Notice me chapter one
“Cut!” the director, Randy, said. “I need to see passion between you and Andrew, I mean Samuel,” he paused rubbing his forehead. “So let’s shoot that scene again after a five minute break.” I walked to the snack table to grab a bottle of water. Randy’s headache was really starting to get to me.
I watched Randy as he swallowed a couple of pills and called everyone over. “Okay!” He yelled agonized as he snapped his fingers.
Oh, Randy.
“Okay everyone, scene twelve! Places!”
I walked to my place next to the bed and but my arms around Samuel, my “boyfriend.”
“Action!”
Lacey ran up to the lunch bench I was sitting on. “Ashlyn, guess what?”
I swallowed the bite of salami sandwich in my mouth. “What?”
“So you know that guy, Chris? He’s in your art class?” Lacey asked.
“Yeah?”
“Well, I heard that he got in trouble for hitting Caleb Simpson in the face in the parking lot this morning,” Lacey said, giggling. Caleb was the school’s “bad boy,” and he was the one that hit people. Not the one that got hit. This was new news; the bad boy got hit by the quiet boy.
“Really? It’s probably just a rumor,” I said, not believing any of this.
“Well, it might be true.”
“Maybe,” I said, taking another bite of my sandwich.
Chris? Turning into a bad boy? No, he was quiet, he was too shy. He couldn’t possibly punch Caleb, the strong heavy-metal type of guy. He definitely wasn’t the type to be hit. He had a reputation to hit people, and he was mean, strong, and scary. I didn’t believe it one bit.
“Are you sure?” I asked, hoping Lacey heard wrong.
“I think so. Hanna says she got it on video. Maybe she could show you or something. Isn’t she in one of your classes?
“Art,” I replied, looking down at my sandwich. So was Chris.
“Okay, well she could just show you then, or something.”
“Sure,” I said quietly. “She’ll show me then.”
“So, are you going to eat the rest of your sandwich?” Lacey asked, pointing to it.
I shrugged. “No, you can have it. I’m not that hungry.”
“Okay, thanks. I’m starved!”
“No problem,” I muttered.
Then, I saw him. The whole world stopped and it was only Chris and I. He walked between the table I sat at and another table and I caught a quick glance at him. I could only hear his footsteps and my own heartbeat. I looked at him and my stomach fluttered as he flipped his black hair out if his eyes.
“Well,” Lacey said, picking up my sandwich. “Someone’s blushing.”
“Whatever, Lacey,” I giggled.
Suddenly, the bell rang signaling that lunch had ended.
Lacey threw away the rest of my sandwich. “See you later!” she waved, walking towards building A.
“Did Chris really punch Caleb in the nose?” I asked, my voice low.
“Yeah! I got it all on video!” Hanna whispered excitedly. She whipped out her phone and played the video.
At first, Caleb was talking to Chris, his eyebrows narrowed. He looked angry. Chris said something and turned around, walking back towards the school building. Then, Caleb opened his mouth and said something. By the expression on Chris’ face it was probably something cruel. It made Chris stop in his tracks, and he turned around a moment later. He punched Caleb square in the nose, and by the looks of it, it was a clean break.
“Did he really do that?” I asked, amazed. No one has ever punched Caleb Simpson before, especially because his father is in the Secret Service, and no one would ever even dare to cross his path.
“Yeah, isn’t that crazy?” Hanna replied. She turned around to look at Chris at a table near the back corner of the room.
I dipped my paintbrush into the red watercolor paint and looked at him, too. He looked back at me, a blank expression on his face.
“Please let class end soon,” I whispered under my breath, my cheeks burning.
“Are you okay?” Hanna asked, raising her eyebrows.
I looked up at her. “Yeah, I’m fine.” Finally, after about ten more grueling minutes, the bell rang. I swiftly picked up my sketchbook and my backpack and walked out of the classroom.
I crossed the school yard to the parking lot, walking as quickly as I could. I almost reached my car when I was stopped by a somewhat familiar face.
“So, why were you staring at me during class?”
“I wasn’t staring. I was just… looking.”
“Was it because I punched Caleb Simpson in the nose? Or was it because of my good looks?” he winked.
“The first one,” I laughed. “But you looked back at me,” I smiled. I opened the car door. “So I’ll see you around?”
“Yeah, I guess so,” Chris smiled. I hopped into the drivers seat and smiled to myself. Finally.
