The first thing he did was laugh. He laughed at me. Really?
Luckily though, most of his lunch went on him, he had cheese on his cheeks and sauce on his top. So then I laughed. And he laughed again. And then we continued laughing, until I realised that I was standing in front of Mathew Sam Benson and I fell silent.
"Sorry-" he cut off and looked at me questioningly, "I'm sorry, what's your name?"
Oh dear. That's not a good sign. He doesn't even know who I am.
"Uhhhmm..." I looked to the side where I saw Nina coming over. "Rosie?"
God. I am such an embarrassment. Of course my name was Rosie. Why did I question it? My face turned bright red. Mathew laughed again, this time probably just to break the painful silence that had now been brought upon the conversation.
The last word he said to me was 'cool', before Nina pulled me away, laughing nervously until we got to the table. Cool?? What does that even mean? I didn't choose my name. It's not something that can be complimented??
I ignored all off Nina's questions about what I had just done and waited until lunch was over. Thank goodness my mum was picking me up.
"Hello dear." She said as I clambered into the passenger seat of her 500 year old car. I looked in the glove compartment for my secret bar of chocolate and unwrapped it.
"Hey mum." I murmured through mouthfuls. "How was your day?" I asked, though I knew I was going to regret it. Mum could talk for Scotland.
"Well, today at work Wendy was printing out more sheets than she should of and I got the blame blah blah blah blah blah..."
I temporarily switched my ears off to look out the window. Every time I remembered lunch time I cringed. 'Cool'. Isn't that what people say when they don't care AT ALL?
The more I thought about it, the more I panicked. I do that a lot. What if he tells all his popular, good looking friends? What if he blames me and changes my reputation from nerdy and smart to nerdy, smart and a total bitch?
I breathed deeply. Who cares? No one saw anyway. Well, apart from Susie the dinner lady but she always smiles at me when I collect my cake so I think she likes me.
When I got home I ran upstairs. This time on a Friday is the best time of the week. Even though I worked Friday and Saturday night at a karaoke pub, I didn't mind because I worked with Jesy, my male best friend. He was a few years older than me but he acted younger, more like a little brother than an 18 year old, though he called me his little sister.
I always wore a bit of makeup to school but when I was working they expected me to look like a model at all times, so I wear extra and put on my fancy but pretty uniform that hugs my figure. I love how I look for work; like a mask that I put on to make me feel more confident. I know I should say that I don't need it but I think a part of every 16 year old girl feels she needs to look pretty all the time.
I walked out the door at nine. I worked from now until 12 because most of the people who worked with me hated doing those hours. Me? I loved it. Sure, there were a lot of creepy men and woman that lingered around the counter but there were also really sweet, slightly tipsy people who just want a chat. Me and Jesy had a laugh as well.
I'm sure that you're wondering how I'm allowed to serve alcohol. I'm not. But Jesy is, and he lets me do it on the nights the boss isn't in. I'm actually a waitress but nobody ever needs one, so I just hang about and talk to people.
"Hey Rosie Posie!" Jesy held out his hand and we did our 'ultra best friend handshake' that we made up back when I first joined.
"Hey buddy," I said, laughing as I hung my coat up. We walked through to the pub where some old guy was singing drunkenly but with all of his heart 'all the single ladies' by Beyoncé. That seemed to be a popular song in the club; I knew all the words and me and Jesy made up our own dance to it, which he was half heartedly doing behind the counter while serving a group of girls, all flirting with him. I laughed.
I was about to go over to a woman who was standing at the counter on her own when I looked up. 3 boys had walked in and I instantly felt my heart sink. Thomas was standing in the middle of his two best friends; Jordan Kenneth and Nathan Robson. He was laughing- the same laugh he used when he was talking to me. I flinched, I had nearly forgotten about that.
Oh no, I started panicking, they're coming over to the bar.
I straightened my skirt and my hair. I don't even know why I cared- probably because they're just scary people. Well, maybe not scary, just scary popular and scary good looking.
Thomas looked up and caught my gaze. I felt my cheeks burning up just thinking about what had happened earlier that day but luckily it was dark and he probably didn't notice. He came closer to the counter.
"Hey, could we get a round of shots?" He asked, smirking slightly as he looked around at his friends. Oh no.
"Um... I'm going to have to ask for your ID's," I almost died. How embarrassing. Not only is he going to think I'm a bitch, but now he's going to freaking hate me too. Of course he doesn't have an ID, he's only 16-
"Sure thing. Here, look." He handed me what looked like a real ID card, but it wasn't. I decided to nod and get the shots, but I couldn't stand to look at him. It was too embarrassing, and he and his friends kept whispering and laughing and smirking at me.
The whole night I was serving people and I didn't have a chance to get my break. It was always so busy on a Friday night but I never expected anyone at my school to come here. I considered this not cool enough for teenagers, but there was quite a few dotted around. Mathews friend Nathan went up to sing and the crowd started cheering. He called Mathew up but he kept shaking his head and laughing nervously. Wow, I never thought someone as cocky and confident as him would be so stage fright.
After what seemed like an eternity, I finally got off work. Jesy normally drove me home but he was staying at his friends house so he couldn't, so I had to walk home in the dark. It never really bothered me; if there was any creeps about I just avoided them or had my phone on speed dial to 911.
I stepped out into the freezing cold and started walking down the street. It was only when I got to about half way there when I heard a car coming. It slowed beside me and Jordan popped his head out. What the hell?? What do I do??
I slowed but didn't stop walking. I didn't want to talk to him. I didn't want to go through any embarrassment.
"Damn gurlll you fine!" He whistled at me. Really? I could hear laughing in the car. I stopped walking and looked at Jordan through squinted eyes. An older boy was driving, not much older than Jesy by the looks of things. He was laughing too and staring right at me.
"What do you want?" I started confidently, though I was shaking.
Nathan popped his head out too. Seriously??
"A piece of that a-"
"Come on guys, leave her alone." I heard someone say. It sounded like Mathew. I blushed but hid it. I started walking away. I heard the car completely stop and someone scrambled out. I twisted round and saw Thomas running after me. Okay someone tell me what's going on.
"Hey lady, wait up!" Lady?? Did he not even recognise me?? Mathew caught up with me and held my arm to stop me from walking away. I tugged but his grip was tight.
"I'm sorry about my friends, they're douches 24/7," he rolled his eyes and looked at me, a look of realisation on his face. "Oh my god! You're the girl I bumped into at lunch! Wow, you must really hate me now. What was your name?" I shook my head. He still didn't know my name?
"It's Rosie." I said, a lot more sure than I was earlier.
"Cool," he said, and then, he laughed again.
