A High School Love Story

Chapter 4: Stuck in the Middle

I could hear Tristen pushing Brian. Oh my god! Are they going to fight ?!?!

"You know what? Fine, you can have her! She's not worth me getting into a fight and sent to the dean's office on the SECOND day of school!"

Wow. His words made me die a little inside. He made it sound like I WAS the last slice of pizza and they both wanted it. I guess he didn't want it as much as I had thought. I mean, me, not the pizza.

"Awesome, I'm going to ask her out later." I can hear Tristen's cocky attitude towards Brian.

When I heard that, I peered around the corner to see them.

"Go ahead. I don't care. Now move, I don't want to be late." I could see the hurt in Brian's eyes. Surely he must not have meant what he said. I wanted to walk up to them and tell them that I like Brian, not Tristen, and fix this mess. But why even bother trying to make this right, Brian already made up his mind. There's no use in trying to change his decision.

They both left the hall, in the same direction because they have first period together, so I decided to go to my first class too. I literally ran because I didn't want to be late, and because I was really upset by what I had just experienced. Honestly, I was shocked that Tristen liked me. Actually, not that shocked. I should have guessed it by the way he would talk to Brain. But how could he have developed such a strong crush for me in just one hour? I had developed a crush in one hour too, but it wasn't as strong as Tristen's, I mean, I wasn't prepared to fight another girl for Brian. I got to my first period just when the bell had rung. I took a seat in the back, hoping that the teacher didn't see me enter a little late.

"Good morning everyone. I hope you're not too comfortable with your seats because you will be assigned to your seat in just a moment." Mr. Akachuko said with a lot of energy. How does this man have so much energy in the morning? I turned to his desk and, as I suspected, I saw 3 cups of Starbucks coffee just sitting there. I don't know how many had already been consumed but I was sure that it wasn't just one.

He called out the names in roll call order and pointed to our new seats. He had really mixed us up because the person behind me was named Yanet Solis and the person to my right was Isis Manz.

I pretty much spent the entire first two periods being quiet and I just thought about what I was going to do when I had to sit in between Brian and Tristen in 5th period later. What if Tristen does ask me out ? I'm pretty sure I'm going to say no because he made me feel like an object instead of a person when they were arguing! Plus, I'm not exactly as attracted to him as I am with Brian.

Brian...... What do I do when I see Brian?

I planned out different scenarios where he and I would end up together and others where we just end up hating each other because we used harsh words. It could literally go either way but at least I would be ready with sassy come backs if it went down hill.

It was nutrition and I didn't feel like eating so I just stood by a table in the corner of the student union alone. Soon after, I noticed that a girl with long, brown hair was approaching me. She smiled at me and I didn't want to be rude so I smiled back.

"Hi, I'm Jasmin. What's you're name?" The girl asked.

"Hi Jasmin. I'm Miranda." I responded, giving her a warm smile.

"That's a really pretty name! And you seem really nice." She practically screamed in my ear but it didn't bother me too much. I'm like that too.

"Thanks, your name is really pretty too!" I mimicked her tone.

"I have a feeling we're going to be really good friends!" She seemed really excited.

"I think so too!" I said, genuinely happy.

We spent the rest of nutrition getting to know more about each other and when the bell rang I was sad to have to leave. She took my mind off of the whole Tristen and Brian situation and it felt relieving. I didn't really do much in 3rd or 4th period. We just did some partner exercises to break the ice where we had to ask our elbow partner some question and attempt to draw them in the numbered boxes. It was boring but at least we didn't have to present them because my drawing skills are terrible.

Lunch came around and this time I was actually very hungry so I decided to get food. When I got my food I walked back to the same spot that I was in during nutrition but I found some people hanging out there that I didn't recognize. Then I saw a familiar face, Jasmin.

"Hey Miranda ! These are my friends and hopefully they will be yours too!" She pointed to each of them and said their names. The first girl was wearing glasses and had her hair pulled into a ponytail, her name was Jesus. I didn't know Jesus could be a girl name. The second girl was wearing a Mexico jacket with the team's color and logo on it, her name was Edith. The last girl was also wearing glasses and had her hair down, her name was Solangel. Next we're the boys. The first one was tall and dark, his name was Ismael. The next one was also tall and dark but wore glasses, his name was Jordan. Next was a guy that had a beard, his name was Wilmer. (Wilmer was probably the first 9th grade guy I met that had a beard.) The last one was light skinned and was around my height, his name was Jose. They were all really nice and funny. We spent the entire lunch laughing like idiots about the dumbest things. Other people in the student union gave us dirty looks but we didn't really care because we were having fun.

The bell rang, indicating that it was time for fifth period, and my expression changed completely. I was not ready to face Tristen or Brian. I took as long as I possibly could to get to class. When I got to class, neither of them were there and I felt a bit more at ease. I took my seat and looked at the clock. There was still another two minutes until the tardy bell was scheduled to ring. I decided to draw in my notebook because I was bored. I drew a bunch of stars and a crescent moon in the middle when I was interrupted.

"That's really pretty."

I turned to my left and noticed that Brian was sitting down next to me.

Oh god, please help me.

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