Oh, Heather

Chapter One

   Heather sat down in the back of the classroom, desperately trying to avoid the crowds of teenage boys that formed at the front of the classroom. She had just moved here and she didn’t want to deal with the disgusting guys that came with high school quite yet. She took a deep breath as half of the boys left the class and the remaining took a seat. She watched Mrs. Valente as she wrote her introduction on the whiteboard. It was normal first-day stuff. Introduction papers, weird get to know me games, that stuff. Heather was more than happy to participate though, she loved attending school. Once that class was finished, she continued dodging the large crowd of boys and into her next class.  She saw the “ASSIGNED SEATS” written on the whiteboard and groaned. 

   She hadn’t made any friends and she had no intentions of making any yet. She walked to the desk with her name on it and looked over to see “Jacklyn Anderson” written on the name tag beside her. There were two other names written in front of her, but she couldn’t see them. The class didn’t start for the next few minutes, but she imagined she’d know who they were soon. One guy and one girl came and sat in front of her, laughing with each other as they did. Heather fidgeted with her hands underneath the table as they began whispering to each other. A part of Heather knew they weren’t talking about her, but the other part couldn’t help but think they were making fun of her. The class had started several minutes ago and the girl who was supposed to be sitting beside her hadn’t shown up.

   Mr. Cyric handed each table a paper with several math questions paired with get-to-know-each-other questions. Heather, the girl, Miley, and the guy, Leo started working on the worksheet. They quickly finished the paper and placed it at the edge of the table for Mr. Cyric to get and review. Miley began hounding Heather with questions.

   “Okay but do you like, know anybody? Or are you like, lonely?” She asked.
   “Miley,” Leo said, slapping her arm.
   “Sorry about her.” He said.
   “Uhm it’s okay.” Heather stammered.
   “Who’s supposed to be sitting beside you?” Leo questioned, pointing to the name tag.
   “Someone named Jacklyn?” She replied.
   “Oh…” Miley whispered, pursing her lips.
   “Is- is she a problem?” She said.

   Heather exchanged a nervous glance with the pair. Neither answered, so she used that as her answer. She continued fidgeting with her fingers under the table. She glanced between the two, trying to figure out how they were connected without asking directly. Leo had short, dirty blonde hair and hazel eyes. His pale skin made the few freckles he had dotted across his face more visible. Miley had platinum blonde hair that went down to her ribs, she had matching hazel eyes and pale skin. She had a mole on her jawline that was hidden almost completely by her hair. Heather guessed siblings, but she didn’t ask either for confirmation. The teacher announced that there were only 10 minutes left of the class. In the middle of his announcement, the classroom door opened.

   “Ms. Anderson, nice of you to join us.” He said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.
   “I know.” She replied.
   “Your seat is right over there.” He said, a forced smile drawn across his face.

   She took a seat beside Heather and raised an eyebrow at Miley. Miley noticeably bit the inside of her cheek, looking away from Jacklyn. Jacklyn was dark-skinned and had similar-colored eyes. She had insanely long, black hair that fell in front of her face when she leaned over. She scoffed and rolled her eyes at the blonde. Heather was trying to figure out the connection between the two without prying where she wasn’t supposed to. She assumed they were friends who fell out and decided not to press for details as it wasn’t her business, no matter how curious she was. Once the class ended and she began her journey to her next class, memorizing the halls as she walked, she realized that the girl she had been sitting by was going the same way. She leaned into her next class as she watched the girl walk past the door.