No Turning Back

First Dates and Punches in the Face

Okay, Danny, you can do this. Just walk over there and do it. No hesitating. No stuttering. No freezing. You've got this, I thought to myself as I stood against the lockers near the gym doors. I had just gotten through with football practice and now I'm standing here watching the cheerleaders mingle around the girls' locker room doors. Mia was a cheerleader so she was amongst the chattering group. She was dressed in a pair of cotton shorts that expressed her creamy, toned legs, and a fitted tee that hugged her small torso. Her blonde hair was pulled up into a ponytail and bounced freely as she talked. She looked cute for just having finished a two hour practice. I've noticed that she always looks really pretty. Maybe that's what's wrong with me. Mia is a lot prettier than some of the girls I've dated in the past. She's like a little Barbie doll or something. Her flawless looks were probably the reason why I've been stalling with everything that involves her. But, then again, maybe it wasn't. I don't know why but a small part of me didn't want to ask her out. Something about it just didn't feel right. I wasn't sure why but it was still there. That small part of me was starting to annoy me. I've never second-guessed myself in all my seventeen years of living. I should be ashamed at my coward-like behavior. Asking a girl out should be easy. It always was easy for me. So why now was it so difficult?

My attention was averted from Mia to Jayden and Ashley who were walking down the hall towards me. Jayden was holding a notebook, staring down at it with his eyebrows creased together in concentration. Ashley, on the other hand, was chattering rapidly and moving her hands around. As I stared at them, I recalled what Juan had said about his nephew. Brains but no common sense. While I did believe the last part, I was having a little bit of trouble wrapping my head around the first part. Sure, Jayden had never really struck me as the smart type before we formally met. I will admit that he was showing off a bit of his smarts frequently in the AP class that we shared. The other day, we had gotten some math-based worksheet and Jayden practically zipped through it within ten minutes. Mr. Myers actually came over to check the worksheet and was mildly surprised to announce that all the answers were correct. "You are going to do something great in your life with that brain you got," our teacher had told Jayden with an encouraging smile. My partner shrugged.

"I guess. I'm not exactly sure what I want to do with my life yet," he said as he tapped his pencil against the table lightly.

"You can be anything that you but your mind to," I heard Mr. Myers say before I finished my paper as well. "Done too, Daniel?" I nodded. "Do you know what you want to study in college?"

"I'm going for pre-med, actually. I've been strongly leaning towards the medical field in career paths. I like helping people and I think science is interesting so I thought that I might like it in the medical field." Mr. Myers practically beamed at the sound of my answer. His eyes filled with excitement as he began to rattle off questions.

"What field of medicine do you want to go into? Do you want to be a doctor or do you want to do research work for diseases? Where are you looking to get your undergrad and your doctorates?" Jayden leaned his head into the palm of his hand, his eyes boring into me. He must have been bored if he was actually interested in my answers. I doubted he even really cared about it.

"Well, I want to be a doctor but my dad wants me to go into the pharmaceutical business. If I do go to be a doctor then I want to be a surgeon or a pediatrician or a cancer specialist or something like that. I haven't exactly decided yet. As for school: my parents are urging me to go to Harvard or Yale but I haven't heard back from either of them yet so yea." Jayden rolled his eyes at the sound of my Ivy League schools. I saw his lips move as he muttered something under his breath but I didn't hear it due to Mr. Myer's congratulations.

"I guess it's a good thing I paired you two together. Maybe Daniel can give you some guidance in regards to the future, Jayden." He had shrugged and looked away. We haven't exactly spoken since. I mean, we didn't speak much anyway but I was just throwing it in there. Besides, sometimes I felt as if he was deliberately ignoring me. It was both peaceful and annoying at the same time – however that worked.