Taking The Chance [A Niall Horan Fanfiction]

// Chapter Eleven //

Except it wasn't the blonde boy I wanted to see.

Niall said he didn't go to this school, although I wasn't so sure why he hesitated in telling me. Maybe he transferred to another school… or what if he got kicked out?! Louis could have been saying they attended--past tense--Mullingchire together. That would be embarrassing to tell a stranger.

Whatever the reason, I shouldn't have been so hopeful.

The disappointment of the blonde boy not meeting my expectations was apparent, for he furrowed his eyebrows at me in confusion. "It's alright," he said in a British accent, indicating that it definitely wasn't him or his twin brother (it could happen!). He stepped away from my feet. "Although, I'm not sure if you are. Are you okay?"

I nodded, absorbing the fact that I was actually talking to the boy who I've been very intrigued with all morning. He looked almost identical to Niall: he was the same height, had the same blonde hair with exposed brown roots styled in a quiff, the same bright blue eyes, and had braces. He had a smaller nose and a sizably large forehead and he was more built than Niall, but he was still attractive. I have yet to meet a British boy or someone on this continent that isn't cute. "Yeah, I'm fine," I replied slowly. "Sorry about your foot."

"It's no problem at all." He said more comfortably. I tried to wash away my crestfallen emotions, mustering up a small, unconvincing smile. "My name is Nathan Horton. Third-year."

Nathan and Niall… they also have similar names. Coincidence just loves toying with my life.

I reached for his extended hand, politely shaking it before releasing it. "Mara King. I'm also a third-year. Except I'm kind of the new girl that isn't a first-year."

He raised his eyebrow. "That explains why I haven't seen you around. There are only about seventy-five of us in the class, so I should've had a class with you at some point the past two years. I would've noticed you right away if I did," He grinned widely. "I would ask to compare schedules, but you're still in line," he observed. "If I don't see you any other time today, hopefully I'll see you in class." He winked, folding his schedule and putting it in the inner pocket of his blazer. "Talk to you later, Mara," he said suavely before pushing his way through the crowd to meet with his friends.

Something tells me Nathan is the third-year class hunk around here. He was a handsome fellow; I would be lying if I said he wasn't. I may not be the most intelligent when it comes to boys, but I'm pretty sure he was flirting with me. Or he flirts with everyone. Player.

Rolling my eyes, I waited patiently in line and received my schedule. Study hall, Pre-calculus, British History, British Literature, Biology, English I… wait, English I?

"Excuse me?" I nervously asked the lady who gave me my schedule. "Would you happen to know why I'm in English I? Isn't that class for freshman--I mean first-year students?"

The woman looked up at me with uninterested eyes behind her thin-framed glasses perched on her pointy nose. "Well," she began with a high-pitched nasal voice, scanning my academic record, "you are a student from abroad. Although you have passed the entrance exam and have been accepted to the academy, you are only proficient in American English. The administration would like you to take the class, then test into English IV if you do return next school term."

I inaudibly groaned and nodded my head in understanding, even though I definitely didn't agree with their reasoning. "That makes sense, I guess," I replied hesitantly. "Thank you."

I hung my head in embarrassment as walked away from the woman and the other students waiting to receive their schedules. I was going to be the only not first-year student taking this introductory English class; I bet it wasn't any different than freshman year English. I better smash that test at the end of the term or else I'm going to be a fourth-year taking a second-year class! Why couldn't I just test into English III? For a prestigious academy in the United Kingdom of all places, they didn't think of that idea?