Anna

Sophomore year had barely started and I could already tell it was going to be a drag. My best friend Alex was gone, and without him I didn't really have anyone to talk to. I didn't have any friends that were girls; too much drama for me. I wasn't like them anyways. I was the tall and awkward brunette, and they were all fun and confident blondes. I wore oversize sweatshirts and converse, and they wore skirts and preppy tops. I was quiet. They were loud. You get the point, I was the opposite. Alex was my best friend though. He was my voice. While he’s away, I don’t really have one.

            I went through my days quietly; I wasn't really one to stir up trouble. A week or so into the year and I started to notice someone. He sat in the back of the room, went to the library during lunch, and walked home alone. He was someone like me. I had spent the past few weeks missing Alex and not doing much other than school, so one day I decided to talk to him. I walked across the library and plopped down at his table. He looked up from his book.

            I froze. The icy blue eyes were unlike any I had ever seen before except on one other person. Alex. I missed him so much it hurt and the wave of emotions that crashed into me almost knocked me off my chair. Come on Anna, pull yourself together, I scolded myself. You’ll see him again soon, just keep it together until then. My stomach wouldn’t stop turning.

            “Anna.” I smiled at him. I hadn’t done that in a long time.

            “David.” He said as he extended his hand toward me. I stared, puzzled for a moment. The shy smile on his face made my stomach flip, in a good way this time. That day we worked in silence, our table as quiet as a graveyard. We sat together every day at the same table in the back of the library. We never talked much, until one day when I needed help with a science project.

            The project was about plant cells-not that the topic was significant. We decided we would work at the public library after school the next day. I was actually excited. I don’t think I had left my house ever since Alex had left for his road trip, and that was in June.

            The next day seemed to stretch for years. During my last class of the day, I watched the clock as each second ticked by. Finally the bell rang and we all stood up. I hurried out of the classroom to find David waiting in the hallway.

            “Just the girl I was looking for.” He smiled. My heart skipped a beat. “I was thinking we could walk,” he said. One step ahead of him, I opened the door. “since it’s pretty nice out. As long as you don’t mind?”

            “Not at all.” I replied.

            “So Anna, tell me a little more about yourself.”

            I hesitated. Was I going to spill to a guy I barely knew? I mean sure I sat with him everyday at lunch, but can you say you truly know someone if you've only heard them speak once? No, I wouldn't tell him everything. Not yet, I decided.

            “Well,” I paused. “My full name is Anna Marie Wright. I’m fifteen years and three months old. I live with my mom, dad, and little brother. You?”

            “David Michael Taylor. Fifteen. Dad and brother.”

            I looked at him. “That’s all?” Although I guess that’s all I’d given him.

            “All you need to know.” He grinned like a little boy.

            We walked in silence for a while. The leaves were just starting to turn and the trees were ablaze in the death of summer.