It's the Little Things

Chapter 3

Ever since that day, my life changed.

 I started to enjoy chemistry. In fact, it is now my favorite subject even if I find it very difficult. I always look forward to first period. Oh, hearing Mr. Thomas's rough, boring voice lecture about elements... Mr. Thomas is so kind to me. I want to thank him with all my heart for giving me the privilege to sit next to Kyle. 

Kyle Kingsley, so dreamy. Whenver I see him, the butterflies in my stomach increase. It is as if the butterflies summoned their fellow butterflies from who-knows-where and mated with them. Then of course, they gave birth to even more butterflies. Am I making any sense here? 

"Hello? Sam? Sam. I repeat, a meteor is about to crash in your pasta." Jack told me. 

Jack. Stop zoning out. I commanded myself. What exactly was I thinking about a while ago? Oh, right. Mr. Thomas's lectures. What the hell? And finding Mr. Thomas "kind"? He despises me, considering I've failed three of his latest quizzes.

"I'm sorry. What was that?" I apologized, and chewed on my spaghetti.

"You're in outer space again." he said with a hint or sarcasm. We both rolled our eyes at the same time. 

Jack noticed that I have been daydreaming more often that usual. I can't stop daydreaming about Kyle. Kyle, Kyle, Kyle. Just the thought of  his cerulean blue eyes on mine sends electricity around my body.

I wonder. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Oh, come on. Who am I kidding. Anything Kyle-related is good, which means chemistry is also good. Speaking of chemistry again, I should really start studying that subject. Kyle might one day lose interest in me once he finds out that I constantly fail his favorite subject. 

I should probably get a tutor. But who? 

"Sam. You should pay more attention to me than you do to your own imaginary world of bananas." Sean remarked.

My eyes widened. "Bananas?"

"Yeah, you told me you were daydreaming about... bananas." he said. Then, he started laughing.

 I told him that I was thinking about bananas when he caught me daydreaming again. Of all fruits, I chose bananas. Sean, being a typical, immature teenage boy, started laughing upon hearing the word banana.

"So, you were saying?" I asked.

"Oh yeah. We still have to finish the last paragraph for our history project. My place or your place?" He asked.

"My place," I answered without hesitation, "I'm still afraid of Spike." Spike is his French Bulldog. It looks frightening enough to chew my entire head off, so I'm not risking anything. 

He let out a low chuckle before nodding.

*

I woke up as fresh as a daisy the following day. 

I grinned as I realized that waiting for Kyle by the lockers would no longer be necessary because he's going be seated right next to me during first period. I woke up 20 minutes late today so I hastily freshened up and got dressed. Grabbing a granola bar from the cupboard, I headed outside to find Jack's blue truck parked on my front yard. That's right. We go to school together.

"Morning, Jack!" I exclaimed as I rode shotgun.

He was wearing a plain outfit today, just a white v-neck tshirt, baggy denim jeans, and a pair of black low-cut Converse sneakers.

"Wow. It seems like someone's in a good mood today." he replied, and tapped his fingers against the steering wheel.

"Why do you make it sound like as if I am a mad, green-faced witch every morning?" I teased. Am I always in a bad mood?

"Well, "witch," you complain about your freaking alarm clock and your neighbor's stupid dog, MY dog, like a million times ever since we started going to school together. What's with the sudden change of mood?" he asked.

"Oh, uh. N-Nothing." I smiled and chewed on my granola bar.

Even though Jack knows everything, as in, every, single thing about me, I still don't think that now is the right time to tell him about me falling hard for Kyle.

I waltzed gracefully inside the main building after we've reached the school's parking lot. Literally. Jack, back then, used to drag me inside the school premises. Once again, past is past. I won't discuss.

"Something is definitely wrong with you." Jack said, eyeing me suspiciously.

"Why, thank you." I replied, while giving him a short curtsy.

"No worries, Sammy Bear. I will figure it out eventually, like I always do. If it's about having a relationship with another jock... Do you want to get your heart broken again? Do you really want global warming? Wasting lots and lots of those Kleenex tissues. Tsk tsk. You're dead." He joked, while pinching my nose.

"Oily." he muttered and wiped his hands roughly on his shirt.

"Serves you right." I told him and grabbed my books from my locker. I nudged the door close with my elbow and skipped to chemistry class, giggling.

Kyle has really driven me wild. First, skipping, then waltzing. Now, giggling? Can this get any worse? I entered Chemistry class and found Mr. Thomas shooting me a long look.

"Ms. Hiddleston. May I have a word with you?" Mr. Thomas asked after he had cleared his throat.

"What's up, buttercup?" I asked him casually.

"Ms. Hiddleston." he pressed. 

Uh-oh. He's not in a good mood today. "I mean, good morning, Sir. What is it that you need to talk to me about?"

"I hope you are aware that you are not doing well in my class. Your grades are dropping. With all the school activities coming up, you will tend to have less time to study. So, I suggest that you get a tutor to help you out."

"Okay, Sir." I mumbled half-heartedly.

"I would like to recommend Mr. Kingsley to tutor you since he's currently ranked the best in my class." he offered.

"What?" I demanded. 

A big, fat, no. As much as I want to spend more time with him, he simply cannot be my tutor. I am poor at chemistry. He'll probably make fun of me, seeing me struggle at it.

"Oh, Mr. Kingsley!" Mr. Thomas exclaimed, as he saw Kyle entering the room. 

I flinched at the sound of his name being called.

"You are just in time! Approach me for a second. Alright. Would you mind tutoring for Miss Collins, right here? She is struggling with her grades." Mr. Thomas informed him. 

No, no, no. Please do not do this to me, Eustace Vonshmirtz Horatio Thomas.

"Sure, Mr. Thomas. I'll be willing to help her." Kyle replied, and grinned at me.

I let out a silent groan.

"That's settled, then. Talk to each other about the scheduling of the tutoring sessions. I suppose I need not administrate the scheduling?" Mr. Thomas asked for confirmation.

Kyle shook his head lightly. "No, Sir. That won't be necessary at all."

I took my seat. So did Kyle.

"So? Are you available on Saturday at your place? Around 8?" He asked. I could hear his slow, steady breathing. I suddenly realized how close he was to me. I bit my lip. Sweet mother of bananas. I can feel the butterflies in my stomach again. Calm down! I tried to tell the flying creatures.

"Sure! I'm free." I replied cooly, and smiled.

"Great!" he smiled back.

Then, it dawned on me that Saturday nights were my special nights together with Jack. Eating, X-Box, movies, sleep-overs... Oh, no. I can't cancel. Jack would get hurt. What should I tell him? 

That's settled, then. I am going to talk to him about Kyle soon.