His eyes twinkle like stars when he sees her.
I am walking with Luna to school. Drake walks past us and waves. I wave back and smile too big. Luna smirks then laughs and says, "Do you think he's cute?"
"What do you mean?" I look at the sidewalk.
Luna tries to imitate my voice and accent, "Do you think he has a nice facial structure?"
"Haha," I "laugh" humorlessly.
"Well, do you?" her eyes are pleading like a puppy.
I struggle to keep my composure. "Fine. I think he does." I feel my face and it is like a hot furnace fueled with coals.
Luna makes this 'ooo' sound. "You like him don't you?" she is grinning like a maniac.
I mumble, "No."
"Mmhm."
We are at the school entrance.
***
I find Luna at lunch, sitting alone on a bench, eating a limp-looking sandwich. When I sit next to her, she says, "Some people say life is like a swing," she paused to put down her sandwich in her lap, "I think that life sucks. What do you think?"
"I think that life is like a game," I say. "You have to go through the easy mode. Then medium. Then hard. You're playing in the hard mode right now."
Luna just nods and we continue our lunch in silence.
***
English. It is a weird language. I am in English class. Levi and Luna are here too. We all sit in different parts of the room. Levi sits next to a boy who looks like a celebrity and a jock (Luna says she's had an encounter with him at a store). Luna sits next to a boy that dresses like he is in the 80's, and he wears black headphones that have red and orange lining around the ear parts. His jacket looks like his headphones too. But, in almost every class Drake is always sitting next to me.
Our English teacher is very young. She is advanced. She is twenty-three years old! She is also very pretty. Her name is Miss Renn. She has smooth black hair, cat-like eyes, and reminds me of a peacock. I think her smile shocks the class. Her teeth are pearls of white. She is wearing tan leather boots that are up to (almost) her knee, a scarf, and a black jacket. "Hey," Miss Renn says to us, and smiles.
A chorus of hey's and hi's rings through the classroom. "So, people," Miss Renn claps her hands together which seems to make everyone awake. "Poem presentations today!" She walks then sits at her desk with her computer and clipboard near her. "We're going in alphabetical order by last name, so Theresa! You, first."
Theresa walks up to the front of the room, sweating, even though it feels like winter in the classroom. She then says her poem, then quickly sits back down. The class applauds and Miss Renn smiles then writes on her clipboard.
A few presentations later, it's Luna's turn. I give a thumbs-up (an American sign) to her and she nods. As she stands at the front of the room, she takes a shaky breath. Her lips move, but all we hear is a faint mumble. We see her flip from card to card and it's over. The teacher's smile has lessened and she shakes her head slightly as she writes something down. Luna suddenly becomes the color of paper. Her lips have turned a yellow gray white I cannot explain. She falls like a tree.
The class makes a commotion. Miss Renn's voice cuts through the chaos, "Okay everyone! Settle down! I'll take her to the office. A volunteer please?" Drake and Levi both raise their hands at the same time. I look around and notice nobody else has raised their hand except them. "Okay, Drake. C'mon. Safire, as my student aid, please take my place and make sure everyone does their presentation." They leave the classroom, half-dragging and half-carrying Luna.
