More than Nothing, Less than Something

Chapter 2: John

She was definitely lying. Why couldn't she just tell me the truth? She should know that I can see straight through her.

She barely talked to me during band. I would make a joke and she would just laugh and turn away. I didn't know what it was, but I didn't really want to ask her. It could be something that she wasn't open to talking about.

Eventually, I just sat back and listened to what Mr. Freeman had to say about pentatonic scales. I couldn't dwell on it forever.

After band, I had history with Coach Lewis. He was one of my favorite teachers and my football coach. I spent almost the entire class talking to him about football stuff.

He wore his football polo and a pair of khakis or jeans almost every day. His class was easy going and relaxed.

He was a younger guy, maybe in his 20s. All the girls thought he was the best thing ever. He was definitely the coolest teacher at the school.

"John, what did I tell you about those Patriots?" He said as I walked in the door. I just could not live that game down.

"Save it, Coach," I said to him. "I already heard this story from Angel earlier today."

Angel had his class at another point in the day, so he knew we often argued about football. Any time I pick against them, I always seem to be wrong.

"Yeah, I bet she did," he said with a laugh. "I swear I've never seen a girl that invested in knowing more than someone else about everything."

"Yep," I said, remembering the countless amount of times that she rubbed it in my face when she was right. "That's just Angel for you."

"What's the deal with you and her anyway?" My cheeks immediately flushed.

I knew exactly what he was talking about. People asked both of us questions like that all the time.

"Are you guys together?" I would always just say no awkwardly and turn away.

I can't deny that there were still lingering feelings. When she basically shut me down back in 3rd grade, I tried not to think about her anymore.

If you were just a stranger looking at her, you would see a normal girl. She had light brown skin, eyes that were a darker shade of brown, and a constant look of complacency. Not necessarily bad looking, but not drop dead gorgeous either.

But there were still times when I saw her just reading something or laughing with her friends when I couldn't ignore the way I felt about her.

She was like a magnet for my eyes. When she smiled, it spread to my face almost instantly. I always found myself just looking. I knew it would never amount to anything, though.

"What do you mean by that?" I said to Coach Lewis.

"Don't play this game with me, John. I know that there's something more going on between the two of you."

"No, there is definitely nothing going on."

"Yeah, right, kid. It's obviously more than nothing."