Diamond Names (ON HOLD//EDITING)

Six

She had probably never run faster than this in her life.

Naturally, the one class she would be late to was her mother's. Maybe she wouldn't make a big deal out of it...at least, not in front of the rest of the class. She knew there'd be hell to pay at the end of the day. Eva wouldn't be happy either, since she had run out of the dorm room and almost knocked her breakfast plate over.

Julia sprinted up two flights of stairs to the upper level and reached the door right as the bell rang. The door slammed behind her, making everyone look up. She was red in the face and out of breath.

Emory looked up from her desk. "Julia. Nice of you to join us today," she said coolly.

Julia hung her head as she walked to her seat, feeling everyone's gaze on her as she sat down.

"Now, as I was saying..." Emory stood and continued writing on the whiteboard. Julia looked around the classroom, realizing she didn't know anyone. She hoped she would get to know at least one person, otherwise this would be an interesting class.

She had met Miles as he walked into Norwood Hall and he said he'd save her a seat at lunch. Julia wondered if Eva would meet them. It'd be somewhat awkward if she didn't; she knows him better and it wouldn't be as uncomfortable. At least today she would actually have people to sit with at lunch...

Everything disappeared as Julia got lost in her own thoughts. When the bell rang a few minutes later, she practically jumped out of her seat. Her eyes landed on her mother once everything focused, and Emory didn't look too pleased.

Julia could feel her cheeks heating up as she approached her mother. "Hi," she mumbled.

"Everything going alright today?" Emory asked. "You were late to my class, and even then you seemed a little distracted. We both know I expect more from you, right?"

"I know," Julia nodded. "I didn't get enough sleep last night, and it's kind of thrown off my day." She hoped she wouldn't press for more details; she didn't want to admit she stayed up until almost midnight learning how to play Halo. She could see the skepticism in Emory's face. Technically, her story wasn't a lie...

"Alright..." Emory still didn't look convinced. "Just be sure to get to bed early tonight, okay? And I want to see you paying closer attention in class from now on."

Julia nodded feverishly. "Okay. Sorry." She grabbed her bookbag and sprinted out of the classroom to the cafeteria.

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Miles sat alone at the table nearest to the door with his fingers pressed into his temples, a look of utter confusion on his face. He seemed to be frozen in thought.

Julia took the seat across from him. "Everything okay?"

He glanced up at her and sighed. "Yes, it's just - my brain seems to be giving me the silent treatment this morning."

Julia looked at him strangely. His brain is giving him the silent treatment? What is that even supposed to mean? she thought. Maybe he's schizophrenic.

"I don't have schizophrenia, if that's what you're wondering," Miles said suddenly, making her jump.

"You're very good at mind reading," Julia muttered, blushing with embarrassment.

He chuckled. "No, I'm a writer. It's my job to notice things." He leaned over to the left, looking at her. "Want me to tell you how I know you were in a hurry this morning?"

"Maybe because I ran past you this morning and told you I was in a hurry?" Julia retorted.

"No." Miles dismissed her sarcasm coolly. "Now, your hair is naturally curly, but you had it wound in a very tight ponytail when I saw you this morning, and now you have several "fly-aways". You also left your backpack open and you're red in the face, which either means you were so hungry you ran the whole way here, or you couldn't wait to eat lunch with me and let me dazzle you with my skills." He smirked goofily, which made Julia burst out laughing.

"Well, I'm not in love with you yet, but I will admit, that was impressive," she said. He laughed at that. "How do you do that?"

Miles shrugged. "Like I said, I'm a writer."

He looked up as Eva arrived at the table and took the seat between him and Julia. "You charming the poor girl?" she asked, as if this had happened before.

"He got me," Julia said, shrugging.

Eva looked her up and down, eyebrows raised. "Well, clearly," she muttered. "You're completely pink."

Instinctively Julia's hands flew to her face. "I-I..." she stammered. "I ran here?" she answered pathetically.

Both Miles and Eva started to snicker. "I'm just messing with you, Castle," Eva said. "Are you hungry?"

She hadn't realized it in class, but Julia was starving. "Yes." She jumped up and followed Eva to the lunch line. They both grabbed trays and waited for the people in front of them to get their food.

There was an awkward silence for the first couple of minutes. Eva turned around to face Julia once the line had stopped again. "Why were you all pink in the face? You don't like Miles, do you?"

Julia shook her head, a strange look on her face. "No, I just met him. Why would I?"

Eva didn't look too convinced. "You two seemed to hit it off pretty well..."

"I swear, I don't like him. Now in that way, at least," Julia said breathlessly. Suddenly it hit her. "Why, do you?"

Eva shook her head. "No."

"Then why do you-?"

"Can we just let it go, please?" Eva huffed. The silence returned and the line started to move again. Soon enough, the girls had reached the front.

"Hi," Julia said to the woman at the counter, smiling. "Can I just have a Caesar salad please?" she handed her a $10 bill.

"Sure thing, sweetie." The woman smiled back at her, but it slowly disappeared as she stared longer. Suddenly she gasped. "Oh! You're Emory's girl, aren't you?" she asked loudly.

People around her had started to stare. Julia blushed. "Yeah," she said sheepishly.

The woman behind the counter laughed. "Well, I'll be! You're so beautiful! You've got your mother's eyes. Now go on, don't let me spoil your lunch." She waved her off.

"But don't I have to pay you?" Julia asked.

The woman laughed more. "Oh, don't worry about it, sweetie! Your mother does enough for this school; consider this one on me." She winked. Julia blushed even harder as she left the line.

"I'm guessing you get that a lot?" Eva asked quietly.

Julia sighed. "You have no idea."

Author's Note:

I broke 1,000 words in this chapter! Not sure if that's good or bad. Sorry if this is a boring chapter.

Part of the inspiration behind this story comes from my personal life - my mother actually is my teacher, and I get the same questions from people: "Do you have your mom as a teacher? What's it like? Is it awkward to be in her class?"

All. The. Time.

And yes, there was one lunch lady at my school who was friends with my mom, and she let me have free snacks all the time. It made my friends so mad.

The next chapter is where things are gonna get a little more interesting. Stay tuned! :)

Song: Pinball by Brooks