Feelings

4: New Kids

Dad pops a crouton into his mouth. "How was the first day?"

"Honestly, it was crazy," I reply. I bite down on a bunch of salad with dressing. It's not bad.

"Yeah? How so?"

"First of all, and this was completely by accident," I want to make sure Dad won't have the same reaction as Alex. "Me and Zoe got pressed together while we were going to the theatre. My hand brushed against hers and somehow it ended in us holding hands for a bit."

Dad slowly nods. "I see." No grin yet. Slowly a grin grows on his face. Damn it. "I think Zoe likes you."

Dad's guess would explain some things. Like how she didn't let go and just held it tight. And when she asked to be boyfriend-girlfriend, "I don't know Dad, all in the first day?"

"It can happen," he suggests.

"Maybe."

We clean up and I get into bed. I'm trying to sleep but all I can think about is Zoe. How she smiled at me as we held hands. How cute she looked when she blushed. How her eyes-

No! I cannot think that about her! I do not like Zoe. After a while wrestling with the 2 sides in my mind, I fall asleep.

The weeks flash by, and not wanting to mess up my friendship with Zoe, I don't ever talk to her again about the incident. Most days are pretty dull. With each passing week, Alex starts to hang out with us less and less. He won't even join us in our traditional Halloween game night. I also start becoming ish-friends with Amélie and she joins us to take Alex's spot on game night. By mid-November, he barely talks to us during school, only joining us at lunch. On the 21st, we get a new student who comes in English after the attendance.

"Oh, are you Wren Fox?" asks Mr. Tran.

She's wearing straight cut jeans and a Nirvana t-shirt despite it being almost December. She also has a skateboard by her side and long, wavy ginger hair. I think she's the only one with completely naturally coloured hair that isn't black or dark brown besides Amélie who has blonde hair. Something about her interests me. She's pretty. "Yeah."

"You have a note explaining your lengthy absence?"

Wren has a look that makes her seem mildly angry and bored. "Nope."

It's like a starting contest between the two. I've never ever seen someone as defiant as Wren before.

Mr. Tran sighs. "Fine. Go sit down."

Wren walks over and sits next to me.

Why I am I freaking out so much about her sitting next to me? There are these butterflies in my stomach that annoyingly decided now's a good time to go fluttering around. Partly because she seems scary and partly because of something that I can't quite put a finger on.

"Today we are starting a project about adversity. Get into partners and look up someone who faced adversity but overcame it in the end. What adversity they faced is up to you," announces Mr. Tran. I would partner up with Zoe but she isn't here today. Alex already partnered up with one of his new friends. Everyone appears to have a partner except for me.

And Wren. Could I ask her to be my partner? Suddenly I feel really anxious to ask her. This is beyond my normal introverted anxiousness that tends to not want to talk to new people. This is like a how-will-they-react-towards-me-because-I-care-about-what-they-think-about-me anxious. "W-W-Wr-" I can't even say her name without messing it up. "W-Wren?"

Wren replies without looking up from her phone. "Hmm."

"D-do you want to be, um, partners?" I notice a weird red line on her left arm that stretches from her wrist to her elbow. What is that?