Vanessa rose drowsily to her alarm, 6 month-old Tommy. Another day at highschool.
Ever since she had gone home from staying with Wesley and William, her best friends, she had decided to continue her education. Her mom had finally convinced her to attend the actual high school instead of taking online classes. Vanessa had been moved back a grade because she had been absent for so much of her junior year.
As she nursed Tommy, Vanessa reflected on how the first week of "real" highschool had been. She realized that the smells, sounds, and constant crowding of the hallways was what she had most hated her freshman and sophomore years. Today was her second monday, she could hardly wait until this lovely day started. Note the sarcasm.
Vanessa didn't really have any friends in any of her classes, so she felt kinda lonely. At least when she had been taking online classes she had Tommy. Now she had to wait to see her daughter until after school.
Between Tommy and school work, she really didn't have any free time. Nobody wanted to hang out with her because she was always busy. She woke up early and went to bed late everyday in order to just get homework, chores, and motherly duties done. After being in charge of her own life for four months, life kinda sucked being back in school. Although Vanessa was glad she was furthering her education, she really missed being her own boss, being her own person in the world. She had felt like a bird, out on its own. She had been a woman; even to the point of being a mom.
Now, she was like a caged lion, always pacing, always moving with no way to break her bond.
Vanessa sighed, thinking about her situation didn't help it, it only made her more depressed. She grabbed her backpack with all her homework packed safely inside and, carrying Tommy, hurried downstairs to eat breakfast and hurry to school.
After practically inhaling her breakfast, she pecked Tommy on the forehead, left her with her Grandma Renae, and drove to school.
The lunch bell rang, signaling Vanessa's most dreaded hour of the day. Every week day at noon she had to suffer the dark looks from her fellow students, and the fact that none of them would let her sit with them. She instead ate alone at a table in the corner. She wouldn't have minded it as much if the students would just ignore her, but she almost couldn't bear the glances and whispers that occurred every time she passed a table with several youth.
The worst humiliation came when she had to walk by the table the Bryce's closest friends always sat. oh! How they taunted, mocked, and bullied her! The only boy who remained silent of their group was Josiah; the only person in the school who pitied Vanessa.
Vanessa opened her sack lunch at her table and took out her yogurt and a spoon. She opened it and was about to take a bite when someone bumped into her from behind, causing her to drop her yogurt and spill it all over the front of her t-shirt.
"Ohmygosh, ohmygosh, ohmygosh! Thats cold! Thats cold!" she stuttered and stammered. She whirled around to see who had bumped into her. It was Kyle, Bryce's old best friend.
"Oh I'm sorry. Did Somebody say something?" he smirked in a loud voice, causing the whole school to turn towards them. He was looking around, as if searching for the person who had spoken. Hot tears sprang to Vanessa's eyes. Seclusion was bad enough, he didn't have a right to embarrass her. The whole cafeteria grew quiet. Josiah was being watched too. He was pushing through the crowd, walking towards Vanessa and Kyle.
"You all can go back to your lunches, there is nothing to see here," he told the assembly. They all turned back to their lunches and their friends. Josiah nodded his head towards Kyle, motioning for him to buzz off. Kyle scowled and reluctantly left.
"Come with me," Josiah instructed Vanessa in a gruff tone. She followed him out of the cafeteria and into a hallway.
"Ummm....maybe it would be best for us to do this in a classroom..." Josiah thought aloud. He ducked into the nearest one, pulling Vanessa with him.
"Take off your shirt."
"Excuse me?"
"Take off your shirt."
" Um, yeah, not gonna do--" the shirt was ripped off of Vanessa's body. Gosh, men are so demanding, so sex-driven, Vanessa thought. But instead of Josiah checking her out, he instead looked straight into her eyes.
"Keep your eyes on mine. I'm going to give you my shirt: I have another one in my locker."
"Ok."
Her eyes never left his as he stripped his shirt and handed it to her. Their eyes never strayed as if they had to be connected for the owners to continue living. Her sharp blue eyes pierced his soft brown ones, searching, ever searching for something that Vanessa didn't even know what it was, only that he had it.
"T-t-thank you," Vanessa stuttered. Josiah nodded back.
"Your eyes are very...beautiful, I guess is the word," she continued.
"Thank you. Yours are too."
"So...um...thanks for helping me."
"Anytime."
"Um...yeah...well I'll be going now, I guess."
"Ok. Bye. See ya around."
"Yeah. Bye." And with that, Vanessa walked out of the classroom and into the hallway.
Josiah sighed. How close he had been to cupping Vanessa's face and pressing his lips against hers! His whole body shook, and he could not control it. Sure, he had heard rumors, all sorts of them. But he refused to believe; why should he judge that which was unknown to him? He could not help falling helplessly in love with the young woman. Indeed, he thought to himself, she was a woman. If some of the stories were to be believed, birthing a baby while living with two men in secret would not be an easy feat for just any 16 year old. Josiah knew Vanessa was special; it was nothing new to him. He needed to explain to her his feelings.
