Miserable

5

The rest of the first week of school went by without any "weird or exciting happenings". James became a part of our little group of friends and now we hang out together. Me, Jade and James. The triple J's.

Today, I feel like something will happen. And it won't be good. It's still lunch time, though.

I haven't gotten over the loss of my dad either, no. And neither has my mom. My brother on the other hand, seems to be handling it well. Shaken up at times, but good. Good for him. My mom and I are breaking, slowly but surely.

I walk down the hall and stop at my locker. I open it and see paper falling out. I pick then up and see that they're some colorful sticky notes. Shouldn't they have stuck?

Anyway, I put my books inside and grab the ones I'll be needing. Then I start reading the little messages.

Hey, Joy.
You seem sad and down.
You seem a little tuckered out.
But to me, you're a shining light.
Beautiful and bright.
And no matter what happens to either of us, you will always bring me joy inside.

I raise an eyebrow. I read the next note.

Joy,
I'm always here for you. Don't keep that frown on your face or the tears in your eyes. You've got a beautiful smile and a sparkle in your eyes that makes me realize you're the light of my life.

I shake my head with an amused smile and read the next one. The other two were purple and blue. This one's green.

Joy,
I cannot express how much you mean to me. I've always needed someone like you. And now that you're here, I can't bear to let you go.
So I just want you to know...
You are all I need:)

What?!? Who's writing this? I read the next one. But instead of being colored, it's plain white.

Why hello, Joy!
You're messing with the wrong person. Stay away, or else...

Okay, this is just weird. First, admiration notes and now a threat?

I stuff the notes into my binder and head to the classroom where Jade waits. We could eat lunch in the cafeteria but Ms. Hornette likes to eat with us since we are actually fun to hang out with.

I walk inside with my lunch and books and sit down silently.

"What's wrong, Joy?" Ms. Hornette asks.

I shake my head and smile. "Nothing."

Jade gives me a suspicious look but I give her an expression that means I'll-tell-you-later.

She nods in satisfaction and the two start talking about the different subjects and how boring or fun they are.

I look out the window and see the popular kids eating on the "grounds". That's what we call the green meadow like place in the center of all the buildings. The popular kids always eat there. And no one else is allowed to.

Some guy looks at me, or at least, I think he is. He raises and eyebrow and smiles. I look behind me to see if he's looking at someone else, but- there's no one else here. I give him a questioning look and he just shakes his head. He actually looks cute like that. Blond hair, blue eyes, a dimple and an adorable smile.

"Joy?" Jade calls me back to the present.

"Yeah?"

"Were you just looking at Troy?"

"Hmm. I don't know." I say slowly.

She giggles. "You were. And your face was priceless, if I may add."

I glare at her and she starts laughing.

"Why is that funny?" Ms. Hornette asks.

"Joy rarely says a guy is hot, handsome, or cute. So when she starts realizing someone is one of the three, she puts on this face and it is absolutely adorable." Jade says, still laughing.

I roll my eyes. "Oh, please."

The door slams open.

"Joy? Shakira wants to see you." The guy says.

Jade and Ms. Hornette look at me and I stare at the guy in shock.

Shakira? Shakira wants to see me?
Shakira Avillar is not just the head cheerleader, but also one of the smartest girls in school and the daughter of the principal. Why would she want to see me?

He motions for me to follow him and I do. No one should mess with Shakira. NO ONE.

I follow the guy outside and find myself on the grounds where the blond guy, Shakira, and their group of friends wait.

"Why hello, Joy." Shakira says.

Something clicks in my mind and I realize why that phrase sounds so familiar. It was written on the white sticky note. I put up my guard and stay vigilant.

"Yes, Shakira?"

"I hope you got my lovely letter this morning." She says.

I pretend to be confused then let the realization sit in.

I nod. "Yes, I did."

She nods in satisfaction. "Good, good. I want to make sure that you get my message."

"But- who are you talking about?" I ask.

She laughs. "It's pretty obvious. You're a straight A student. Think." She gives me a smug smile. "You can go now."

I nod and turn to leave. As I do, someone trips me and I fall. Well, nearly fall face front.

I feel strong arms wrap around me and help me up.

I look up and see beautiful blue eyes.

"Uh- thanks." I whisper.

He smiles. "No problem. Name's Clarence."

I smile. "Thanks, Clarence."

He smiles wider and walks me to the door that leads back to the building. I look behind us and see Shakira staring at me with a murderous look. Everyone else seems to be shocked.

"I'm not Shakira's boyfriend, if that's what you're thinking. She's just jealous. Just because I'm the football captain doesn't mean I want someone like her. Don't worry about them." He says smiling at me. He probably saw me looking at them. I smile back.

"Thanks."