From The Day I Met You

5~ Maisie Moore

5~ Maisie Moore

Friday buzzed on up as the school held an assembly to discuss the Prom theme. This dreaded day has finally arrived much to my displeasure. All the seniors gathered in the auditorium waiting for the announcement. Until then, the space was filled with mindless chatter amongst peers trying to guess what the theme was. I had never been around so many people who were hyper-focused on something so trivial. To say it was maddening would be an understatement.

Unlike the rest of them, my friends and I were kind of separated due to us not always having a class together. Right now, I'm paired up with Mason who was thrilled about all of this nonsense. They couldn't stop going on about the different outfits they already had in mind depending on what was chosen. Mason always planned ahead no matter the situation.

As for me, I sat in my seat tapping my foot with my arms crossed in annoyance. It's bad enough my dance class was being interrupted for this. Now I'm supposed to be overcome with joy over a theme for a night that may turn out to be the worst day of my life. My mind couldn't wrap around the idea of being surrounded by others happily dancing to a beat when I could end up alone.

Luckily, I wasn't the only one not ecstatic about the events to come. Much to my surprise, there was a girl who noticed my reaction to simply sitting in the chair. Nothing was announced and yet I'm already panicking. That intrigued her as she leaned over towards me with a smirk on her face.

"Let me guess, not a fan of prom or you just don't have a date yet?" She read me like a book.

Mason and I both turned our heads basking in the beauty that was this girl. Mason seemed to know who she was, gasping like they had just seen the hottest celebrity. She was unfamiliar to me, but damn she was gorgeous. Her Rapunzel-like hair cascaded down to her knees. Those eyes of hers glistened as if she were fresh out of a scene in a movie. My favorite part about her was the freckles that covered her nose and cheeks. Her full lips pulled everything together.

It's not every day that a girl of her caliber randomly speaks to me. I had to be seething for a stranger to take notice. My world was blown away just looking at this girl. For a minute there, I almost ignored what she said getting lost in her otherworldliness. Why have I never seen her face before? It would've been great if I had seen her before I got so wrapped up in my best friend who was taken! Luck was never on my side.

Gulping, I tried to formulate words in my head, so I don't sound foolish when speaking to her. The worst thing I could do was embarrass myself. She'd never look my way again if something stupid came out of my mouth. Why was I so worried about this? I'm losing focus.

Snapping back into reality, I figure out what to say still stumbling over my words. "I...umm...n-no, I'm not happy about prom," I said. "The date part is another story."

The girl smiled making my eyes glint with glee. I never got this attention from anybody before. Everyone always looked down on me. Like I was an annoying fly that was too dumb to fly back out the door I came in. Much like Saida, she didn't seem to care about any of that. Her impression of me was gathered through this moment. From the grin on her face, I could tell she was enjoying our conversation.

She leaned even closer towards me, resting her chin in her hand. "What's your name anyway?" She asked. There was this flirtatious expression etched on her face.

My eyes turned to Mason who ushered me to tell her. "It's Summer," I smile nervously.

Is this what it's like to flirt with people? I can barely sound coherent telling her my name. Saida would look at me like I'm bat-shit crazy if I tried confessing my feelings to her. It's like the language I grew up learning vanished from my brain. However, it couldn't have been too bad as she was still staring at me with this sultry look on her face. If I'm not mistaken, maybe she was into me.

Her smile only grows, taking her hand and placing it in mine. I could feel my cheeks go hot as our fingers intertwined. Her grip was strong, but her hands were so soft. The scent of her perfume suddenly hits me as I take a big gulp to swallow the lump in my throat. None of her actions seemed to phase her. She looked like she rather enjoyed making me shit myself. Is it bad that it reminded me so much of Saida?

Squeezing tight, she licks her lips to say the one thing I never thought anyone would say to me. She didn't know who I was; otherwise, we wouldn't be having this conversation. My name alone should have told her I'm not generally favorable at Sunbury Academy. If anyone saw us talking, surely her reputation afterward would sink.

"Well, Summer, if your date doesn't work out, come and find me." She gives me one last smirk before she gets up to leave.

Judging by her size, she was yet another girl I was taller than. That wasn't saying much since I stood at about 5'7. She looked to be about an inch shorter than me and taller than Saida. The way her hair swayed with every step she took was immaculate. My hand, now cold without her touch, wishes she were back. Without having to say anything, she automatically assumed that I was into girls; and she was correct. She left me utterly speechless and without even telling me her name.

Mason, the web of knowledge that they are, immediately started to freak out. They were gobsmacked when she spoke to me, but after hearing the full exchange, they were galvanized at the offer that was proposed to me. If my plans with Saida fall through, I had this girl waiting for the chance to go with me. All that was missing was her name. Luckily, Mason pulled through giving additional background as to who she is.

Slapping my arm rather rough, Mason practically screeched in my ear with excitement. "Maisie Moore just asked you to prom!" They yell. "Do you know how huge that is?"

My stomach gets this nervous feeling, ready to throw up. "N-no, how big is it?" I asked. "Am I fucked if I screw things up?"

Their eyes grow big. "Fucked? You may as well skip graduation if you Summer it up." That was their expression for me always blundering my opportunities.

Those words didn't make me feel good about her asking me anymore. From what I gathered; Maisie Moore was that girl. Everybody loved her, everyone wanted to date her or be her because she was just so cool. Of course, her family had loads of money but that's to be expected living in Sunbury. Her popular status even trumped Issac's and he was the school's golden boy. Maisie had the power to get anything she wanted from anyone including the teachers. She's also in the dance program making me wonder why I never heard of her until today. There weren't people in the program that I was friends with so to speak. I'm usually keeping to myself in the corner trying to keep up with the steps. Now that she's there, I may have to come out of my shell.

Sulking in my seat, the stress drowning me now that I know who she is was hard to come back from. Why did she have to come over here and flirt with me? There were plenty of gorgeous girls who were desperately waiting for her to even glance at them. Not only did she speak to me first, but she wanted something that I may not be able to provide. There was no hesitation about her actions as she's a girl who knows what she wants. If only I had her confidence. I would not be in this predicament.

"If your plan to win Saida over doesn't work, there's your ticket right there," Mason encouraged. "I'd even go for her now if I were you." They suggested.

I sat back up, not liking the sound of that idea. "But...I can't just let go of Saida," I say. "She's like my first...everything."

Their hand rests on my shoulder with a soft-looking expression. "I know sweetie, but with such a short timeframe, you may not want to push your luck."

Just as I'm about to respond, the principal comes onto the stage to talk about prom. She mentioned what building it was going to be held in and what time it began and ended. The part that got everyone whooping and hollering was when she finally got to the theme. This year, the school decided to go with a winter wonderland decor. It wasn't anything special to me, but everyone else seemed to love it.

As much as I wasn't looking forward to this before, I'm not in the mood for it now. Giving up on Saida sounded vexing. How could they expect me to just let her go so easily. Maisie was great, as far as I could tell, but Saida was my everything. It'd be hard to imagine putting all my feelings that I hold for her onto someone else. Especially without knowing if Maisie wanted our relationship to go to such lengths or if she simply wanted a prom date. Even if she did, could I trust myself to get to know someone new without constantly racking my brain about Saida?