat nonchalantly, like that’s a normal, everyday occurrence. I’m starting to wonder if there really is something in the water here that they’re feeding certain people to give them this exaggerated sense of self importance and outright entitled douchery.
“How was first period?” he asks, and butterflies take flight in my stomach as I realize I’ll actually need to talk this time.
I’m not used to this, people…seeing me.
He catches me off guard with his question. Why is he bothering to talk to me when he’s shown himself to be an asshole by making that girl move?
“It was fine,” I finally say, watching as his grin transforms into something even more spell-binding.
“She does talk,” he teases, and I curse myself as I blush for the umpteenth time that day.
“She does,” I answer.
He’s about to say more, but Ms. Julian stands up and hesitantly clears her throat. I like that Kyle settles back in his seat and doesn’t try to talk over her. I doubt she would say anything if he did. She seems too nervous for that, so it’s nice that she doesn’t have to and that she can give her class in peace and without fear of being interrupted.
My thoughts drift from Kyle to Noah, envisioning what he’d do in the same situation.
It wouldn’t be pretty.
He’d eat Ms. Julian alive.
Which is unsurprising since wallflowers like us could never survive the beat down of a merciless tidal wave.
And make no mistake. Noah is a tsunami in the making.
* * *
"Can I walk you to the cafeteria?" Kyle asks after he's helped me find my locker.
I nervously chew on my lip, not accustomed to so much friendly attention from someone I’ve just met.
"Actually, I brought my lunch with me," I tell him, taking out the tuna sandwich I made this morning from my backpack.
"Ah, come on? You can't eat that on your first day at Bayshore High," Kyle retorts playfully, shoving my sandwich back in my bag and closing my locker for me.
I'm uncomfortable with his assertiveness, but he's been nothing but nice to me all day so I don't have the heart to tell him no.
"Sure. Okay," I concede with a thin smile.
"Awesome!" he cheers, like I just made his day.
Kyle leads me through the school hall towards the cafeteria, chatting away like he's known me all his life. In return, I nod and offer him a few hmms and aahs to show him I'm listening.
I'm not.
