Love Comes In Purple

2) Jumping to Conclusions

I walked through the halls of Burnt Ember High School. I could still feel the uncomfortable glares and stares from the boys (and some girls) that I passed. It was my first full day here, and if I were to spend it on anything, it'd be with Isaiah, not wallowing in self-consciousness. Using the skill I'd developed from my first broken heart, I blocked everybody out. I only focused on what was ahead of me and where I was going. I blocked out the noise with the noise in my head, and blocked out the stares with my own trains of thoughts. The only concern I'd ever have, is hoping they couldn't see through my coloured contacts or fake tan. If one of them were to see what I truly was, I'd be royally screwed.

There was no telling if they'd accept me for who I was or not. Judging by all the high school based books and TV shows, I doubt they would. Would Isaiah? He was nice, yes, and funny and attractive and flirty, but maybe those characteristics were reserved for the normal girls. Not me. Because I was far from normal, by my standards. And to be honest, I liked it that way.

What I didn't like was this risk I was now taking. What if Isaiah found out about me? He might tell everybody... Then I'd be back to being homeschooled again... And I really didn't want that.

Okay, first period was Math, then Science, Art and finally, Socials. I had to find room 127.

Dodging the lost and confused looking freshman's, I darted my eyes from room number to room number, until I found the room. Naturally, Isaiah was sitting in the back right corner of the class, with his bag on the seat beside him. Ignoring the friendly/flirty smiles of the other, less attractive boys, I focused on his big grin and warm eyes that he had when he spotted me walk in the room.

"Hey-ey, Ali! I can call you that right?" He said in a friendly, warm tone.

"Oh, um, yeah totally" I replied, warmly.

I sat next to him, in between him and an empty desk with a bright blue binder on top.

"Who's sitting there?" I asked.

"My friend. His name's Jeff. Look, he's coming in now." He said, pointing to the door.

Jeff looked a little taller than me, with long blonde hair and brown eyes, and a black beanie. He looked kind of... Stoned. He wore blue jeans and a black t-shirt that read "DC" on it.

"Sup" he said, high-fiving Isaiah and plopping down on the empty seat.

"Who's the chick?" He asked, sounding very mellow.

"I'm Alice, but just call my Ali"

"Dude... Killer hair" he said, grabbing my white locks and twirling them with his fingers. "It's so soft, man. Like a bunny..."

After an awkward amount of time, Jeff got up to use the bathroom, leaving me and Isaiah sitting together. I looked at him with a confused look.

"Yeaaaaah.... Don't worry, as stoned and confused he looks, he's not. Trust me, it's just the way he acts. We've been close since elementary, he's always been like that. He's just a really chill guy." He assured me, "The only thing he's ever smoked are half-pipes."

Jeff sat down beside me again. He was holding a Mars bar in his hand, crunching away on it. My stomach grumbled at the sight of it. I forgot to eat breakfast today. I stared at it for a while. Jeff narrowed his eyes at me and held the candy bar closer to him.

"Where'd you get that?" I asked.

"Vending machine. It's right outside the classroom. I'll lend you a buck if you stop puppy-dog eyeing my Mars bar, brah!" Jeff said, pulling the candy bar even closer to his body and guarding it with his binder. I could hear Isaiah laugh from beside me.

"Yes please... I forgot to eat breakfast today" I said, holding my stomach.

Jeff tossed me a dollar bill and I rush out of the room to get to the vending machine. After deciding to buy a KitKat, I walked back to the doorway, where I heard Jeff and Isaiah talking. I stopped and listened in.

"Dude, did you even SEE her hair?" Isaiah asked.

"It looks dyed. Or maybe she was just born with it..."

"Jeff, nobody can be just 'born' with hair like that, it's obviously dyed."

"Bro, she's a total weirdo. Did you see that face, man?"

They were talking about me.

I walked in the classroom, avoiding eye contact with both of them, before picking up my books and moving to the other side of the class, next to that Samantha girl.

"Hey" she said to me, "do you have the answer to question number 4?" She asked.

"Question number... Oh crap, I didn't even start yet!" I answered, alarmed that I had missed the sheet.

"Don't worry about it..." She said, leaning in to whisper, "Half the class wasn't even paying attention. Especially not those two idiots in the back." She pointed at Jeff and Isaiah. Jeff had a confused, yet mellow, look stuck on his face, while Isaiah looked more hurt than confused. They were both staring at me. I looked away and back at Samantha.

"Your name is Samantha, right?" I asked, making sure.

"Call me Sam. All my friends do. And you are...?"

"I'm Alice, but call me Ali."

"So, where were you for the first half hour of class?" She asked.

"With the idiots. Which explains why I'm so behind." I joked. She gave an amused smirk and glanced over at Jeff. "Ugh... I can't believe I used to date that guy. He acts like a total pothead."

"You used to date Jeff?!" I asked, in shock.

"Yep. For about... A month. Then I broke up with him. Now he bad-mouths me every chance he's got. They say it loud enough so I can hear every time, too."

"Why did you break up with him?"

"He started making fun of my half brown, half blonde hair, and my face", she said as I shot her a confused look, "as in my piercings. He hated them."

Oh no. Jeff and Isaiah weren't talking about me. Oh, shit shit shit shit shit! They were talking about Sam. I always did have a problem with jumping to conclusions.

***

During Science, I made sure I got a seat next to Isaiah. Jeff and Sam weren't in Science with me, Jeff was in Socials and Math, and Sam was in Art and Math.

I was early, and saved a seat near the back for him. When he came in, he glanced at me and stood at the doorway for a while. I called him over, and he slowly walked over, keeping his eyes to the floor.

We both sat there, in an awkward silence for a while, before I finally broke it. "I'm sorry", I said, "I, uh, heard you talking about a girl with weird hair and stuff and I... Have a bad habit if jumping to conclusions..."

He looked at me, with an unreadable face. Then shook his head and smirked. "I really don't know you, Ali. Maybe we should talk about this over lunch?"

I smiled at him, apologized one last time, and he flashed another incredibly attractive smile at me.

No. Don't do it. I've seen too many romance movies and TV shows about this. The girls who fall for the hot guys always end up breaking up, or getting a divorce, or something like that. There was no way I was gonna fall for him. Or his incredibly hot smiles.