here and now

Before Jessie

Samuel's POV

For the last five years or so I've had this dream of my 20th birthday being the best birthday, and year, of my life. Of course it wasn't because I had any advantages to being twenty, like when you turn twenty-one, but it's because twenty has always stood out to me. It's my favorite number, I was born on June 20th, and I've always tried to tie twenty into everything I did. Somehow the number twenty had to be in my work, whether it was a poem with twenty lines or making twenty cookies. If there weren't twenty people on the basketball team there better have been twenty eyes, if something wasn't right I would find ways to make it work, it's become an obsession, an OCD that only I knew about. My own personal insanity. 

Kelly always told me it was my own fault for my silent obsession, she was the only one who knew about it. She was just too perceptive for me to hide it. She saw the way I stood back in Basketball tryouts to be the 20th person to go up for the drills and she saw how I had to sit four rows back and in the 5th seat from either left or right, everybody else just thought I liked the back corners but it was all part of the numbers for me. Kelly also saw how I walked an extra three blocks to get to my house that way it would be a total of twenty blocks and she saw that when she started to have lunch at 12:15 everyday I would wait until it hit 12:20 before I started to eat. She noticed all of the little things I did and thats why she is the only person I have befriended since I moved to this school, otherwise I would've allowed myself to remain alone. Like I had originally planned to do from day one but Kelly was stubborn, and she knew how to be intimidating with her calculating gaze. 

"Kelly where is Ms. Jenkins room?" I asked, glancing over to said friend. She was busy watching a few girls talking, and Kelly probably just got the latest gossip from them. 

"It's been three weeks and you still don't know? It's a wonder how you haven't been late to any of your classes yet," she sighed, turning from the girls and waving her hand to tell me to follow her. 

"It's because I ask for directions," I shrug. Asking for help has never been a problem for me. 

"Then how am I your only friend, loner?" she teased. She was watching the jocks across the hall as we passed them and I noticed her sholders tensed up as one of them looked our way.

"Because I always just asked for directions and kept walking, they got the message that I was more of a solo guy and kept on with their lives," I said, "and because you seriously wouldn't let me have no friends."

"You're welcome," she smiled back at me, it was strained a little but I wasn't going to ask and she knew it. She turned down another hallway and directed me to Ms. Jenkins classroom that was four doors down. I only had to take five classes for my first semester of college because I was a transfer student this semester. 

I looked through the door and counted eighteen students, just one more needed to go in before I could walk in so I stood outside the door and waited. Kelly gave me a look before she said, "I have another hour before my next class so I'll be in your room until then." She wasn't asking permission, she was forcing me to give her my dorm key.

"Between the railing," I told her. Whenever she used my key she'd hide it on the hollow inside of the railing right by my door. She nodded and began walking off right as a guy walked into Ms. Jenkins class and I quickly followed. I was the 20th in.

"Hello Samuel," the source of my annoyance greeted me as he gestured for me to sit next to him. 

"Hello Evan, how are you doing today?" I asked as politely as I could.

"It was really good this morning but now its even better," he smirked, resting his hand on my knee. I cringed but tried my best to keep it inside.

"I've got a crush, Evan, please respect that," I pleaded. It was a lie, of course, but he didn't need to know that.

"You keep saying that but there's no guy you watch or hang out with. Don't tell me it's, like, Kelly's brother or something?" He guessed and started laughing.

"No, and you're not going to find out," I got up, removing his hand from my knee, and sat in a chair across the aisle from Evan.

"Samuel! Can you do me a favour tomorrow?" Ms. Jenkins said, coming over to my table.

"Of course, what can I do for you?" I smiled.

"There was another student who transeferred into this class this semester but he couldn't start until tomorrow, since you're also new would you mind helping him with whatever he needs?" She asked.

"No problem," I gave her a thumbs up. Tomorrow was the 20th and with a new student... I'll have to show him twenty places.

"Thank you, and don't worry it will go in as twenty extra credit points," she said and I beamed in satisfaction. This is going to be a good day!

"Alright class today we'll be continuing our studies for..." Ms. Jenkins walked to the front of the room and began droning on with her lesson.

I took my notes and highlighted the important key facts when the bell rang suddenly, she had shared a presentation with us in an email and said to complete the rest of our studies on our own before next class. 

"Samuel, I forgot to mention that you'll be meeting him here at 1:20, is that okay?" She asked.

"Perfect," I grinned, "Can I ask his name?"

She laughed, "My bad, his name is Jessie."

(Publish Date: 12-26-15. Time: 9:33 pm. Update Goal: This is just a random writing so it won't be updated often. Word Count: 1031.)