Suddenly

Suddenly Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

Impostors

A few weeks turned into months and we were getting into the routine at our new school. The stir about BE was sizzling away and Libby was clawing her way back into the proverbial picture. She was nice and I thought it was time for me to finally get over whatever I felt for BE; besides it had been a long while since I had heard anything from her.

School athletics were in a few days and that was something I was good at, the kids at this school didn't know who I was and that I held the record for being the fastest 100 meter sprinter in the state. Rick wasn't too shabby either, he was pretty quick off the gun and wasn't too far behind me.

On the day of the annual sports mead the school transported us to the athletics stadium. It was a hot summer's day and the conditions were perfect for a good sprint. Rick and I made our way down to the track as our event was called up. We were participating in the 100 meter and 200 meter sprints.

I was always off to a bad start and nothing changed this time around either as I kept to my reputation as the gun went off. The other runners got up faster than I and they were ahead of me as the race began. After twenty meters and a few seconds, I had leaped forward and taken the lead, it was a walk in the park for me, under twelve seconds and I had crossed the finish line convincingly.

This triumphant exhibition at the races gave Rick and I an increased persona and notoriety throughout the school. We were gaining positive popularity quicker than we would have liked and this new found popularity peaked Libby's interest in me. Rick was also getting cosy with high society in the shape of Heather Meyer. She had a boyish haircut that complimented her jaw line and eastern eyes. She was an intellect who had aspirations of being a doctor someday; needless to say Rick was way in over his head.

At the end of most days Joe's dad would sometimes fetch us from school and Rick and I would get off at the bus stop which allowed us to join our previous schools' class mates on their walk home from school. We'd bump into Donna, Zakiya and Carley and we'd have a few laughs with them on our way home, like old times. That day the topic of agenda was "BE", Donna mentioned that BE was fond of bringing my name up in conversations a lot. This news made me smile like a circus clown, I felt warm and fuzzy inside, like the butterflies had returned to fly in my tummy again after a long winter migration.

Rick and I stopped at the local supermarket on route home, we sipped on two chilled sodas and that's when I had an epiphany. My mouth started to rattle off and Rick was in acceptance and agreement of my brilliant idea, we spoke and laughed at the endless possibilities. I had a secret reason for this plan though. The next morning we got dressed and made our way to school, our old school. Yes, we were going to visit our old class as if we had never left.

We were dressed as everyone was, we had on the same uniform as the other students and we fitted in like a glove. Our close friends knew we were in the wrong school but a few high fives and chuckles seemed to have ended all suspicions of what we were doing. We were here to spend a day with our old friends and my motive was to speak to BE, to confront her about how I feel and hopefully get her to spill her beans.

After hearing the convincing evidence I was sure that she had feelings for me, she had spoken to Libby and Donna about me, there must be some spark in there somewhere. It felt like a bullet proof plan, I knew how she felt, I felt the same, I just needed to hear her to say it, that's all. Rick and I ease our way back into our old class. We attended lessons with the rest of our class as we had done a million times before.

The teachers couldn't tell, they didn't realize that we had left the school, we were Kamikaze spies undercover. We were impostors! It was excitingly exhilarating and scary at the same time. At any given moment our cover could be blown and we could be expelled and removed from the state educational system entirely.

I knew we were on thin ice and our luck would run out at any time so I had to make my move soon. It was the start of the economics lesson and we lined up outside the class waiting to be told to come in. I walked over to her, "hello" I said, "how have you been?" she replied that she was fine and acted uninterested in me. Her body language sent a different message than to the ones I had received from Libby and Donna.

I could smell her intoxicating scent as I stood closer to her and whispered, "BE, I came here today just to see you, I wanted to let you know that I've been thinking about you, I miss you a lot". Hanging on to her every breath I waited patiently for her to reply with something on the same lines as what I had said to her but regretfully she just said "okay" and she continued to walk into the economics class.

Shattered, devastated, bemused, those were some of the adjectives I'd use to describe how I felt at that moment but most of all, I felt like a fool, the biggest fool on the face of the planet. I had a million more questions and I was more confused than I was before, I didn't understand why she would not tell me how she felt, maybe she didn't feel anything at all. I didn't know which was worse, that she didn't care about me as I did for her or that she didn't want to tell me how she felt. I was giving up on this, it had been a roller coaster ride from the moment I met her over a year ago, she has never let me in, she had built a wall around her heart and she pushed me away without giving me a shred of hope.

The next few days at the new school seemed to feel like an eternity, I'd be on auto pilot in most classes, Libby would talk to me but I'd not hear a word of the conversation. I was there physically but my heart and mind was at my old school, in my old class, with a girl I longed to see and be with.

I was now being kicked out of my algebra class on a regular, just because I had come from a notorious school, the algebra teacher didn't see me fit to be in his class. I began to despise getting up in the morning for school. I'd make every excuse known to mankind for me not to go. I needed direction and advice, I needed BE to tell me what to do, and I needed a miracle.

My miracle took a month or so to materialize. I was flat back on the floor listening to Bryan Adams at 9am that Monday morning. I was fully dressed for school but I didn't go though. I was skipping school a lot, I wasn't comfortable at school. Algebra was something I had enjoyed prior to coming to my new school but now it was the reason I hated school. The phone rang and I got up to answer, it was a familiar voice who introduced herself as Ms. Mckenzie of my previous school. Turns out Ms. Mckenzie has a son name Dean who was in my 11A class at my new school. He was a really good friend to me and he had witnessed firsthand what the algebra teacher was doing to me. Dean had told his mom everything that had been going on and how the algebra teacher had kept kicking me out of the class for no reason.

"Come back" she said, "get your bag and get your friend Rick too, come back, we'd love to have you back at our school". I stood up like a soldier summoned to attention, I immediately called up Rick who was bunking school as well. I was invigorated and revitalized. I never thought I'd be so happy just to go to school, it was bigger than just going back to school, it was me going back to BE.

This was my second chance at getting her and I was prepared to do anything and everything in my power to get her, nothing else mattered to me aside from being with her. She was my BE.

I felt overwhelmed with emotion as I walked back into the school which I had spent so much time in. It wasn't as easy as I had envisaged it to be. Things were awkward and dauntingly uneasy. Somehow I had lost my position in class, I had to sit on a vacant seat at the far corner and watch everyone get along with their work as if I wasn't there. I got the impression that I had to earn my keep, which I had no problem with. I was here to blossom in more ways than I had done in the past year.

BE wasn't talking to me or even looking in mydirection. I shuffled around the class a bit and sat myself close to her withhope of sparking a much overdue conversation but all was said were tsunami's ofnothings. It felt as though she was unhappy that I had returned.