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FINNEY APPROACHED THE DOOR!
Before he could put his hand on the doorknob, a flash of crimson caught his eye.
Cherry Garcia always caught his eye. Where could she possibly be going? They had a class together, and she was walking in the opposite direction.
Before he knew it, he felt his feet carry him to the end of the hallway.
"Cherry." Finney spoke, matching her steps. "Where are you going?"
"I'm skipping." She answered like it should've been obvious.
"What do you mean you're skipping?"
"I mean that I'm skipping. What part of that sentence do you need clarification on?"
"You can't skip today. We've got a lab."
"You've got a lab. I'm going home. Actually, I'll probably get food and then go home."
"Your grades aren't gonna go up if you keep skipping."
"Ugh, fine."
The crimson-haired girl spun on her heel, moving towards the classroom so begrudgingly that it seemed like she was being held at gunpoint.
At that point, the late bell had already rung.
She put her hand on the doorknob before Finney shifted awkwardly.
"What's wrong with you?" Cherry questioned, looking him over.
"I can't go in there." Finney decided. "It's humiliating."
"Stepping inside the classroom? Do you want to crawl through the window?"
"Everybody's already inside. They'll look at me."
"You're a mess. Let's go. You'll be fine."
Finney wished that she'd take him seriously, but how could she? He was scared of walking into a classroom. No wonder he couldn't make any friends. No normal person was scared of that.
She pulled the door open, shoving it behind her. Finney stepped in.
He avoided the gazes of his classmates, which flickered between him and the girl beside him. Having attention on himself was awkward enough, having her next to him was impossibly worse.
Entertained looks were shot in their direction from their classmates.
"That's a freshman!" Chase reminded and then raised his hands in defense of the girl's irritated look. "Sorry, super senior."
"Aren't you a junior in a sophomore math class?" Cherry reminded as she sat behind him.
"You're mean. Sorry for trying to fight injustices. I'll pray for you."
