The Georgia Rule

Chapter Two

The sound of chatter echoed throughout the hallways, bothering me far more than it should. My face was permanently pulled back into a scowl, annoyed by the excitement that filled the air. No doubt they were all discussing my little confrontation with Mr Lachey.

Breanna had relatively lessened my worry. She was right; Mr Lachey would undoubtedly be in more trouble than me, him being a teacher who openly bullied a student. Of course that was a little exaggeration, but he had it coming. And thanks to nerd boy Higgins, I had footage to support my claim.

Walking through the cafeteria doors with an accomplished smirk on my face, I was myself again. Renewed with energy, I basked in the glory that I was the topic of discussion throughout the cliques and took my seat at my usual table filled with jocks, cheerleaders and other highly praised students. No sooner than I had properly positioned myself on the seat did the flood of questions spill from the mouths of my table’s occupants. Gleaming with satisfaction and mirroring the energy of my crowd, I shushed them all and opened my mouth to re-count the previous incident in great dramatic detail.

Before a word could leave my mouth, the cafeteria doors open and Jared stepped in, with a proud smile resting perfectly on his tanned face. His hypnotic green eyes were wildly scanning the length of the large, chatter filled room and the distinct look of love that he proudly sported on his sleeve made my heart fall into an unsteady rhythm. His blonde hair was curling slightly at the base of his neck and around his ears, radiating soft angelic warmth that he always seemed to have.

Jared was in short, perfect.

I couldn’t exactly pinpoint one distinctive trait that made him stand out.

It was just him.

The way he made me feel; how he’d always open my doors and pull out my chairs. Whenever we watched scary movies together, he’d pull me into his side and let me bury my face in his shoulder whenever I felt scared- which was throughout the entire movie. My family loved him, and I loved his family.

We’d been together for nearly two years, but we’ve always had that spark of chemistry from our first year, that undoubtedly became much more throughout high school

Jared’s eyes lit up in recognition when he glanced my way, and I waved him over to our table, still a bit too dazed to acknowledge that he was fully aware of the location of our table, seeing as we sat here since the beginning of the year.

I missed Jared more than I had originally thought. His recent absence left a void that was only filled by his warmth and I was ecstatic by his presence. My giddy smile, however, slipped completely off my face and disappeared into thin air as Jared walked straight past me.

I did a double take so fast I was sure that I was in danger of getting whiplash, but my eyes followed Jared’s rushed, purposeful strides. With a confused frown on my face I got to my feet and followed Jared to a table away from ours, filled with the school’s website nerds and I noticed a certain Jeffrey Higgins missing. Breanna always followed through with her plans, I thought proudly to myself.

“-I’m in love with you and I need you to know that” the desperate pleas tumbling out of Jared’s mouth snapped me out of my reverie and I was almost elated.

Almost.

My heart dropped to my stomach as the blood pumped through my veins so quickly I thought I would pass out. Jared was saying foreign words that he had yet to utter to me, but he wasn’t even looking at me.

 He wasn’t referring to me.

He didn’t even acknowledge my presence.

His girlfriend.