Pieces Of Grace

Chapter 3.

The bell rang, and like a flock of startled birds, my classmates erupted from their desks. I, however, remained rooted to the spot, my gaze fixed on the door. It wasn't the lure of freedom that held me back, but the way my heart pounded against my ribs. Kyle had been staring at me throughout the entire lecture, and now, as the room emptied, he was slowly making his way towards me.

My mind raced, 'Why is he coming over to me? What could he possibly want?' Then, like a rogue wave crashing on the shore, he stopped right in front of me. My breath caught in my throat.

"Hey," he said, his voice a comforting rumble. "So, are you okay? Lily was being pretty mean back there." But all I could process was HE'S TALKING TO ME. KYLE IS TALKING TO ME!

My face felt hot, my cheeks flushed a bright crimson. I couldn't even muster a simple nod, let alone form coherent words. He was actually talking to me, taking notice of the way Lily had been picking on me. The impossible had happened, my quiet, unassuming self had somehow captured the attention of the most popular boy in school.

"She's okay, really. We were laughing so hard that Mr. Fulgonie had to give us the death glare to make us stop," Alya filled in for me. I'M SO GLAD ALYA IS HERE RIGHT NOW!!!

Kyle looked up from me when he heard her speak, as if he didn't notice her. "Oh, hey," He said. "Um, do I know you? Wait, you're the new girl, right? Alya?"

"Yeah, I'm Alice's friend. So, you came over to check if she was okay, right?" Kyle nods. "Well, that's nice of you. Um, I'm sure she appreciates that and all, but... I was talking to her about a science project, it's kinda important. Can we have just a moment?"

Kyle nods and walks over to the door, but doesn't leave, like he's waiting for us. For ME.

Alya grabs my shoulders as soon as he is out of earshot and says, "GET A GRIP, ALICE. YOUR CRUSH IS TALKING TO YOU AND YOU CAN'T EVEN NOD! IF YOU NEVER SPEAK YOU'LL NEVER WALK. AND YOU CAN'T GET ANYWHERE IF YOU CAN'T WALK."

"You're right, you're right. I'm going to talk to him next time," I say, nodding my head.

"You promise you'll talk next time he speaks to you?" She asks.

"I swear, Sir!" I give her a mock salute. "I mean, Ma'am!"

"Okay, just for that..." She says with a grin, "Next time is NOW!" She pulls me up to the door where he was waiting.

"Hey, Alice. Hey, Alya," He says, but he doesn't really looks at Alya. Which is even weirder because she's so pretty, all the guys have been looking at her.

"Hey, Kyle. Uh, I want to thank you. For what you did back there," I smile. "It really meant a lot that someone cares."

"I like your shirt, by the way. And your hair looks good today,too. Not that I think it looks bad on other days. I mean I'm not saying- you know what I mean, right?"

I nod, but secretly I'm still thinking, 'OH MY GOODNESS. KYLE IS COMPLIMENTING ME. *ME*. FOR LONGER THAN 5 SECONDS. AND HAVE AN ACTUAL CONVERSATION. WHERE MORE THAN 10 WORDS ARE EXCHANGED.'

"So, I'll, uh, see you around?" He says, smiling a little. And does he look... yes, he does, he looks nervous!

"Yeah, see you!" I say, trying to play it cool still.

After he leaves I turn to Alya. She doesn't say anything, but without a word from her mouth her nod and smile still almost says "I told you so".

"Hey, are you doing anything this Saturday?" I shake my head no, so she continues, "You wanna hang out at my place?"

I nod. "Yeah, I'd love to come over. When should I come? Around 5 or 6?"

"Sure. Have a good rest of your day! Fridays are awesome. They're my second favorite day of the week."

I pause. "What's your favorite, then? Saturday?"

"No, Sunday is. I have to get back home, but see you on Saturday. Bye!"

"Yeah, see you then." I wave to her as she leaves.

As I walk to my car, I can't stop thinking about what Alya said. I'm going to ask her about it on Saturday, I think. I mean, what could possibly be better than a Saturday!?