The Label Maker

CHAPTER NINE: THE SPANISH STARING CONTEST

 Gwen didn't know what was more upsetting: the fact that her dress was ruined or the way she snapped at the person she ran into. She shook her hands free of the applesauce, but there was no way the applesauce was coming off her dress.

"I am so sorry. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going. I seriously had no idea," the person says.

"No," Gwen says, calming herself down. "It was my fault. I wasn't looking where I was going." She sighed as she gazed at her ruined dress.

"You know we have to stop meeting like this," they say. Gwen looks up and sees a very familiar face. She's seen it before. But where? When?

"Um, Leo right?" She tries to recall. "The Antarctica boy."

"That would be me," he laughs.

"I'm really sorry I ran into you," she apologizes.

"No. It was my fault. I wasn't paying attention at all," he protests.

"No it was my fault," Gwen denies.

"I guess it was both of our faults." He laughs which makes Gwen laugh as well.

"You have a good laugh!" Gwen blurts. She could feel heat rushing to her cheeks.

"I have a good laugh?" Leo repeats. "Is that a good thing?"
"It's a great thing," Gwen assures.

"Good. Um, I guess I'll see you later then. Maybe we can work on homework after school or something," he offers.

"Are you asking me out?" Gwen asks, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.

"I don't know. I mean it's just homework," he says.

"Well, if it's just homework I would love to work on it with you," Gwen educates.

"Cool. Um, can I give you my number? You know, so we can keep in touch and what not," he says. His voice was shaking. He was nervous. Gwen found it sort of cute. She nodded her head, trying not to laugh at Leo's anxious state. By the time the two were done exchanging phone numbers they bell rang.

"Well I'll see you later then. And again, I'm sorry for spilling applesauce all over you," Leo apologizes.

"That's alright. At least it wasn't original. I hate original applesauce," Gwen tells him.

"I'll keep that in mind. I'll see you later Gwen." He smiles and then starts to slowly jog to his next class. He looked back at Gwen and nearly ran into someone. It made her laugh. She went back to her table to grab her bag. The first thing she did before she went to class was go to a bathroom to wipe the remaining applesauce off her chest. She trotted down the school halls to her spanish class. Chris was waiting at Gwen's seat with her arms crossed. She was waiting for her. As Gwen sat down, Chris didn't leave.

"Who was that guy you were talking to?" She asks.

"His name is Leo. He moved into a house a few houses down from mine," Gwen informs, taking out her spanish binder.

"He's pretty good looking. Are you going out with him? Because if you don't, I will," she says in an eager state.

"He offered to work on homework together sometime," Gwen says, smiling at Chris' eagerness.

"Are you going to?" Her voice dropped.

"If you want, I can put in a word or two for you. I'm sure he would love to hang out with you," Gwen sighs, rolling her eyes at her friend's foolishness.

"Are you serious? Are you sure?" Chris sounded as if she was full of doubt.

"Well yeah. I don't see who it would hurt. It's just homework. It's not like he asked me to marry him," Gwen assures.

The bell rang, breaking off their conversation.

"You're the best Gwen," Chris whispers as she hurries to her seat across the room before Senora Prenso marked her absent. From across the room Gwen could see how happy Chris was. And two desks behind Chris was RJ. He seemed focused on the staring contest he was having with the wall. When he was done he caught Gwen staring. He raised his eyebrows at her as if he was asking her what she wanted. She looked away. This time, it was her turn to catch him staring at her. She gave him the same look he gave her. She wouldn't break his gaze. She was going to win the staring contest they were having. All the way from across the room Gwen could see the violent storms that were crashing in his gray eyes.

"Miss Harmon!" Senora Prenso booms, breaking her gaze from RJ's. In her peripheral vision, she saw him smirk in victory and satisfaction.

"Sí, senora," she answers.

"¿Que acabo de decir?" She asks. Gwen looked back to see if she could remember. She didn't.

"No sé. Lo siento," Gwen answers truthfully.

"Pay attention Miss Harmon. You know better," she scolds. Gwen nods her head and looks down at her empty desk. She was embarrassed. She was caught not paying attention in class. That's never happened before. She was never caught so off guard. She looked up and scanned the room to see if anyone was looking at her. They were all too focused on Senora Prenso. Gwen decided it was best if she did the same. But she couldn't focus.

She couldn't decide what affected her more. Leo asked her out to work on homework which, in Gwen's mind, was the equivalent to a date. But she also did get RJ to smile. She didn't know what to think of him. One minute he was sort of nice and accepting. Then the next he was angry, irritated, and judgy. Gwen reckoned that if she wanted to get along with her chemistry partner, her school acquaintance, she was just going to have to accept the fact that he was going to have very sudden mood swings. But the thing was, she was going to have to learn how to deal with her own mood swings as well.