Indecisive Heart

Chapter 13

The next morning, as I'm getting ready for school, I put on the cutest outfit I could come up with, which is just another sweater and jeans combo with some brown boots I have. I didn't put any makeup on, that's too much work. I combed through my hair and placed it perfectly over my shoulders. Sophia said I look nice and told me to just be myself, good advice once again. I'm not expecting much just from dressing nice, but I'm hoping he'll at least look at me once today.

When I got to school, I walked into my homeroom and he was already sitting there, his hair looking perfect as ever, dressed in jeans and the most comfy looking hoodie I've ever seen. He's glancing out the window of our room and I notice how prominent his jawline is. His bone structure fits his face so perfectly. He is like a perfectly put together puzzle that is missing one piece; me.

He didn't look my way as I sat down, two desks to the right of him. I sat there quietly looking off into the distance, upright with my legs crossed like a proper lady would.

I can almost hear Rory's laugh if she saw me sitting like this. I am a sloucher. Having proper posture is not something I practice regularly.

Gia then walked into the room and looked right at him. He didn't notice, so she yelled quite loudly in a shrill voice "Asher, hi!" Then she did that fake smile again as she sat down next to him.

I don't like to eavesdrop on other people's conversations, but I wanted to hear at least a little bit of what a conversation with Gia sounds like. It was kind of hard to hear Asher because he talked quietly and everyone else in the room was talking loudly. I didn't pick up much of what he said, but I heard Gia say words like "pictures" and "next Friday."

Did they take pictures together yesterday? Were they going on a date next Friday? What does this mean? I tried not to think about it too much and just sat there quietly while my back started to hurt from sitting up so nicely.

Asher is in a few of my classes during the day, so this won't be the only time I see him besides lunch. Gia isn't in too many of the classes I have so I'll hopefully get to see Asher for a little without Gia lingering over him. My goal is to catch him looking at me at least once today. Even if I have to cause a scene to do so.

Lunch time came around and still nothing. Rory and I were talking about our next physics test when Finn plopped down next to me again.

"Hey guys," he said, "have you heard the news?" At this my ears perked up, maybe he heard something new about Asher. "What news??" I asked, intrigued.

"Well, So far we have won two out of five of our last games, thanks to Sadie here for being our lucky charm."

Yes, I have been going to his games and cheering for him, by myself. He comes to see me afterwards and thanks me for coming, and normally I respond with something like "Sure thing, pal," or "No problem, buddy." That's my attempt at letting him know I just came as a friend. Not sure how well it's working, but it's all I could come up with for now.

"Anyways," he continues, "I heard they're planning a pep rally for us next Friday to cheer us on before playoffs!" He smiled. Next Friday, that's Gia and Asher's date night where they will be taking pictures together.

"The playoff game is scheduled for the first Tuesday in February, and if we can win one more game, that playoff spot is ours!" He was almost bouncing in his seat. Rory chimed in, "Why does Robbie never tell me any of this? That's so exciting!"

Finn added, "I'm really counting on you two being there at the playoff game if we make it, we can use all of the luck we can get." He looked over at me as he said that last part about luck. I responded with "What are friends for?" I tried to emphasize the word friends, and attempted a weak smile.

"Yes, we will totally be there to support you guys! Good luck! I can't wait for the pep rally, they're always so much fun!" Rory exclaimed.

The only reason I like pep rallies is because I get to play my trumpet with the band. I am not someone you would say has a lot of pep, but when it comes to music, I can be a little peppy. Maybe I can play super loud or convince the band director to give me a solo so Asher will notice me.

"I'm excited too, the pep rally will really boost the team's morale. We have good momentum, and the pep rally will just make it better." Finn said.

Him and Rory continued to talk about how much fun pep rallies are while I was spying on Gia and Asher, who were sitting together again, this time with a few more girls at the table. I see I was not the only one with the idea to dress nice to impress the new kid today. Asher however did not look amused, in fact, he looked tired. I could only imagine how tiring spending all day with Gia and her fake friends can be.

I turned back to daydreaming about how I would save him from the evil dragon queen and her possi. The bell snapped me out of it and Finn left after saying see you later to Rory and me.

Rory could tell I had been spying and asked "Did you set up a wired mic? What did you hear? What did you see?" "Not much," I started, "Just that he's not only hanging with Gia, but her entire fake girl possi now. As if one of them isn't enough to compete with."

She could see I was defeated and tried to cheer me up. "Hey, he's only been here two days. It's only a matter of time before he gets fed up with Gia and her girl gang and then you can jump in and save him. And if that doesn't work out, you always have Finn" She smiled. "Yeah I guess, you're right. He has to break away from them at some point, right?" I sounded hopeful out loud, but inside I was wondering if I'd ever get a chance to talk to him.

He was in my next class without Gia, so I decided it was my time to shine. The teacher was in the middle of talking when I got up to go "sharpen my pencil."

As I turned back around to go back to my seat, my hair flipping behind me, I looked right at him, but his head was buried in the book we were reading. I'll have to try something else.

The teacher asked a question to the class, and I don't normally participate in class much, but this time I raised my hand to speak, a little confused by wherever this newfound confidence was coming from. I was getting ready to open my mouth, because it looked like the teacher was about to call on me, and just as words started to come out of my mouth, a deep, soft voice spoke up from behind me. I realized the teacher hadn't called on me, but whoever was sitting behind me.

I turned around to see who was speaking, and I realized it was him. I tried to turn around quickly enough to not make eye contact, but it was too late. I made direct eye contact with Asher, and it was the most magnificent yet embarrassing thing that's ever happened to me. His glance was so soft and calm, but mine was frantic and terrified because, once again, I was not expecting that to happen.

I wanted to look back so badly to see those deep brown eyes gazing straight into my soul again, but I couldn't do it. Whatever confidence I had two minutes before was suddenly gone. I had at least completed my goal for the day, but not in the way I was hoping it would go.

In my mind, I pictured my hair flipping in slow motion while I looked off into the distance with a carefree smile on my face while he stared right at me in awe of my presence.

Instead I got two seconds of direct eye contact full of horror and fear; not what I was expecting our first eye-lock moment to be like. I spent the rest of the day avoiding him and his eyes so I couldn't embarrass myself even further.

At the end of the day Finn walked with me to Rory's locker and then to the locker rooms before our practices. Right before we were to part ways, he said "Oh Sadie, I just wanted to tell you, you looked really nice today." He smiled at me and left without waiting for a response from me. I walked into the girl's locker room with my jaw wide open.