Tiffany's POV
It's our first day back from vacation and everything feels the same, but different. I still have my table, my friends, and my view. But something is different. I buy food from the lunch line with my friend Meg. She orders a cheesecake and a banana and I order french fries. When we sit back down at our table, we all talk about our vacations. Kim has been at home and working on her project, Bella has visited her family from the south, Meg stayed at home and had movie marathons with Ary and Lisa, Jasmine has been to Vegas, and I went to Lake Tahoe again.
Then Justin walks past our table and smiles at me. I smile back and then look at my friends again. They start teasing me and I put my head down in embarrassment. As I look up, I see Joey again for the first time since winter break. He sits with his friends Rolf and Manny, and looks the same as before. I look in his direction and smile. He looks at me, then turns away. My heart drops. I feel like i just gave someone a glass of water and they break the glass in front of me. I start getting sad, then remember that I have bad eyesight. Maybe he didn't see me. That's probably it. I'm sure he wouldn't ignore me like that.
Then the bell rings and I walk with Meg to physics. As we are walking in the hall, I keep thinking about Joey and why he ignored me. I'm overthinking again, I'm sure he wasn't even looking in my direction. I can't even see clearly.
"What's wrong?" Meg asks.
"Nothing," I say.
"I know when you're sad," she says, "this is like that time you tried out for volleyball and didn't make the team."
"Please don't remind me," I say.
"So what's up?" she asks.
"I just think a friend is ignoring me."
"Did you talk smack behind their back or throw them under a bus?"
"No, I just... I don't know. I'm probably just overthinking."
"Yeah, you're so nice. Why would anyone hate you?"
We make it through Mr. Eagle's physics class and the whole time, I'm just thinking about the same thing. I can't even focus on my work and I keep asking Meg for answers. When the bell rings, I'm eager to go home and just sleep. I walk to my locker and grab some books, then I see Joey walking towards me and I stand up.
I wave hello and smile. With my glasses on, I can clearly see that he sees me now. But this is worse. He looks at me for a second, then walks past me without making eye contact. I turn around and look at his back. I want to scream at him. I want to shout his name out loud and tell him that he's being a rude jerk. I want to ask him if he has amnesia or if he has short term memory loss. But I can't do anything. I just freeze up and stand in the middle of the hallway like a fool.
Then someone puts their hands over my eyes. I turn around and look at the person who covered my eyes. It's Justin and he looks at me, smiling. I feel like crying, but he makes me feel a little better.
"Are you busy this weekend?" He asks.
"I don't think so," I say.
"None of my friends want to go to the pier with me," he says, "You wanna come with me? I have two all day passes for rides and stuff."
I smile. "Sure."
"Great," he says, "are you staying after school again?"
"Yeah I don't have a ride."
"I got my license over break!"
"Really? Congrats!"
"You want a ride home?"
"Are you allowed to?"
"I don't know let's see."
We walk to his car and I give him my address. I open the door and sit in the back seat. He looks at me through his mirror.
"This is a little embarrassing, I feel like your driver," he says.
"What? No I don't want to come off as rude," I say.
"Can you please sit in the passenger's seat so I don't feel like I'm an Uber driver," he says.
I laugh and move to the front seat. For a while, I wait for him to start driving but he doesn't. I look at him awkwardly then he points at my seatbelt. Clearly, I have not put it on yet. I pull at the seatbelt but it doesn't go down. I keep trying to pull it down, but it seems broken.
"I think this seatbelt is broken," I say.
"It can't be, this is a new car," he says.
"Your new car's seatbelt doesn't work," I say.
I keep pulling at the seatbelt, but it won't go down. I feel so embarrassed right now. He reaches over and my heart starts beating rapidly. It feels weird that he's so close to me right now. Then he pulls on the seatbelt and it releases. I look around awkwardly as he buckles in my seatbelt. Then he starts driving.
"Are you all good now?" Justin asks.
"Yeah, thanks," I say.
We drive to my house and he drops me off. I walk to my bedroom and turn on my computer to start doing homework. Then I see my photos on my computer. I see the pictures from when I went to Lake Tahoe. All of a sudden, I miss him.
