Starstreak

Codenames

Ring! Finally, theater was officially over. I made my way to pre-calculus class, but I slipped on what appeared to be spilled water. I immediately knew it was Brittany who'd spilled it because I glimpsed her snickering at me shortly before I began falling to my death. 

My ankle twisted which sent a bolt of pain through my leg. Then, I felt strong hands catch me around the waist. I got to my feet quickly to see who had caught me. As it turned out, the person who caught me was the cutest boy I've ever seen. "You good?" he asked. I noticed a slight drawl in his voice. I stared at him for a hot second. He was tall like me with tanned skin, dark brown hair, and green eyes. He was actually quite handsome. 

"Yeah, I'm fine," I responded, brushing a strand of hair behind my ear. I took a few steps away from him and realized I was limping a little. 

"You should probably go to the nurse," he suggested. 

"Sure," I said and headed to pre-calculus. 

Eventually, I met Zara further down the hallway, "Why are you limping?" she asked. 

I barely heard her. All I could think about was that boy. 

"It's nothing," I said, only half paying attention while I fantasized about the mystery boy. 

"What happened?" she asked more sternly as we took our seats next to each other. 

"A boy happened," I whispered under my breath. 

"What?" she said. 

"Nothing. It's nothing." 

"Oh my god Raven, what happened!" 

"Nothing!" 

"Oh okay, so you just got a sprained ankle and are living in la-la land. But it's nothing, this just happens all the time, right?" 

Zara never used sarcasm, so that's my cue that I should probably explain to her what happened. "I'll tell you on the way home, okay?" I responded. 

Her mouth opened to protest but the teacher cut her off. "Zara Martinez." 

"Here!" She turned back to me with a scowl. 

After school, we found each other and started to trek home. 

"So?" she asked. 

At first, I had no idea what she was talking about. Zara gave me a significant look. 

"Oh, that." I really did not want to talk about this. "I tripped in the hallway and a cute boy caught me before I fell on my face." 

Zara got a sly look on her face. "Ooooh," she said. "You've got a crush." 

"It's not a crush!" 

"Then why are you blushing?" 

Was I? I had no idea. I turned my head away in hopes she'd just drop the subject. 

"Do you even know his name?" Zara persisted. 

"Um . . . no. Do you?" 

"What's he look like?" she asked. 

"Uh . . . He was a little taller than me-" I started. 

"That already narrows it down a lot," said Zara with a laugh. 

I shot her a shut-up look and continued. "-with dark brown hair and green eyes. Oh, and he talked with an accent you'd probably hear in Texas or something." I described him with as much detail as I could remember. 

Zara wrinkled her nose in thought. "From your description of him, I think his name is Alex," she says. "I heard some girls talking about him the other day."