The Edge Of Town

Chapter 8

There was only one time in high school that I came close to having a boyfriend. His name was Johnny and he always talked to me in Geometry, telling me about his day and what he was planning to do for the rest of the week. He wasn't very popular but he was known to his classmates. I sat next to him for the whole semester and we came closer and closer everyday. I never considered him a friend because we never hung out, he didn't look at me outside of Geometry. I tried not to take this personally but it was difficult, he was embarrassed to be seen talking to me. At least in Geometry it looked like he was talking to me about math.

He was a redhead with freckles spread all across his face. His eyes were a piercing blue, it was the first thing you noticed when you looked at him. He was also a baseball player, and from what he told me, he hated math but enjoyed sitting next to me because I made it "fun." I always hoped that we would become closer after we came back from winter break but I also knew there wasn't a great chance when I walked into geometry that day to see that we were switching seat. I was completely across the room from him and I could tell that it bothered him. We would look back at me and give me sad smiles before turning back to face the front of the room. Whenever the bell rang for break, he left the room and I walked by his desk to see that he had left one of his assignments. This is my chance, I thought to myself. I picked it up and carried it out onto the school yard where his group of friends usually hung out.

I called his name and he looked up, his eyes growing wide before he ducked his head down, trying to not look at me. His friends all watched him as he walked over to me, his back hunched and his hands in his pockets. "What do you want?" he mumbled, not bothering to look at me.

"Um, you left this on your desk in Geometry, I wanted to make sure that you got it," I handed him the paper and he took it, walking away without saying a word. Not even a thank you. All of his friends were snickering, making fun of him. I knew why they were doing this, he was talking to me. The person that didn't have any friends and kept to herself. I heard him say something as I was walking away, trying my best to keep my composure. She's nobody. Those words came out of his mouth as cold as ice, causing my heart to jump, he said it loud enough for me to hear.

The next day he kept looking back at me, trying to get me to look in his direction but I never did. I could tell that he felt bad, like he didn't mean for it to happen that way. This didn't matter to me though, if you didn't want people to know that you talked to me, then I knew where we stood. He tried to explain himself to me after class but before he could get the chance, I was already gone.

* * *

I wake up to the smell of coffee and look over to see Smith sitting at the table, once again going over my paperwork. I roll back over and try fall back asleep. The last thing I want to do is read more into my life and find out things that I didn't even know about myself. Every time I've seen him reading through, a focused look on his face, I wonder what goes through his head. Is he really thinking about what he's reading or is he just mindlessly reading it, not planning on using the information later? Although Smith had become more pleasant to be around later, the fact that he was getting to know me without actually "getting to know me," made me uncomfortable.

After a few minutes I realize that I can't go back to sleep so I sit up, rubbing my eyes and stretching my back. Sleeping on the couch is starting to get extremely uncomfortable. Smith looks over his shoulder at me before turning back to the paperwork, not caring that I'm awake. "There's coffee up here if you want some, just try to not make a mess, I don't have the best coffeemaker," he grumbles. I can tell he's not in the best of moods.

"What's wrong with you?" I ask. I pour myself a cup of coffee and see that Smith was right, the coffeemaker starts dripping right away, all over the countertop. I quickly wipe it up, hoping that Smith didn't see.