Catching Feelings

The Boy's Bathroom

buzz

Ava laced her fingers around her phone.

I'm here come on out you loser

Grabbing her bag, she ambled down the stairs fumbling with her keys.

"Mom I'm leaving!" she shouted.

"Alright have a good day," Ava's mom said warmly as she walked into the front room. After hugging her mother, she exited her house, locking the door behind her.

"Took you long enough" Beth teased as Ava stepped into her car.

"Karma for calling me a loser," Ava laughed. "Did you study for the physics test?" she began digging through her backpack.

"Not enough...I'm just gonna wing it." Beth glanced over at Ava, "Put your seatbelt on!" she laughed sheepishly and took her hands out of her backpack to buckle up.

"I didn't have time to study last night, I was writing college applications all day yesterday and I almost forgot we had an English project due today. By the time I completed my report on The Great Gatsby, it was already past midnight and we have soccer tryouts after school today that I can't be tired for," Ava complained, still digging through her bag.

"You'll be fine, here I'll quiz you," Beth decided. The rest of the car ride, the girls quizzed each other back and forth before arriving to school. They stepped out of Beth's car, locking up and walked up to the campus together.

"See you at lunch Ava!" Beth waved as both girls parted ways to first period.

----

During English, Ava quietly pulled her physics notes out of her backpack and read through them under her desk.

"Ava." Ava snapped her head up to her teacher. "Are you ready to share your Gatsby project?"

"Umm, yeah," she awkwardly mumbled, sliding her physics notes into her backpack and exchanging them for her project." After giving a shaky presentation, Ava sat down to finish studying for physics right as the bell rang. 'Well I'm ready to die'  she thought as she walked to her physics classroom.

----

Surviving all three of her morning classes, Ava made her way to lunch...until she was face to face with trouble...or more like face to chest. Ava gazed up at the person she crashed into, making eye contact with Colton Jones, world class trouble maker. "s-sorry" she mumbled trying to walk away. Colton grabbed her arm and dragged her into the boy's bathroom. "Ava right? You're in my Physics class." Ava nodded to confirm, slightly uncomfortable with Colton's grip.

"Why am I in here?" She asked looking around.

"Well when you bumped into me I spilled my lunch on you and I'm one detention away from my second suspension this semester so if anyone sees I did this to you...I will never live to see the light of day." Ava inspected her shirt, sure enough Colton had managed to paint it with his pulled pork sandwich. "Do you have another shirt you could change into?"

"No."

"Fine." Colton grabbed Ava's arm again.

"Now where are you taking me?" she groaned.