When you're ready

2. There she is

The sound of the alarm going off fills the room and Shawn reaches his hand to turn it off, rolling out of bed and dreading the first day of his senior year. After changing into his clothes and taking his backpack, Shawn walks into the living room and hears the faint sound of what could only be a TV in his grandfather’s bedroom. He had probably been up for a while. Shawn knew he had grown the habit of waking up early since he usually slept all day.

 He turned on the coffee machine and walked to the front door, taking the newspaper his grandpa insisted to look at every morning before preparing breakfast. He carried the tray with their usual breakfast, eggs and coffee, and knocked on the door before entering. His grandpa was watching a basketball game, not blinking once since Shawn walked in.

 “ Interesting game?” Shawn asked, placing the tray of food on the nightstand.

 “ What game?” The old man asked, looking at him.

 “ The one you’re watching, grandpa.” Shawn smiled, knowing his memory nowadays was in and out. Sometimes he had a hard time remembering who Shawn was, but there were days he remembered every single detail of his life. It was kind of scary, but there wasn't much Shawn could do about it.

 “ I don’t know.” He answered. “ It was this or that stupid cartoon of the cat and the mouse.”

 “ You said that one was your favorite yesterday.” Shawn laughed as they started eating.

 “ Did I?” He looked confused, but let the subject go.

 Shawn had just finished his coffee when the doorbell rang, so he left his grandpa eating and walked to the front door. He watched as Mrs. Miller smiled at him, walking in and apologizing almost immediately.

 “ I’m so sorry, Shawn. I’m a little late, but the power went off at our house.” She told him. “ You should go before you get late for your first day.”

 “ No problem, Mrs. Miller.” Shawn said, saying goodbye to his grandpa before leaving the house with his backpack. Mrs. Miller was one of their neighbors and she also happened to be a nurse, so she watched over his grandpa and made sure he took his medicine while Shawn was at school. She had been a close friend to his mother, so when his grandpa got sick she insisted on helping with everything they needed.

 He drove the familiar streets in silence, parking his car on the back where not many students did. As usual, no one talked or looked at him as he made his way to the building. No one except Brian, who was talking to a group of cheerleaders and noticed him, immediately letting the girls behind and walking next to Shawn.

 “ Choosing me over a group of cheerleaders?” Shawn asked. “ I feel flattered.”

 “ Chloe was about to slap my face if I didn’t leave.” Brian laughed, making Shawn shake his head disapprovingly.

 “ It would be well deserved.” He said, knowing very well how his best friend had broken the heart of the captain of the cheerleading squad over summer.

 “ I have to disagree with that.” Brian protested as they walked to Shawn’s locker. “ I told her I didn’t want anything serious.”

 “ Sure.” Shawn just agreed, not wanting to get into that subject once again.

 “ But guess what?” Brian started, resting against the locker next to Shawn’s while he put some books in it. “ I was here yesterday, trying to convince Lucy to switch me out of that Russian literature elective when I saw this girl.”

 “ When are you going to stop calling Mrs. Torres by her first name? It’s weird.” Shawn complained.

 “ I’m pretty sure she’s new.” Brian ignored him, going on about the girl he had seen the day before. “ She was too short for my taste, but her ass made up for anything. And guess what? She was laughing at me. Pretty sure she wants me, but I mean who doesn’t?”

 “ I hope she hears you and tries to slap you just like Chloe.” Shawn rolled his eyes, already being used to his best friend’s manners when it came to girls. But that didn’t mean he agreed with it.

 “ Oh, look!” Brian said, discreetly pointing at the end of the hallway. “ There she is.”

 Shawn finished putting his books away before finally looking at the direction Brian was pointing at. His eyes focused on the short girl walking by herself, her long dark hair falling over her shoulders as she looked down at her schedule. When she looked up their eyes met for a second, but she quickly found her locker and ignored them both. Shawn hated to admit Brian was right, but it was nearly impossible not to notice her ass in that short skirt she had on.

 “ See? I told you.” Brian said, noticing the way Shawn was looking at the girl.

 “ Whatever.” Shawn said, taking his backpack from the floor. “ I have to go. Don’t want to be late.”

 “ And I have to talk to her.” Brian announced, leaving Shawn by himself before approaching the new girl. Shawn watched from a distance as the girl looked up at his best friend, her face clearly showing she had no interest in talking to him. Shawn laughed before walking to his first class of the day, going back to being ignored by everyone else.