As I walk to class,I feel someone's presence beside me. At first I thought it's Nats,but then remember that her class is on the other side of the school. Just as I turn to look,our eyes meet.
"Hi Lacey," he says in a warm,soothing tone. I find myself speechless,trying to put a sentence together. "I..umm…I,". He looks at me with a confused expression,causing me to panic even more. "Are you following me?" I cringe at this response,and slowly die inside. "We have art class together,so…I don't think so…" he responds in a kind voice,making me feel worse. "Oh yeah,rightttt,haha…ha…," I respond in an akward manner.
I didn't talk to him again,and avoided looking at him on the rest of our way to class. I didn't want him to see the embarrassment on my face.
***
We arrive at art class,and just as we're about to take our seats,the teacher announces that she had a new seating arrangement for the class. We all stand in a line,patiently waiting for the teacher to assign us to our new seat.
A few minutes pass,and I finally hear her call my name. "Lacey Marie Jones?" she asks,which I nod my head to in a 'where do you want me?' way. And of course,with just my luck,she places me next to him.
I look at the teacher with begging eyes,but she flatout ignores me and shoves me in his direction. If only she had known she was shoving me to my doom. I walk slowly and cautiously towards the desk,trying not to get his attention. He has his earphones in,so maybe if I pull out my chair quietly,he might not….
"Look who's the stalker now?" he says in a teasing way. I give him a sarcastic laugh and then plop down next to him. As I take out my books,I can feel him staring at me,watching my movement,but as soon as I look up,he looks away. Just as I am about to say something,the teacher begins her lesson.
I take notes and sometimes,when he's busy making notes,glance in his direction.
He has a focused look on his face when he writes his notes,writing as if his life depends on it. He glances up for a split second,forcing me to look away and out of the corner of my eye,I see him subtly watching me and giving a small grin,as if he is amused,then he continues writing.
As the bell rings and I gather my things,I see him standing next to me. "Can I help you?" I ask in a sarcastic way. "Can you move?" he replies,gesturing to my chair. I then realise he can't get past,since I'm blocking the way. I immediately get up and push my chair under the table. I then gesture to him that he's free to go. He scoffs and then walks past me. I glare at him while he does so.
As I exit the classroom,I watch him walk away,standing with my arms crossed.He stops and looks back for a moment,causing us to look into each other's eyes. The gaze continues only for a moment,broken by Natalie's arrival
"Hey Lacey,you ready to go?" she asks with a smile. As I look back at her,I glance back at him,only to find that he just disappeared. "Lace? You okay?" Natalie asks again. "Ye…yeah,let's go," I say while scanning the hall one last time