Wander Lust

Chapter 2

The class passed in a blur and Sloane didn't bother hiding her boredom. She incessantly tapped her pen against her notebook and constantly surveyed the room as if she was looking to see who would break first and tell her to stop. Taylor won.

"So you'll all need a copy of The Poisonwood Bible by the second semester. We'll be reading it in class and you'll have a project to do on it that's worth fifteen percent of your grade," Ms. McCullen said. Tap tap tap tap. Taylor's hand shot up in the air; the annoyance on her face quite obvious. "Yes, Ms. Woods?"

"Can Sloane stop tapping her pen? It's driving me absolutely crazy!" she said in an aggravated huff as her eyes shot daggers at the girl in question. "Ms. Rivers, if you don't mind?" the teacher asked. "Oh of course, Ms. McCullen. I'll stop tapping my pen." I caught sight of her smile when she turned to look at Taylor across the room and couldn't help but raise a brow in question of her sincerity. I watched as she dropped her pen in her shoulder bag before returning her hand to her desk with a pencil wrapped in her fingers. Tap tap tap tap. The bright pink eraser at the end of the orange pencil hit the desk repeatedly and I couldn't suppress my laugh at the sight of Taylor's shocked face. She was pissed and turned the color of a bright tomato.

The class went quiet and all turned to stare at me as I doubled over laughing. "You! What on earth are you laughing at?" Ms. McCullen asked annoyed with all of the interruptions. "Pencil...Taylor...the tapping...oh my god her face is priceless," I said between gasps. I was wiping a tear from my eye when Ms. McCullen said two words I thought I would never hear any teacher say to me, "Get out."

"Wait, what?" I asked. "Get out of my classroom. I'm tired of these interruptions. Have your books by the end of the week." It took me a moment to realize what was happening. I was being kicked out. For laughing! Me! What? This makes no sense. Nonetheless, I grabbed my bag off the floor and took the walk of shame down the aisle before walking out the door. The desolate halls offered no comfort as I quickly walked to my locker and sat on the ground. The metal was freezing cold and I jumped when my back first came in contact with it. I eventually slumped against the wall of lockers and held my face in my hands.

"Any reason why you chose the public hallway over the bathroom?" came a voice from above. "I didn't want to risk Taylor coming after me. That's the first place she'd look," I responded as I lifted my eyes from the warm embrace of my thin fingers. My eyes were met with thick black army boots covered in scratches and scuffmarks, probably from hopping fences and running through rocky roads. Above those were dark black tights with slices up the thighs that disappeared under a pair of light jean shorts. A chain connected the pocket to a belt loop on her right hip and a red and black plaid shirt that was too big covered a white tank top.

She took a seat next to me and propped her arm up on her right knee before saying, "Why are you scared of her?" I couldn't help the chuckle that escaped my lips. "Scared? She wishes I was scared of her. I've already had my daily helping of Taylor Woods' bitchy attitude today and didn't want to go back for seconds."

"Addie?" Newt's voice echoed down the hall. I turned my head to the left and smiled as I watched him walk over to us. His wide shoulders looked about ready to pop out of the letterman's jacket he was wearing and I was surprised he wasn't uncomfortable. The two hazel pools that seemed to be never ending twinkled just above his nose and the short blonde curls that covered his forehead were swept to the side with a gentle shake of his head as he plopped down next to me. The warmth radiating from his body attracted me like a moth to a flame and I didn't hesitate to snuggle closer to him when he put his arm in its spot around my neck.

The familiarity of this position brought back sweet memories of us sitting in the meadow star gazing last June and I unknowingly smiled. "Why are you smiling? I thought you were gonna have a mental breakdown. You've never been in trouble," Newt said with a chuckle. "Bullshit. She must have gotten in trouble with a teacher at least once," Sloane jumped in. "Nope. Never. She's always been a goody two shoes."