Only, Always, and Forever You

3 - Group #3

Amara's POV:

I sit in the back of the classroom, quietly reading my book. I'm always here early, so I use this time to read or listen to music.

When the bell rings, Ms. Greene stands up and walks to the front of the class. However, before she can speak, a tall, dark figure bursts into the room, emanating rage and disgust.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Friendly," Ms. Greene says to him sarcastically.

I almost cringe at her timing; could she not tell that he is very obviously not in the mood for sarcasm? I keep my head down and nestled in my book, not even daring to look at him once. Suddenly, I notice the figure stalking towards me. My heart drops in my chest for a second before he turns and sits down, two seats to my right. I find myself releasing my held breath in relief.

Hopefully he didn't notice the color draining from my face when he started walking towards me. However, I don't think he even noticed me at all. Usually people don't. I'm not complaining, though; I wouldn't want to be caught in the crossfire of whatever is going on in his world...

I divert my attention from the dark figure and put my book away as Ms. Greene begins the class.

"Good afternoon, everyone!" she begins, "Today I will be introducing our new project!" The entire class groans in sync.

Ms. Greene goes on to explain what the project entails, and it seems interesting to me. I'm excited, that is, until she mentions it's not a solo project...

"We will be completing this project in groups of four. And before you all ask: no, you cannot choose your own groups," she explains, followed by yet another groan from everyone.

I really, really don't like group work. My groups in the past have always bullied me into doing all the work, but I guess it's because everyone knows I'm too timid to speak up for myself.

I look around the classroom for the first time today, trying to gauge possible groups. The people in my class don't look too bad, but I don't really know any of them. So, I guess it doesn't really matter who's in my group; it's going to be people I don't know no matter what.

"Mr. Anderson," Ms. Greene interrupts my thought, "may you repeat what I just said?" I look up at who she is talking to, and for the first time my eyes land on his tall, broad frame.

Oh my god... How did I not notice?

Of course, Cole Anderson is the one Ms. Greene called 'Mr. Friendly'! I need to start looking up more often because I don't know how I missed this. Cole is notoriously known for his cold glares and irritable demeanor. Although, I don't like to judge people based on what others say. Who knows, he might be nice—

"No," he snaps back, his face sporting a look that could kill.

Oh. Never mind, I guess.

This is even more of a reason for me to keep my head down and stay out of his way. I don't need to make enemies, I just need to stay invisible. It works that way.

Ms. Greene clears her throat and continues on with the lesson as if nothing happened. She probably doesn't want to push him any further out of fear of his father: James Anderson. I don't blame her, though, that man is intimidating.

"Okay, class, here are the groups!" Ms. Greene announces as she projects a diagram of names on the SmartBoard screen.

I anxiously try to find my name, and when I finally find it, the first three names, one of which is my own, are alright. However, the fourth name on the list causes me to drop my head again.

Group #3:
Ella
Amara
Luke
Cole

Now I really need to keep my head down and stay out of his way.

My anxiety gets the better of me, and my fingers shoot up to my mouth so that I can bite my nails.

When I see Ella, one of my group members, smiling and waving at me from across the room, I'm quick to drop my hand and smile softly back at her.

Ella has always been nice to me. So hopefully she will be easy-ish to work with. I've never spoken to Luke, my other group member, before (surprise, surprise), but he seems decent.

Cole, however, is the one who worries me.

I briefly glance at him next to me from the corner of my eye, careful not to make it too noticeable. I don't think I need to be worried about that, though, because his eyes are closed and he has AirPods in.

The bell rings abruptly, dismissing us from class, and everyone is quick to pack up their things and leave. I notice that Cole also leaves as soon as he notices everyone else's movement.

I don't think about it as I look back down to my bag and pack up my things. But suddenly, a thought crosses my mind: Who's going to tell him that he's in our group?

I look around for Ella or Luke, hoping that one of them could tell him instead, and luckily I see Luke.

I walk up to him cautiously and softly reach out to tap his shoulder. He was turned away from me, but once he feels my tap he spins around and looks down at me.

"H-hey," I say with an awkward wave.

"Hello? I'm sorry, do I know you?" He questions, genuinely confused, even though we had been going to school together since kindergarten. Ouch.

"Oh, I'm Amara. I'm in your group for the project," I say as I shift anxiously on my feet and avoid eye contact, "I was just wondering if you knew Cole. He walked out and I don't think he knows he's in our group. Would you be able to tell him? I don't want him to get confused or miss out on anything or—"

He cuts off my rambling with a chuckle, "Yeah, I know him. And don't worry, I'll let him know."

I nodded awkwardly and he chuckled again as he walked past me out the door. Why was he laughing? Is there something in my teeth? Was my rambling really that bad? Was it weird for me to ask him to tell Cole? I start to spin out, overthinking every detail of that interaction to try and figure out what went wrong.

In order to calm myself down, I decide that it might be nice to visit the library. It's my free period now, so I have a full hour to kill anyway. So, I might as well go try and calm down my nerves and read more of my book. At least I don't have to worry about Cole anymore.