Lost in the Mind

The Change in Wind

When I came to school I was eager to see Avery again. Though I was afraid to even speak with him let alone look at him. Gabe woke me up in the morning since I forgot to set my alarm. I wonder who I did that. Me and Gabe ran to the bus stop just in time when the bus pulled up to the curb. Gabe sat with his friends this morning and I sat by myself, again. It was okay though, I needed the space. We reached the school and a stampede of students ran off the bus. I walked off the bus looking around to see if Avery was in sight. Nothing. I sighed with relief of any tension that I'd felt before. I walked on into the school to get to English class.

Lunch was peaceful. I got to dive myself into the fourth book in my favorite series. I nibbled on my chicken from the cafeteria. It wasn't juicy the way my mom made it, but it was decent enough to put in my stomach.

"Hi." A voice rang in my ear. I turned my body toward the voice and I saw Avery. He stood there, in a dark blue shirt. The brown eyes petrified me again and the knots in my stomach came back to rue the day again. I couldn't move. Oh no. It was literally like the Petrificus Totalus spell all over again with Principal Madeline. I was freaking out. What do I do? What do I say? Think, woman! Think! My head was spinning as I looked in his eyes again. I felt my self lost in his eyes. I had to say something, so I broke from his gaze and tried to make conversation. I coughed a bit in my throat to get the urge to say something. "Would you like to sit down?" I said with clarity in my voice. God... why did you have to say that? Of all things to say? When I spoke, it sounded a bit like sandpaper rubbing together which made my throat dry. I looked back at him and he smiled. "Sure." He set his lunch tray down and he sat next to me.

"So, you are new here, yes?" I said looking at him while bookmarking my place and closing my book.

"Yeah, I moved here from San Francisco. Have you ever been there?" He said with a sweet voice. I took a breath and tried to relax.

"I actually went there last year. I love going to the beach and collecting seashells by the shore. I can't think of anything else that relaxing. The sound of waves from the ocean and the water beneath my toes is always calming." I lost track of what I was saying, it just came out. I couldn't help it. My body turned his way again and I stared into his eyes. I took a bite out of my salad and slowly chewed it. "So, we haven't been properly introduced. I am Avery Hedge. What is your name?" He looked down at his lunch and then back towards my face again. I swallowed my food and took a breath. "I am Canada Isle. Glad to have you here." I said quietly and took out my hand for him to shake. He took my hand and shook it. His hands were warm and soft. Otherwise it made my brother's hands seem scratched and rigid. I let go of his hand and tried to talk to him with all my might. "Do you have any siblings in your family?" I said while twiddling with my fingers. "Umm, I have a little sister but that is it. How about you?" He said taking a bite into some lettuce. "I have a big brother. He is a junior here at River City High. He is sitting, right over there," I turned my body around to see if Gabe was in sight. My eyes landed on a table that was huddled and grouped over by my brother. I pointed my finger at him and Avery looked where I was pointing. "Oh, is it that boy? He is obviously popular." Avery said grinning. I laughed at the remark. "Yeah, he is the captain in our baseball team. He may seem like a stuck up boy, but really at home when he is not with his friends, he can be real sweet." I said with a little smile on my face.

I watched him talking and laughing with his friends. While he had his arm around his girlfriend, Jennifer. Jennifer was Gabe's girlfriend ever since their sophomore year. She was okay, I thought that she was a nice girl for Gabe. Avery turned back to me again.

"He sounds like a real good guy. Anyway, I think it is almost time to get back to class. Do you mind me sitting with you in Geometry tomorrow?" He set his hand on the table near my hand. I looked down at how close my hand was to his. It was tempting to rest my hand on his, but I didn't.

"I think that would be nice." I said smiling. He grinned and started to grab his lunch tray and got up from his seat. "Well, I'll see you in Geometry then. Bye." He walked away waving at me. I waved back and sighed with relief. I got up from my seat and headed to dump my tray. The bell rang and students started piling into the school. Honestly, I have never been noticed like that before. Not in a long time. I was feeling pretty good about my day. Though I decided not to tell my parents that I'd made a friend. Maybe I would tell Gabe, just for sibling sake.

~     ~     ~

Dinner at my house was leftovers, the taste of fettuccine again was enriching and tasteful. At least I could eat knowing that I wasn't going to starve. Gabe talked about him going on a date with Jennifer this weekend. They were going to go to an Italian restaurant for dinner. I didn't mind him talking about Jennifer at all. Back in his sophomore year, he would talk endlessly about his crush on Jennifer. I helped him win her heart slowly over the year by giving him advice about what to say to her the next time they talked or what to give her when he gave Jennifer a present on Valentine's day. He gave her a necklace on that day. She loved it and she still wears it today. Mom talked about how she needed to work overtime at the college for Teacher Development days. Dad didn't say anything new, he was just going to write for clients, interested in his work. As for me I just nodded at everything my family made at the dinner table. After dinner I worked on my homework trying to keep my mind off of Avery and my day at school. For now, I had to focus on finding out what happened after the American Revolution and what caused it to end.

I decided to take a five minute break. I headed to my nightstand to dive into my lovable book for at least a couple of minutes. Before I set my hand on the book, I stared at the nightstand drawer remembering my mom's note. I opened the drawer and looked at the note one more time. I smiled again thinking about letting people into my heart. I guess Avery would be the one to turn my frowns upside down. I didn't know what would come after my days with Avery, but I will tell you that they were exciting.