Escape

- Chapter 15 -

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I blink many times, registering his name inside my head. Luke Leighton, the boy who Shawn had problems with this morning, he’s in my class? I mean, I know he’s in one of my classes because I can blurrily remember his face and his name in the back of my mind and I’d recognized him this morning, but it never occurred to me that he happened to be in the same English class as me. I slightly turn my head to visually search for Luke and sure enough, he’s sitting far across the room, our eyes meeting with each other like we’re on cue. I assume his jaw isn’t broken or anything since his lower face is able to offer me a sly smirk and this makes me want to cringe, but the dark coloring of purple and blue imprinted on the affected area is too visible for my wanting to be rude.

Without a reaction, I turn back around and let my stiff fingers grip onto the edge of the hard desk. Why do I sense something wrong?

“…And lastly, Shawn Ryan,” – Mr. Sheen peeps over his glasses to Shawn with an expression that I consider somewhat a glare – “you are with Joyce Nguyen.”

I glance over to Shawn, who seems to be ripping the eraser off from his pencil. To be really honest, a slit part of my thoughts had hoped to be paired up with Shawn after I’ve gotten to know him more this morning. Although angry and dangerous, he isn’t someone I would know anywhere else. I push the thought away, now casting a quick glance towards Joyce, the Asian girl who’s seated two chairs in the back of mine. She’s smiling, her cheeks forming a scarlet red as she looks at the back of Shawn’s head shyly under hair bangs.

Mr. Sheen clears his throat, placing the paper down. “You all are familiar with the romantic tragedy of Romeo and Juliet because you’ve done it with your previous teachers last year, am I correct?” Everyone nods and mumbles yes’s. I somewhat remember the story although I wasn’t exactly present throughout the whole English class last year, forced being home and all that. As he continues explaining how we’re going to present and act out lines of Romeo and Juliet with our partners, I start to hyperventilate. Acting?

I don’t adore myself being in front of a whole class, never mind trying to put my feet into another character’s shoes. I almost panic when he adds how this will be considered a test grade for the quarter.

Everything has to be right and precise, he says.

Right and precise. I never do anything right. I’ve never presented or acted. How can I do this right? I always make mistakes…

“Now up, up!” Mr. Sheen suddenly tells us, flapping his palms up in an up motion. Chairs and tables start to move around as everyone in the class run all over the place. I whip my head around, wondering what’s even going on as I wasn’t really paying attention.

“Hey.”

I nearly jump, looking towards the person who addressed a greeting to me. He gives me a crippled smirk, but I’m sure this crippled smirk nears any female’s heart. I glance towards his jaw and frown from how darker it seems from this close angle. Has he been hit that hard?

“Hi,” I return quietly to Luke, who grabs the empty chair from Shawn’s desk and drags it across from me. I look back, noticing that Shawn’s now located in the back, sitting with his new partner along with everyone else and their assigned partners. Some people are really satisfied with who they’re paired up with, jibber-jabbing with them ever so happily while some people stay quiet with a dreading look across their face, frowning slightly; so it’s either happy or unhappy. I wonder which side Luke and I will belong to.