Hide & Seek

Luke

The cute girl I sat next to seemed a little fidgety. My old self would've smiled and taken advantage of the fact that she was nervous of me, but I stayed cool and listened to Mr Riley. The girl suddenly took out a book and opened it. Her curly, blonde hair spilt over her shoulders as she looked down to read. Wait. Why did I notice that? I couldn't think more on it since Mr Riley's voice rang out.
"Miss Spade, please avert your attention to me for a moment."
She froze, then slowly looked up at the teacher.
"As much as I love the fact that you are reading, please try to pay attention to my class."
She blushed, nodded, and put her book away.
"Use your words, Cathryn," Mr Riley insisted.
Cathryn hesitated, then her soft voice filled the air, "Yes, Mr Riley."
"Good."
And he continued the class.

Cathryn. Perfect name for her. Pretty and sophisticated. I shook my head, ever so slightly and looked back at Mr Riley.
"Shakespeare created the most famous romance in history with great thought. The story of Romeo and Juliet is simply a beautiful tale and something many people can enjoy. It- uh, yes, Luke? Do you have something to add?"
My hand went up before I even thought about it. I used to do it all the time at my old school, but I would give a naughty answer. This time, I tried to put together something sensible.
"Romeo and Juliet is not a beautiful story. It is a horrible and stupid story of two people who thought they were so in love that they made some really stupid decisions."
I physically winced as my choice of words was very poor. But still, it was an improvement.
"Ooh-kay, does anyone have anything to respond to that?"
The girl next to me shyly put her hand up.
"Cathryn?" Mr Riley sounded surprised. I guess she doesn't normally put her hand up.
"I would like to say, yes, the things that they chose were pretty horrible, but it wasn't stupid. That's what love is. When you truly find love, you want to do anything to keep it and you feel devastated if you lose it. And besides, it's fiction. To enjoy it, you need to understand it."
I raised my eyebrow. She was an interesting one.
"Is that so? Are you saying that my level of understanding is lower than yours?"
She looked at me. God, she had the most stunning blue eyes.
"No, of course not. You seem eager to learn, but I'm guessing you never really paid attention to education in your old school."
How did she know that?
"Cathryn, that's quite enough," Mr Riley butted in. She blushed again and looked down, her hair hiding her face. I regarded her with a new outlook. She seemed to understand me already, as if we'd been friends our whole life. I had to know more about her now.