Unlikely

Chapter One: Smirk

"Do you think the new principal is hot?"

"Ugh, Abby, gross."

"Whattttt, I'm sure you've noticed the attention he's getting, especially from the female students." I looked up from the chess board and at her, scrunching my nose. "Don't give me that look." She crossed her arms and I couldn't help but smile back at her.

Abby Mayfield, my best friend. Well, one of them. She was a very eccentric individual, always full of energy and saying the most out-of-pocket nonsense I've ever heard. While sometimes I found her bluntness aggravating, most times it amused me. I often wondered if her confidence stemmed from her very natural beauty, knowing she could get away with more, or if those two parts of her were merely coincidental. No matter the reason, spending time with her was never boring.

We were spending the evening playing chess on my porch just absorbing the late summer heat while talking about how the first week of the new school year went. Idle chatter about how our new classes have been going, any teachers we liked and didn't like, and about our plans for the rest of the school term.

I enjoyed hearing what she had planned for herself. Although she'd unlikely have a forbidden romance with the new school principal, hearing the things she'd do to have a significant other amused me. I didn't think anything would come of it, but I had my reasons for thinking that.

I for one was hyper focused on all the clubs and classes I needed to take to start standing out. Junior year meant that soon I'd have to apply to college, and I wanted to make myself seem like a worth-while candidate. Being a random student in an unknown central Florida town wouldn't get me into any Ivy leagues, but if I could make myself stand out enough to beat the out-of-state applicants flooding in every year, then that's good enough for me.

"I just think, maybe you should focus more on guys our-"

"Hey look!" She cut me off, pointing to something behind me. I turned slightly and peered through the porch beams to the house next door. A car was pulling up into the empty driveway, followed by a moving van. "Looks like someone's moving in."

"Looks like it." I was aware that the house had been sold, but I hadn't really thought about who would be moving in next door. My brother's friend lived there for many years, but once he moved away for college his mom decided to get a smaller place for herself, closer to work. Both of them were around for my childhood and there'd be no replacing them, so thinking about who would fill their house wasn't really my priority.

I turned back to the game, thinking about my next move. It was her turn but there were only a few moves she could do. I knew I'd be winning in a short while, I've just been dragging it on for her sake—she's pretty bad at chess. She wasn't moving, however, and I looked up to see she was still watching the commotion behind me. "Abby, it's your turn." I urged her to keep playing.

"Yeah, one sec, I wanna see who's moving in. Maybe there's a—"

"Cute guy?" I interjected sarcastically. She either didn't pick up on my tone or she didn't care.

"Yep!" She chirped before standing up off the floor and walking past me. I sighed and stood as well, following her to the side of the porch and leaning on the wooden frame towards the people moving about.

The movers were pretty easy to identify, they were clearly wearing uniforms. I watched as they began moving furniture out of the truck, being directed by a man. He was tall and had nicely groomed hair. It was brown but had some gray sprinkling the roots, common for an older man. He wore a polo and jeans. Classic dad fit. I thought to myself.

"He cute enough for you, Abby?" I joked and she scoffed.

"Like you'd even have to ask. You know older men tickle my fancy."