Ghost Flowers

37. A Splash Of Cold Water

It was the first day of the second semester. Savana had just entered the school cafeteria and stomped the snow off her red Converse shoes. All the red cafeteria tables were empty. The only voices she heard were the school receptionists, as she wrote on the sign-in sheet by the entrance.

January 25, 20XX, Savana Hollis, late @ 8:45am

Savana walked down one of the hallways and had to walk past the history classroom to get to her locker. It was her first class of the day and the sixth time she had been late in the past month. She was surprised her teacher, Mr. Fillens, hadn't given her detention yet.

She walked past the room, and out of the corner of her eyes, she spotted someone very tall walking across the room. She didn't fully process it as she was exhausted. She only got four hours of sleep that night. Her eyes felt dry and scratchy. It was another night of sneaking out to meet Landon.

Once Savana got her winter coat and backpack into her locker, she dashed through the classroom to her desk. She was fifteen minutes late for her forty-five-minute class.

Mr. Fillens sat at his desk in the back corner of the room. He noticed her sitting down. "Ah, there's Miss Hollis. I was wondering if you would show up this time."

"Yes, I'm here." She yawned.

"Can you fill her in on what the class is reading Mr. Melby?" Mr. Fillens asked.

Savana dozed off again until something hit her. "What the fuck?" She hissed to herself, rubbing her arm where the eraser hit her and bouncing onto the floor.

"Savana. Savana. Look." Cully kept her voice low and tried to get Savana's attention. She was a few desks away and failed in her attempt to be discreet.

When Savana first stepped into the room, she overlooked Cully and Faye waving and pointing at someone standing in front of the class.

"What?" Savana squinted at Cully and finally realized she was trying to show her something. She looked to the front and suddenly felt as if she was splashed with cold water to wake her up.

"Hello, Miss Hollis, is it?" Mr. Melby stood before her, smirking and showing off his dimples.

There he stood, tall, his newly trimmed hair brushed back neatly, wearing grey slacks and a navy blue turtle neck. Savana sat there in awe, wondering if it was another crazy vivid dream. She didn't know someone could look so gorgeous in a turtleneck.

"I suppose Miss Hollis didn't get introduced to you yet, since she was once again late." Mr. Fillens stood up and walked over to her desk too. "This is my new student teacher for the semester, Mr. Melby."

"Glad you could make it in today." Damon's smile widened.

"Um, yeah." Savana's cheeks burned as she looked down at her closed textbook.

"We're reading pages 124 through 130 and answering the questions at the end. We'll go through them together when everyone finishes." Damon looked around at the other students reading before looking back at her. "You better hurry to catch up."

"Okay." She refused to look at him.

She quickly opened the book and began to read. Or at least tried to. She constantly looked up at Damon when he wasn't looking. He read from the textbook at a small desk in the front corner of the room opposite Mr. Fillens's.

After fifteen minutes, Savana finally finished reading. Luckily, a guy in her class was a really slow reader, so she wasn't the last one. Damon read the questions and called on random students to answer.

Please, not me. Not me. Savana felt like she could only pray at this point.

Fortunately, she was not called before the bell rang. She quickly picked up her textbook and dashed to her locker. She fumbled with the lock. The combination was forgotten for a moment. Once she had finally gotten into it, she stood there staring at all her folders and textbooks. She suddenly couldn't remember what her next class was.

"What the fuck?" Savana whispered to herself.

Cully and Faye followed her. They watched her motionless in front of her locker.

"Are you okay?" Faye peeked around Savana to face her.

Savana snapped out of it. "What class do I have next?" she asked frantically.

Cully laughed. "You have Biology next. Faye and I have English."

"Right, right." She grabbed the green folder from her locker. Her required courses had to be in specific colors. Science was green, History was yellow, English was blue, and Math was red. Her other half-credit classes were either purple or had designs on them. No pink.

Cully and Faye still haven't talked much since the dance. But they were finally civil again. Before, they gave each other the silent treatment. When one was angry with the other, they would slam their locker shut or bang their notebook or textbook on a desk. One day, in History, Cully hit her book so loud that Mr. Fillens asked her if she would pay for the replacement. She didn't even hear him.

Faye watched Savana's reaction with curiosity. "So, what do you think about seeing Damon again?"

Neither of the girls had seen Damon since the Jensen's party. He said he was busy with school and work. He never told them he would be at their school. She knew he was going to school to teach but was still shocked to see him in that position. He looked so sophisticated.

"I have no idea. I can't believe Ezra didn't say anything to me." Savana shut her locker and walked to the other end of the hallway. At the end of the hall, she would turn left to go to Biology, and the other two would go right to English.

The girls walked on either side of her. "We were shocked to see him too. We tried to get your attention when you walked in." Faye said.

"But damn, he looks good." Cully laughed.

Savana's cheeks turned red again. "I'm still mad at him. I won't talk to him anytime soon." She straightened her back and tightened her grip on her folder and Biology textbook.

"Why are you mad at him again?" Faye asked. It's been so long since Damon was the topic of their conversation. Neither Faye nor Cully has hung out with Savana much since the dance.

"He told my dad I shouldn't hang out with Landon. And of course, my dad thinks his hatred for Landon is validated now just because Damon agrees." Savana didn't want to admit there was another reason she didn't want to talk to him. She was still embarrassed by it.

"I don't think that really changes anything. We all know how Damon and Landon hate each other. We just don't know why." Faye explained.

"That doesn't mean he can tell her dad about this kind of stuff." Cully understood Savana's frustration.

Faye rolled her eyes. "I'm just saying I think Damon only wants to protect Savana."

"Whatever." Cully huffed, walked in front of them, and turned left at the end of the hall.

"See you later." Faye sighed at Savana and reluctantly followed Cully.

Savana felt terrible for not trying more to improve things between them. But at the same time, she didn't think she should be responsible. She entered the Biology classroom and sat at her desk. She instantly wondered if she would see Damon in the hall after class.