The Forbidden Fruit (DISCONTINUED)

Chapter Two: Him and I

I slung my bag over my shoulder as I left AP World History. Finally, my day was coming to an end. All I had left for today was dance.

Everyone at the school is talented in the arts, hence the term "School for the Gifted and Talented". My talent is dance. Craig is a dancer, too. Natalie, Alexa, Danika and Ray are all singers, even though my sisters are horrible singers in my opinion. Jacob is a visual artist, while Jaz is talented in the theater arts. I've always liked dancing more than anything. It always calmed me when I needed it; the way the beat spoke to me, it's like I'm in another realm when I dance.

I trotted down to the dance studio. Like always, I was the first one there. The only other person in there was my teacher, Ms. Wilson. She was tall, young and skinny, with big curly hair that made her look like she was from the 70's. She was nice, when she wanted to be. When I walked in the room, she looked up at me, "Is that my Valerie?" She grinned and came over to me for a hug. "My best student! How was your summer, darling?" I smiled, "Eh, it was pretty boring. I'm glad to be back in school though. I've been working on some dances and I'd like to show them to you." She cheesed with excitement. "Wonderful," she exclaimed. That's when the bell rang. "Well, you can go ahead and find a seat on the floor, before the class gets crowded," said Ms. Wilson.

And she was right, within 4 minutes of the second bell, there were at least 20 other people in here. Those people included Craig, and that new kid I ran into earlier in the day. I forgot his name already. Craig and him were sitting next to each other, and directly across from me. Pretty soon, I found myself staring at him. He was literally gorgeous, the way he smiled when Craig cracked a joke; the way his muscles looked in the sleeveless shirt he had on; the way he ran his fingers through his hair. All of it was getting to me. "Come on, Val, snap out of it," I thought to myself. In the midst of me staring at him, he looked in my direction. I swiftly looked away to avoid making eye contact. But, I didn't think I was fast enough. Out of my peripheral vision, I could see him slightly roll his eyes, and look back at Ms. Wilson. I sucked my teeth, low enough for only me to hear. The hell was his problem?

Ms. Wilson clapped her hands. "Alright class, settle down. Welcome to Dance Class! I will be your teacher for the course. My name is Ms. Wilson." She curtsied and sat in the middle of the circle. "I know how awkward first days can be. So today we're just going to play some ice-breaking games. In this first game, I want you to stand up, say an adjective that starts with the first letter of your name, along with your name. For example, I would be Determined Deborah. Who wants to start?" This girl sitting two people away from me, named Farah, volunteered to go first. "Okay," Ms. Wilson started, "Farah will go first, and then we will go counter clockwise."

Farah smiled and cleared her throat. "I'm Fantastic Farah." Ms. Wilson smiled, "Excellent! Who's next?" The person next to me stood up. "I'm Bold Bryan." Bryan sat down and Ms. Wilson turned to me. I stood up, "I'm Victorious Valerie." Ms. Wilson turned to me and gave me a thumbs up. The game continued as everyone after me said their name. "I'm Cool Ass Craig," Craig said once it was his turn. The class chuckled, and Ms. Wilson rolled her eyes in annoyance. "That wasn't necessary," she said. And then it was his turn. "Um, I'm Creative Chris." Ms. Wilson smiled, "I looked forward to seeing your creativity, Chris. Welcome to Northshore, by the way." He smiled, "Thank you, Ms. Wilson." Chris sat back down, but I kept staring. Chris. Why was I feeling this kid? I tried to look away but my eyes were stuck to him. Magnetism.

Pretty soon everyone had said their name, and the game was over. Ms. Wilson regained the attention of the class. "Alright class. Since the bell is about to ring, I'm going to assign you your first homework assignment." A chorus of moans and groans echoed throughout the room. "Oh, stop it. First, I want you to look at your shirt." Hesitantly, everyone in the room looked at their shirt. Where was she going with this? "Next, I want you to scan the room, and find someone the same color shirt as you, and sit with them." I had on a blue shirt. I looked around and saw black, white, and every shade in between. Except blue. "I chose the wrong day to wear this tee," I thought to myself. And when I finally spotted blue, it was the person who wore it that made matters worse.

Chris.

I guess we saw each other at the same time, because we hesitantly approached each other in unison. Everyone was talking and laughing with their partner, while Chris and I just sat there, staring in opposite directions. A thick cloud of awkward filled our air. Thank goodness Ms. Wilson clapped her hands to get our attention. "Alright. I see everyone has a partner. Now, I want you to get to know your partner. You will be working with them for the majority of the semester. You guys can just talk and familiarize yourselves with them until the bell rings."

"This can't be life," I thought to myself. I was going to have to work with this kid for the whole semester? I sighed quietly and rested my forehead in my palm. "What's your problem?" I could hear him say to me. I looked up at him, "Huh?" "Why do you have a problem with me," he asked again. I raised an eyebrow, "Who said I had a problem with you?" He gave me a similar look, "Its pretty obvious." I rolled my eyes. "Well, maybe you should stop assuming," I said. I could tell he was getting annoyed with me, as if I cared. He came closer to me, "Look, I don't know what your issue is, but stop. You don't have to like me, I don't care. But our cooperation will heavily impact our grade. And I'm not going to fail because of your petty ass attitude. So whatever the problem is, suck it up until the end of the semester."

I won't even lie, I was feeling some type of way after that. I didn't expect for him to stand up to me like that. I just sucked my teeth. "Whatever," I said. The shrill sound of the last bell of the day echoed through the class room. Saved by the bell. Chris didn't waste any time to get his bag a dash out the room, leaving me on the floor alone. I finally got up and got my bag, and I went over to Ms. Wilson. "Ms. Wilson, can I talk to you?" She grinned, "Sure!" I cleared my throat, "May I please change partners?" She pouted, "Why? Is something wrong with Chris?" I shrugged. "No, I just don't like him," I said bluntly. She raised an eyebrow, "How do you dislike someone you don't even know?" "I know his type, so I know I won't like him," I said, putting my bag on my shoulder. Ms. Wilson shook her head, "That's a pretty close-minded, judgmental way to think." I didn't try to refute her, because she was technically right. "I'm not changing your partner, Valerie."

I looked her in her eyes. "But Ms. Wilson! I-" she cut me off by putting her finger up. "I don't want to hear it, Val. I put you two together for a reason. I know you two are capable of making a really amazing dance together. If things between you and Chris are still bad after a month, I'll willingly change your partner. Give him the benefit of the doubt, okay? You never know, you may end up liking him much more than you thought you would." After that, I didn't even argue. Ms. Wilson was a hundred percent accurate. I've known this boy for about 6 hours, and I like him, yet I dislike him. I swear, I'm a walking paradox. I simply sighed, "Okay Ms. Wilson. I'll see you tomorrow." She waved at me as I stepped through the door.

When I got to the front of the school, my dumb ass sisters had left me, and Jaz was no where to be found. Guess I was walking. It was only a half an hour before I ended up on the front steps of my house. I opened my door, stepped inside, and found my dad laying on the couch in a cocoon of covers. "You stayed home from work today?" I asked him. He coughed heavily, "Yeah. Wasn't feeling too swell." I pouted, "Aw. Do you want me to get you some medicine?" He shook his head, "No, I'll survive. I kinda just want some rest now." I began to walk up the stairs, "Okay, dad." I closed the door to my room, and laid there without moving. Although my body lay stiff, my mind was in a frenzy of thoughts. Most of them being about Chris. I don't know what it was about him that made him so interesting. Something that made me want more. Chris; the guy my heart was attracted to, but my mind was repelling. "This is going to be a long school year," I thought to myself.