Flowers and Pop Rocks

15

p o p p y

Walking into my Chemistry class, all I expected was that I would have to spend the next hour bored out of my mind, listening to our teacher go on and on about her life as a teenager while expecting that we actually learn something from it.

That wasn't exactly how it went.

First of all, the teacher in question was nowhere to be seen. In her place was a middle-aged man looking through a folder of papers.

Second, my place was taken too. The seat I usually was on was taken by a boy I didn't recognize. He was either new or not a senior.

"Hi, are you new?" I walked over to him.

"Yeah," he nodded. His striking green eyes met mine, and I almost lost my footing.

He definitely had charm.

"I was supposed to be here at the start of the year, but there were some issues, so I'm two months late. It's all sorted out now though. I'm Caleb, by the way."

If I wasn't already knee-deep in my infatuation with Blake, Caleb would definitely be a great contender.

"Oh, I'm Poppy. It's good that you finally got to join us," I smiled. "But do you think you can find another seat? This one's kinda mine, sorry."

"Yeah, sorry, I didn't know," he got up and gathered his things as he surveyed the room for an empty seat.

I noticed his gaze linger on a certain spot, making me curious. "Guess you're joining the boys today. Is that okay with you? I promise they're nice."

"They don't seem very friendly," he observed, feeling Blake and Grant's eyes on us.

"Those two just seem intimidating, but they're nice," I assured him.

"If you say so," he shrugged, walking over to the pair and leaving me alone to enjoy the familiarity of my seat.

My enjoyment didn't last long though, because Caleb came back only a minute later to tap my shoulder and catch my attention.

"Hey, I don't think that seat's gonna work for me," he informed me, making me frown.

"Why?"

"They said it's yours," he revealed. "And they also told me to get lost. They don't seem to like me very much."

Mine? Since when?

"Poppy," Grant called, gesturing for me to walk over to them.

"Sorry, you can take this seat," I smiled at Caleb apologetically.

"Thanks."

I went over to the two, taking my bag with me. "What was Caleb going on about? Since when was this seat reserved for me? And why were you mean to him?"

"He doesn't give off the right vibe," Blake shrugged, scribbling something down on his notebook.

"And you start sitting with us now because you're part of the group," Grant replied. "Obviously."

"It wasn't really obvious, Grant," I concluded. "But thanks for the seat."

He grinned at me. "Anytime, Poppy."

"Okay, class, that was the bell. Let's start."

Finally, the teacher said something.

~~~

I was zoning out.

I thought Mr. Deacon teaching History was boring. Turns out, there were people that made him seem like the most interesting person on the planet.