1.1 | daunting medleys

seven | sincere

Tabitha shuffled to class, that is, after she had gotten her books from her locker under the watchful gaze of Coach Grayson, who didn't seem to like her very much. Miss Garcia had already begun to address the class, her pretty brown eyes lightening when she saw Tabitha.

The entire class paused to look at her, about 40 pairs of eyes stared unblinkingly at her, making her cheeks burn in embarrassment. She made sure not to make eye contact with anyone by shuffling her shoes on the floor.

"Sorry I'm late, Miss Garcia." Tabitha mumbled, she just really wanted to get her impending punishment over with. She hadn't expected to see Oliver in the class, not that he hadn't been in the class with her since freshman year. His bright grey eyes stared unblinkingly at her, and she had no choice but to stare back. Unconsciously tilting her head, she wondered why she suddenly had butterflies in her belly or why her breath suddenly couldn't leave her.

When a movement - a chair away from Oliver - caught her attention, Tabitha was forced to look away from him and stare right back into Natasha Berkeley's eyes. Natasha and Tabitha weren't friends, they weren't acquainted yet the sudden suprised gleam in her eyes disturbed Talia more than it should have.

Waving a ringed right hand, she beckoned Tabitha to walk in the class as the younger girl had refused to leave the threshold of the class, forced to play staring games with Natasha and Oliver. "Please. It's no problem. I'm just coming in as well. So go take a seat so we can start this class."

Coincidentally, the only seat left were between Oliver, his bright eyes hadn't left her since she had entered the class and Natasha who was watching Tabitha with a look of pure interest and the seat directly behind it which was between two loud looking girls. She took the better seat and immediately Miss Garcia started talking animatedly.

"Hi." Oliver whispered from beside her, his gaze so fixated on Miss Garcia that Tabitha wasn't sure she was being spoken to. "I tried reading it yesterday but my friend's right. Heathcliff is kind of an ass." Her heart jolted, and she felt her lips twitch. Tabitha tried but the seriousness with which he had said it, almost had her laughing. So she settled for letting out a tiny chuckle, his side profile making it easy for her to see the sudden twitch of his lips. She brought out her pen, her notebook and was fiddling with it as Miss Garcia continued to chatter to the class.

"So welcome back everyone to English Literature. I'm so sorry for not being here for yesterday's class but I'm back and we actually have another student joining us so we can talk about the books that we've read during summer break before they join us." She rambled, an excited gleam taking over her eyes as she flayed her arms.

It was no secret that the English literature teacher loved her job, she was passionate about it in the way that made her lovable to her students and she was considerably younger than most of the teachers so it made her more approachable. Her floral print gown, freckled cheeks and her big brown eyes made her seem more likable amongst many students who loved reading, and the occasional horny boy.

Looking down at the red hard cover encased notebook so she wouldn't have to answer, Tabitha chewed on the tip of her pen, while coincidentally hating how oddly similar it looked to blood. Sometimes Tabitha wondered why she still liked her stationary red, it did nothing to curb the memories of her mother - or was it her brother's - blood as it stained the pristine white floors.

"Ariana? Will you tell the class about any books that you've read during the summer?" Miss Gracia asked the blonde that stared into the vast window, most likely daydreaming.

Ariana was one of the brightest in the class, Tabitha would know as they shared most of their classes together and were close enough to be called best friends. Yet Tabitha knew she wouldn't be able to answer this question, because Ariana had confided in her that she had gone to Aspen with her entire family plus the extra relatives and had no chance to read books because she needed to have fun.

So she stood up, her hands tugging at her yellow dress. "I actually didn't have an opportunity to read anything Miss Garcia. I'm sorry." Her light voice chimed throughout the class. Miss Garcia frowned, but asked Ariana to sit. Then her eyes began the voyage to find the next person she would ask to regale her with tales of their reading experience.

Her brown eyes brightened considerably when she saw Tabitha, who currently sinking down the seat as if she wouldn't be seen by the teacher. "Yes, Tabitha. What did you read this summer?" All eyes settled on her, her palms seemed sweaty and her knees refused to function properly. She however stood up, and faced her expectant teacher with a dry mouth. She forced down spittle and began scratching her palm.

"I... I didn't read anything other than the, uh, books we read last semester." She finally choked out. Tabitha winced when she saw the disappointed look in Miss Garcia's eyes.

The older woman leaned on her desk and folded her arms to fully stare at Tabitha who felt like she was prosecuted. "And why was that?"

Her baby brother died without getting to know him. Her parents were most definitely getting a divorce. Her ex-boyfriend had cheated on her. All good reasons and more that Tabitha could have given her to make her understand that she couldn't read anything. It wouldn't make sense anyways so she settled for fiddling with the edges of her jacket, unable to meet Miss Garcia's piercing stare.

"I-"

Then the door slammed open. Aiden walked into the class with a huge smile on his face, his left hand clutching a piece of paper and his right holding his bag. Everyone tended to stare, especially when the two of them were involved. He looked suprised to see her, like he didn't think Tabitha had this class first thing in the morning, maybe he didn't.

"Are you my new student?" Miss Garcia asked Aiden. He nodded and gave her his award winning smile, same smile that he used to make her fall for him. The smile looked sincere, making some girls sigh dreamily. Ariana turned back to look at Tabitha concerned, probably about how she felt seeing him but she shook her head at her friend so Ariana would know she was okay.

She ushered him into the class and made him stand before everyone. "Alrighty, just tell everyone your name and your favorite book. Tabitha, you can sit down but I want to see you after class."

With burning cheeks, she sat down and looked at Aiden to hear what he had to say.

"Are you okay?" Oliver, who she had momentarily forgotten about, asked her. The concern in his eyes eliciting very mixed reactions in Tabitha. Her heart was pounding, and in the best and worst way possible. It's chaotic and she's scared that he'll hear how much he affects her. She dipped her chin, then smiled at him, her fingers clenching around her pencil. Her eyes traced the stars littered on the bridge of his nose, and then back to his stormy grey eyes. He was smiling back at her and she turned away from him, a flush creeping up her cheeks.

"My name's Aiden and my favorite books are the game of thrones series." Tabitha could feel the scoff that threatened to escape her lips. She'd introduced him to the book and he told her, kissing her softly first, that he didn't like reading because boys didn't read.

"Well Aiden, welcome to my class. You can take the open seat behind Tabitha." A silent groan escaped her, and didn't look Aiden in the eyes as he passed her. Whispers erupted around them, and she rolled her eyes before fiddling with her pen.