Twenty Truths

New Greetings

    Twenty Truths
                      I stare though the window of Mr. Avin's math class. I hate math, and I've never been any good at it. I'm lucky if I get a C in this class, and it's a miracle from God Himself if I get anything higher.
                      "Jake Venster. Do you know the answer to problem three?" I quickly snap my head in the teacher's direction and sit up in my desk chair. "Uh... No sir." I mumble. I feel a heat spread over my cheeks as I look around in my text book and fumble with a few pages. I glance up in time to see a few kids staring at me while hiding giggles.
                     "Well maybe if you were less interested in what's outside of the window you would. Maybe, anyway..." Mr. Avin looked around the room and set his eyes on a new girl seated in the back of the classroom. "Do you know the answer, Katsie?" I turned a little in my seat and looked back. The girl, Katsie, was shorter then the other girls near her. She had wavy, light-brown hair that went down to the bottom of her rib cage. She had on a blue-green T-shirt and light blue jeans with a black and grey, plaid, long-sleeve tied around her waist. Her shoes were black, worn, ankle-length Converse.
                    "I go by Kat," she said, interested in the sight of her black-painted fingernails. "And the answer is two. There were two World Wars."
                     The heat in my cheeks intensified. 'I know that! Dang it....' I think to myself. I continue to look back at the new girl. Kat was more of the quiet, half-goth type. She looked up and met my gaze. She smiled a little, and winked at me. Sweet!
                    When the ending bell sounded from the speaker phones, I stood and walked to the back of the room. I stepped up to Kat and it felt like bubbling lava was flowing through my body instead of blood.
                    "Hey," Kat said, staring into my eyes. "Uh, hi?" I replied, not knowing she'd talk to me so soon. Kat picked up her things and shifted all of them to one arm. She moved a little closer to me, not more than six inches away. "So.... Do I know you or... Is this a greeting?" Kat smiled just a little bit more than she did earlier. "I, uh... Think this is the first time we've met." I still feel like it's a million degrees in here and I have a blank look slapped across my face. "Come on, where's your car? Wait, no. I'll drive," Kat says with giggles hidden in her voice. "What? Oh. Nah, I'm cool with driving," I differ. Her eyebrows furrow at first, but a second later her expression softens. "Oh. Okay, but I just have to make a quick trip to my locker, if that's cool with you." I nod as we start towards Kat's locker.
                     We reach Kat's locker three minutes later. I don't know what I'm doing or what I think of it, but it seems okay. "So. What's the plan?" I say, still in my blank mode of after school boredom. Kat doesn't look at me, but she says, "I don't know... Maybe... Mess around a little at my place?" I was shot into reality and was punched by Kat's answer. "What?!" Kat stared at me and looked upset. "Wait. You... Don't have a crush on me?" she said weakly. "I thought you... Loved me!" Kat's lips squirm, her eyes get watery, then she lets the floodgates give in. Tears and tears with more tears river down her face and I stand there staring. There's nothing for me to do, so I put my arms around her strongly but gently.
                    Kat cries until the closing bell rings. She sniffles and stands up, and she shoots me a look that could kill. "You can and should leave. Now." Kat picks up her stuffed backpack and turns to leave. "But I do love you!" I yell after her. "And I know I should've told you a while ago, but I had to think about it," I tell Kat as she spins on her heels and faces me. She runs up to me and I'm ready for a well-deserved slap across the face, but I get the one thing I had no clue would happen at this point. A kiss. On the lips. Kat runs up to me, drops her bag, and throws her arms around my neck. Her lips forcefully meet mine in a welcoming kiss. I slide my hands down to her lower waist, squeezing gently. "We should leave," I say as I pull away from her. I take her hand and walk down the hall.
                 "Hey, Kat?" I say. "Even though I want to, I just don't think we should... Do anything, like... I don't know, just... Things. Like you were thinking. I'm sorry." I glance at my girlfriend as I drive down Maple Crook Road. "Oh." I can feel Kat's eyes on me for a quick moment as I turn onto Zaymour Road. "Are you going to be okay with that? I mean... We will be able to some things," I tell her with my eyes on the road. "Uhhuh," Kat replies, spacing off out the Mustang's window. I turn my car into the driveway of 1738 Zaymour Road. "This is your house?" I say, amazed by the three story, gigantic house looming over my car. "Uhhuh." Annoyed, I playfully punch Kat I her shoulder. "Is  that really all your going to say? Uhhuh. Uhhuh. Uhhuh." I grin  at her, and she gives me an obvious faked smile. "Yeah, okay. But I'm just going to leave. I guess I'll see ya' Monday." I grab Kat's arm as she reaches for the car door handle. "Give me a chance, please. I really do love you and I guess I keep messing up. Forgive me?" She sniffles again and looks at me. "Sorry. I mean... I just... Ugh. Ok, so... JUST LET ME GO!"