Otters

Chapter 1

I was debating whether I should light another smoke before class started or just go straight to calculus, also known as hell, when she walked by me.

It was more of a run than a walk. Her leather messenger bag banged the side of her leg with each step and her long blonde braid hit her spine with every movement. She pushed her huge glasses up onto the bridge of her nose and hugged her books against her chest. Her shoulders were hunched and her head was facing the floor as she avoided eye contact. Her dark blue sweater's collar reached all the way up to her neck with part of her shirt sticking out from underneath. Her red jeans hugged up tight against her thighs, but loosened around her calves. Her white converse were muddy and dirty and worn.

I stuck my foot out in front of her, causing her to fall so that I could have a longer look at her.

She was gorgeous. Her dark red lips were plump and perfect. Her jawline was etched perfectly for her face and her bright green eyes were mesmerizing.

"Sorry," I said in my deep, husky voice.

Her mouth twitched as if she tried to smile, but decided it would be better not to. She shook off my apology and rushed into the school building.

I shrugged my shoulders, took a long drag of my cigarette, and threw it to the ground as I trudged back to calculus.

~~~~~~

"Shane Ryan, you're late," Mrs. Lancaster said sternly, her mouth in a straight line.

I tousled the back of my hair. "Yeah," I retorted, leaning against the doorway with my hands in my pockets. "Just be happy I showed up."

Mrs. Lancaster rolled her eyes. "Go sit in your seat," she demanded, picking up a stack of graded papers that the students took a month ago.

"Can't," I defied. "It's next to the window. It's too distracting" My eyebrows perked up as if to say isn't that obvious?

The annoyed teacher rolled her eyes yet again. "Fine. Go sit next to Jo," she insisted.

I furrowed my eyebrows. "I'm sorry, who?" My scattered throughout the class and landed on the blonde girl from earlier. "Oh. Don't mind if I do," I said under my breath with a grin.

So her name is Jo. Jo Jo Jo. That seemed to be a suitable name.

Jo was squirming in her seat when I sat down next to her. She appeared to be trying to concentrate on whatever homework Mrs. Lancaster had already given her. Her knuckles were white as she gripped the pencil and her mouth was in a thin straight line. I then noticed her bitten nails and how they looked uncomfortably short. She pushed her glasses up and huffed out a breath as I dropped my backpack on the ground next to her.

"So," I said. "It's Jo, huh?" I smirked and ran my fingers through my hair.

Jo nodded her head slightly, but kept her eyesight locked on the paper. Her leg shook as she worked and she tapped the desk with her left hand.

Jeez, I thought, she's got a lot of little ticks.

I slumped back in my chair and loudly, and very disruptively, kicked my feet up onto the desk then held my head back with my intertwined fingers.

I got a kick out of watching Mrs. Lancaster go nuts. Everything I did drove her insane.

"Shane, put your feet down," she said.

"But I'm comfortable," I whined.

"I don't care."

"What if I don't want to?" I raised my eyebrows and licked my lower lip, amused with myself.