All I've Ever Wanted

Chapter Eighteen - Hop aboard the Alex train, or not.

Chapter 18 – Hop aboard the Alex train, or not.

The following morning my brother, Ashton and I headed out the door for school. I noticed our dented garage as I walked down the sidewalk and grimaced. Maybe I’ll lay off the driving for a little while…

My mom told me she had a doctor’s appointment later today and couldn’t work at the restaurant so she asked if I would, I agreed. Apparently the delivery guy was coming to drop some things off and she’d be back later to put things away so I didn’t have to worry about that, thank god.

At school I found my friends standing by my locker, they usually got there before me which didn’t surprise me much considering how long it takes Colin to get ready in the morning.

“Hey,” Sarah said excitedly. “Guess what!”

I shoved my hoodie in my locker and one strapped my laptop bag, then I turned to her. “What?” I questioned.

“We got a new girl in our class,” Grace said.

“I talked to her yesterday when my parents sent me for groceries” Sarah explained. “Her name is Teresa Zimmer, she seems really sweet.”

“She’s in English with you,” Grace added.

“Oh,” I said.

“You should sit by her and tell her you’re friends with me,” Sarah told me.

“I sit at the front of the room, I doubt Mr. Golds will put us beside each other,” I frowned at the thought of my English teacher and his creepy obsession.

The bell rang then and we bid our goodbyes before going our separate ways to class. I sat down in my usual spot and noticed the new girl walk in a minute after me. She was pretty short, with curly black hair, brown eyes, a nose ring, and dressed in a miniskirt and black tank top with a jean jacket over top. She certainly looked better than I did in my yoga capris, t-shirt, and flip flops I can tell you that much.

She sat down in the front row, two rows away to my right. I stared at her for a moment and then I realized I was staring and turned away. Mr. Golds walked in scanning the room for Teresa, probably to introduce her.

“Teresa Zimmer, where are you?” he asked. She stood up and I noticed how confident she was about herself.

“Here,” she said, her voice was higher than I was expecting.

“Come here and tell us a little bit about yourself,” Mr. Golds insisted stepping to the side so she could have the floor.

“I’m Teresa Zimmer, I’m from Atlanta, Georgia,” she explained. Isn’t that where Ashton’s from? “I enjoy drawing and painting, and I hope to become an illustrator when I graduate high school in two years.”

She looked at Mr. Golds. “Excellent, you may have a seat.”

Teresa sat down. I watched her for a second and let out a sigh.

When class ended I ran to catch up with her. “Hey,” I said.

“Hi,” she smiled. She stopped as if she knew I wanted to talk to her.

“I’m Alex Hallman,” I introduced myself.

“Teresa Zimmer,” we shook hands and I let out a breath.

“So um… what brings you here?” I asked her.

“My grandma lives a town away and I decided to live with her for the rest of the year,” she said casually. What a liar. Something about this girl made me think bad things were going to happen, she was just not good news at all.