Brand New Beginning

chapter seven

                 I relaxed my shoulders and took a deep breath. They weren't going to get to me. Once all the introductions were done I forgot almost all of their names. Todd lead us all to the van he had. When we got to the van he opened the shotgun door for me. I was about to get in when the blonde girl got in my way. "This is my seat" she said glaring at me. I stopped moving but glared at her right back. "Now Brittany give the seat to her" Todd said leaning against the car. She turned on him "Why should I? This has always been my seat and no girl is going to take it" she said turning back on me. "Yea but this is my car and I want her to sit there today" he standing up and moving past her. She looked shocked but made no further move to argue with him. She turned to me and pushed past me without another word.

       I climbed into the van and sat there quietly. Not one person said a thing as they climbed into the van. I felt everyones eyes on me but i didn't turn around to look at anyone. Todd got into the car and turned it on. As the car came to life so did the chatter and the awkwardness fell away. We bumped along the road and the chatter grew. "So Nicollete where did you live before you came here?" Todd asked. "California" I replied looking out the window. "California?" I heard one of the boys ask from behind me. I turned to look at who asked and it was the short fellow with black hair. I nodded and he smiled, he didn't have a nice smile like Todds but he was cute still. The brunette sitting next to him grabbed his hand. I nodded at  her and turned around. Rule number one, don't mess with another girls man.

         We reached the beach and we all got off. Everyone got off and started to undress to go swimming. All the girls wore bikinis and the guys wore shorts. Todd looked really good without a shirt. I didn't know what to do, I didn't have a bathing suit. Todd gave me a curious look. "I don't have a bathing suit" I whispered. The girls snickered. I looked down at my faded denim jeans. Then it hit me i reached down and tore the denim jeans making them into shorts. I looked at my shirt and tore the sleeves of. Todd looked at me stunned then smiles. I looked over at the girls but they just walked away. I smirked and walked with Todd.

           The water was freezing but the other guys didn't seem to notice. I would only go in knee deep while the others went all the way in. After an hour or so we all got out of the water and laid down on the beach. Todd was sitting next to me while the other girl, Brittany, was sitting on his other side. She was sitting close to him. I wonder if they ever went out, or are going out right now. Everyone was resting or making out. I just played in the sand, trying to remeber the last time I went to the beach. "Hey want to throw the frisbee around?" he asked me. I nodded and stood up, he followed me and I could feel Brittanys glare on me as I walked away.

       He threw the frisbee hard and it almost fell out of my hand. Ok, if thats how he wants it to be. I threw the frisbee hard and it almost knocked him over. He smiled and threw another hard one. We did this for about five minutes untill he threw one right over my head. I chased after it not looking at where I was going and ran into someone. I was knocked down and the frisbee landed next to me. "I'm so sorry" I heard someone say. I started laughing and pushed my hair out of my face. I saw a hand appear in front of me so I took it. "Its fine" I said getting up. I looked up into his face and it was as if the whole world stopped moving. Everything dissapeared except for him, I heard my heart beat out of control. His face was gorgous, his eyes were such a dark brown and his hair was cut short and black. Everything about him seemed to glow.

      We stared at each other for awhile and I couldn't help but smile. He smiled back, his smile could outshine the sun.  "Hi" he whispered. "Hi" I whispered back. Then the world seemed to fall back in place when Todd showed up next to me. "Hey are you alright" he said smiling. His smile seemed dull now compared to the other boy. "I'm fine" I said forcing myself to look at Todd. He nodded and looked at the other boy, he stuck his chest out trying to make him look tough but the other boy was just looking at me. "Well then I guess we should get back" he said grabbig my arm, thats when the other guy noticed him.

      I released my arm from his grip "I will be right there just give me a moment" I said then turned to the boy. I saw Todd nodd but was hesitated before walking back to the group. "Is that your boyfriend?" he asked me. "No, I just met him today" I laughed and moved a stray hair from my eyes. I thought i saw him smile even brighter at that. "My name is Seth, Seth Clearwater" he said extending his hand. "Nicollete" I replied shaking his hand. He smiled "Nicollete" he whispered, I giggled and nodded.  We heard someone cough behind us. Todd was standing not so far away. "Umm guess I should be going. Bye Seth" I said letting go of his hand. Before I turned around Seth grabbed my arm gently. "Can I see you soon?" he asked looking hopeful. "Yes of course" I replied but Todd was already dragging me away. "Meet me tomorrow right here at noon" he shouted. "Ok" I shouted back. I heard Todd sigh, I turned around and pulled my arm out of Todds grasp. From that moment on all i could think about was what to wear tomorrow.