Mr. James

Chapter 4

Shailene's POV

    I walk into the classroom expecting to have all eyes focused on me and the professor giving me a lecture because I am late but to my surprise everyone is still talking and there's no professor in sight. I sigh a breath of relief, thank god I'm not going to get yelled at. I look over and see Daren sitting on the endcap of the seats, the seat next to him is still open. I slowly walk over to him and sit down, neither of us saying a word.

     A few more moments pass when I start to wonder what happen to the professor, I mean I know it's the first day of school and everything but if one of the students came in late the professor would have embarrassed them in front of the class and given them a talk about being late. I guess the first day craziness also conflicts the professors as well. Or possibly that this professor is really laid back and is someone to 'go with the flow'. All I know is that I'm giving them another 5 minutes and if they aren't here by that time I'm (Along with every other eager student) going to leave.

     I look over at Daren who hasn't taken his eyes off his book, I gently touch his hand and he immediately pulls back. I roll my eyes at him, I lean in and whisper "Daren I don't know why you're acting like this, I think out of everyone I should be the one who's mad. You not only hit on the first friend I made here but you acted like a complete jerk to that guy out there." Daren shakes his head, "I did not hit on your friend, I just agreed with what YOU said Shailene." I close my eyes, it feels weird hearing him say my full name. Usually he calls me by my full name when he's really mad.

    He continues, "Second of all the prick deserved it. He should have watched where he was going. We needed to get to class and he was in our way. Now which would you want Shailene, being late to class on the first day or for me to be nice to a complete stranger?" I shake my head, "Daren do you see how ignorant you're being? That was a complete stranger, he did nothing to you but accidently bump into you. What do you think your mother would say if she saw you like this?" I see him tense up, "Don't bring my mother into this Shailene." I lean back in my chair, I swear there are times I can't stand Daren. Especially the way he acts, he has a temper at times, he can only think of himself during these moments.

    I try not to pay attention to Daren but I can see out the corner of my eye he's still looking at me. He gently touches my hand and kisses my cheek, "Come on don't be mad at me Shai, it's our first day so we should both be happy." I look back at him and see his eyes are pleading, I sigh and kiss his cheek. "Daren you...... can we just talk about it later? Please? I don't want to have this talk at school." He nods and leans back in his chair, focusing on his book. I open my Philosophy book and start skimming the pages, there's a lot of interesting information, I might actually enjoy this class a lot more than I thought.

    I'm reading then all of a sudden I hear, "Hello class sorry I'm late, there was a mad rush in the hallways." I look up and my eyes go wide as Daren tenses. I can't help but slightly smile and Daren looks upset. It's him.