Seen Not Heard || BOOK 1

Geek Chic

Chapter Six ~ Idina

Farkle has his hand out to greet me. Oh god, I feel like I'm smiling super awkwardly. I shake his hand.

"Interesting name Farkle," I say still shaking his hand, "I'm Idina."

"I could say the same about you Idina," He replies. We stop shaking hands as Lucas walks up to us from his seat.

"So you've met Idina I see," he says.

"How do you know Idina?" Farkle asks suspiciously. Lucas smiles at me, a different smile than usual. He seems somewhat happier when looking at me.

"We go way back," He says. The bell rings and everyone scuffles into their seats. I just stand awkwardly at the front of the classroom as I don't have a seat yet. I hold my red transfer slip in my hand. In the front row, Riley sits next to Maya, who sits next to another girl next to the window that gives us a glimpse of the hallway. In the second row, Farkle sits behind Riley, and next to Farkle sits Lucas behind Maya, and there is an empty seat next to Lucas by the window. Behind Lucas sits Zay, who taps Lucas and whispers something in his ear. Lucas turns to me, smiles, then whispers something back to Zay, who nods his head and waves at me. I wave back, assuming he remembers me from the rodeo.

Finally, our teacher walks in. Riley smiles.

"Hi Daddy," she says, he smiles back at his daughter, then looks at me.

"Well, looks like we have a new student," he says, "I'm Mr. Matthews. Do you have a transfer slip." I hand the red-tinted paper to him. He skims it then looks up at me, then Lucas, then Zay.

"Another Texan. Mr. Friar, Mr. Babineaux, do you know her?"

"Yes, sir," Lucas replies. Mr. Matthews nods.

"Well, Ms. Jennings, please, choose your seat. You will be assigned to it for the rest of the year." He says. I turn to the class and am reminded of the seat next to Lucas. I make my way to the seat, and the girl in front of me turns and smiles.

"Hi I'm Sarah," she says. I'm about to respond but Mr. Matthews asks me a question.

"So, would you like to introduce yourself, Ms. Jennings?" I'm about to shake my head, no, but then decided, new school, new city, new me. I stand up with shaky hands, all eyes on me.

"M-My name is Idina," I nervously announce, "I-I'm from Houston, Texas, I'm fourteen, well I'll be fifteen in October, and I'm a writer."

"A pretty good one," Lucas adds. Everyone stares at him for a second, then back at me.

"Well, welcome to John Quincy Adams Idina." Mr. Matthews replies. I take a seat as he begins to teach. He writes something on the board, New Beginnings.

"So, it's that time of the year again. The first day. A new start, and the beginning of the end. At the end of this year you will all be graduating here, and moving on to high school. But, until then I have a lot to teach you, but so little time," Mr, Matthew's lectures.

I turn to see both Lucas and Farkle, staring at me. I turn back to the board and start zoning out, thinking. Lucas is pretty cute when he smiles. I look at him again, but then I see something else. I see Riley looking back at Lucas, she seems in a romantic movie. I look between the two of them. Oh, she likes him! I don't wanna jeopardize my friendship with them yet, and I most definitely am not gonna ruin that over a crush.

And then, there's Farkle. So far I've seen him take over the class once, and I can tell it's a regular thing. He just walks up and flips Mr. Matthews sign, and the name Farkle appears on the other side. He's so smart and super cute. A little awkward and weird, like me. He must be the one who Lucas said wants to take over the world; I concur with Lucas's thoughts on what Farkle would do with it.

I open my journal again. I look up to see Maya sleeping, Riley singing multiple las, and Lucas smiling when he sees my notebook.

"So, what profound words do you have for us today," Lucas whispers.

"That's for me to know, and my journal to find out," I joke.

Invisible

I have been waiting for a day like this to come. My heart's beating like a drum, but I'm not gonna let it get in my way. I'm on the edge of something wonderful: friendship. Maya and Riley, two of the sweetest yet feistiest girls I've ever met. I know they'll be coming through my window tomorrow morning, or I'll be going through Riley's to them. Either way, there's a new tradition I can tell won't be ending soon.

Farkle's a mad genius, and when he takes over the classroom I smile. It's like he's taking over my heart too. Scratch that. I can't deal with boys right now. It's only the first day, and I think I have two crushes creeping up on me. Because then there's Lucas.

Cute, funny, kind, sweet, protective. Lucas is just the kind of person I need in my life right now, especially with everything changing. I wouldn't have met my new friends without him. I'd be just like I was at my old school. A freak, nerd, weirdo, awkward, geek. But here, they accept me and love me for all those things.

But, I still worry. What if one day it all comes crashing down? What if one day, they realize what I really am, and decide not to dig any deeper. What if they realize... I'm invisible.

I close my journal to see my friends. I push my depressing thoughts into my passage, and let the happy ones wash over me. The bell rings and everyone except Maya, Riley, Farkle, Lucas , and Zay clear out. They wait for me. I smile, grab my bag, and leave arm in arm with Maya and Riley, with the boys following behind us. Grinning at my new friends, I'm ready to take on the world.