3 - Arielle

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"Hey, Thatcher! Long time no see!" a terribly annoying voice carried through the Science classroom as soon as I walked in.

"Please don't tell me. YOU'RE in my Science class?!" I yelled when I saw Jake Hayford's way-too-familiar jerk-face. "And what do you mean, long time no see?! We LITERALLY sat next to each other on the plane less than two weeks ago!"

"Yup, I'm in your class!" Jake exclaimed triumphantly. "How does that make you feel, Arielle?"

I groaned at his distasteful way of pronouncing my name and planted myself down at the lab table next to his. For some very infuriating reason, I had decided to arrive in the Science classroom at a time that was dangerously close to when the first bell was scheduled to ring, and there were no other seats left. Which meant that I was stuck sitting next to Jake Hayford for who-knows-how-long.

"Will you please do me a favor and not pester me this time, Jake? Please?" I asked, clasping my hands together and turning to his obnoxious brown hair and startling blue eyes with an earnest look on my face.

"Wow, this is the first time that I've seen you looking at me like that," Jake told me, smirking. Ugh, I wanted so badly to be able to wipe that self-satisfied smirk right off of his face. 

You see, most girls fell head-over-heels for him within the first three seconds of talking to him, but I was different. Not only was this jerk a complete womanizer and player that I wanted absolutely no association with, my heart was also entirely given to another boy: Archer West.

When the first bell rang, Mr. Henry, the teacher (Bree and I had been in the same Science class last year, so we knew that he was pretty nice) led us down to the gymnasium for the opening assembly. When I got there, I reunited with my four friends - Bree Campbell, Flynn Armani, Archer West, and Claude Jackson - and the school's headmaster, Mr. Philip Masterson, initiated the assembly.

"The sports programs that are being offered this year for both boys and girls are: cheerleading, soccer, tennis, badminton, golf, polo, horseback riding, swimming, lacrosse, rugby, football, baseball, basketball, boxing, wrestling, martial arts, volleyball, gymnastics, archery, and fencing," one of the P.E. teachers announced partway through the assembly. "Tryout dates will be indicated on the school website, and each sport takes place during the different seasons, with the exception of cheerleading, basketball, boxing, wrestling, martial arts, gymnastics, and fencing. These will take place during the entire school year."

I really wanted to tryout for the cheerleading team this year, although I was already on the girls' volleyball team. But I knew that the competition was fierce to become one of the envied popular girls that got to wear the signature cheerleading skirts and tank tops, so it was probably better to not get my hopes up too much.

After that, another teacher stepped up to the podium. "This year, the arts programs that are available are: the Dance Club, the Photography & Film Club, the Woodworking Club, the Writing Club, the Choir, the Rock Band, the Drama Club, the Pottery Club, the Fashion Design Club, and the Sewing Club. No applications are required for most of these activities, and if you are interested, please check the school activity calendar to see the dates and times for each club's meetings."

I had attained the title of Dance Club Captain last year, and I was pretty sure that that was still going strong. I hoped that we would have some new members this year, though.

A few more speeches later, Mr. Masterson finally wrapped up the long assembly, and upbeat music played as the whole student body exited the gym. I said goodbye to all of my friends (yes, it TOTALLY helped that NONE of them were in my Science class) and dragged my feet as I headed back upstairs.

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