Ten Things

Ch.1-Like Two Blue Oceans

Cole

I remembered the first day of my senior year, strolling up the remodeled walkway of Heart High School, surrounded by an entourage of my friends and random people vying for my attention. I half-registered all of that, but one thing stole my attention.

She stood in ratty jeans and a nondescript sweater, a worn backpack hanging limp down her back, a book clutched tightly in her hands as if it were her lifeline. All this I saw in about two seconds, before I met her uncertain gaze. The one thing I remembered from that day was how magnificent her eyes were. Like two blue oceans, threatening to drown you in them.

"Cole? Cole, dude, come back to earth."

I tore my eyes away from the mysterious girl and back to my best friend, Jayden. He had his arm slung around a girl with ample assets in all the right places. I noticed she was hanging off of Jayden but eying me. I snorted. It wasn't exactly unusual. "What?"

"I was asking you a question."

I paused to fist bump a passing teammate before turning back around. "And that would be-?"

"Do you think we have a chance of getting into college without a football scholarship?"

I laughed, just because the question seemed so absurd. College might as well have been ages away. It was still an unreal fact in my mind, as senior year had barely started. "Don't make me think about that, Jay," I mumbled. In all honestly, I wasn't sure. My grades were good, but not great. I was on the football team, but that was about it. I didn't volunteer in the community and I didn't join any extracurricular clubs. School was a joke without a punch-line and I just wanted to get through it.

"Just curious, dude."

I punched him in the shoulder. "Yeah, sure, whatever."

We passed over the threshold of the school, entering the doors. I was fully aware of the fact that we walked right by the girl, the book in her hands now opened. She was reading furiously from it, eyes scanning the page at a rapid pace. Nobody else from my group seemed to notice her. In fact, nobody anywhere on the school grounds paid her any attention. It was almost as if she were a ghost.

And then, just as soon as I could see her, she was gone; lost behind a wall of slow high school students and a haze of loud conversations.

I found my locker with ease, dialing in the combination and yanking it open. Jayden lounged against the locker next to mine, watching me dump my books.

"Do you think we can do it?" he asked suddenly, staring thoughtfully at the wall across the hall.

I wedged a textbook into the corner of my locker. "Do what?"

"Survive senior year."

I smirked. "I'll tell you when we're walking on graduation day."

He grinned cheekily, turning his attention on me. "Amen to that."

I shook my head, slamming my locker shut. "Seven months, dude. Seven grueling months where we will come close to dying multiple times from over-exposure to calculus. This isn't going to be easy."

Jayden rolled his eyes. "Way to put it into perspective, Cole."

"Hey, it's what I'm here for."

"Cole!"

The high, keening voice caused me to flinch. Jayden's eyes widened and he stepped backwards. I shot him a look that said "if you leave, we're no longer friends", and luckily he valued our ten-year friendship more than avoiding the freaking banshee running towards us.