Heart Condition

Chapter Eleven: Sasha and Abbie's Marvelous List of Thrill Attempts

I zipped straight to English class, stealing the empty chair right next to Sasha’s table.        Mr. Terrio looked up from his lesson plan and smiled, “Good morning, Abbie; nice to see you so punctual these days.”

            “Thanks.” I replied, and looked toward the door. Of course, Sasha wasn’t far behind me.

            He didn’t look at me, but I could him smile. “Hi.” He greeted, eyes locked on his shoes.

            “Hi.” I said back. He slid into his chair, and I could hear him rustling around in his backpack. Kids started making their way in, and I could sense Lindsey and her friend Nora staring at me while I tried not to stare at Sasha.

            When Terrio began his lecture, Sasha reached out his hand, trying to tap the edge of my desk. He strained, and when I finally turned, I narrowed my eyes and smiled.

            “I made a list to help with your list.” He whispered; he handed me a folded slip of notebook paper, “Taking into consideration that what might seem minute to some can be absolutely terrifying to others, I thought about what you said, and made the list. Also know that this isn’t set in stone, and we can make alterations at any time.”

            “Abbie!” Mr. Terrio called on me, and my eyes shot up to the front of the room; Terrio looked to me, then Sasha “Mr. Malone, if I catch you fraternizing with my students, I’ll have to administer the shock therapy, and I know how much you hate that. Miss Abbie, do you really want to see that happen?”

            I turned to Sasha, and shrugged “It could be entertaining.”

            Sasha’s eyes widened, “You little…”

            “Abbie, if I hear you two again, I’ll have to move you to the other side of the room.” Mr. Terrio pointed, “Got it?”

            I nodded, “Yes, sir.”

            “Yes, sir.” Sasha echoed, and he winked at me. I rolled my eyes, and lifted the paper in my hands.

            Abbie’s List

            1) Wear something noteworthy to school.

            2) Find a talent

            3) Walk in a forest

            4) See actual stars

            And that was all. I looked at him and smiled, “What makes you think I’ve never seen stars before? And…by ‘noteworthy’, is that just an excuse so you can see me in some skimpy skirt and a tight t-shirt? Because that is not happening.”

            Sasha’s cheeks turned an odd shade of pink, and the corners of his mouth turned up, “No. But it was just a thought; did you have any ideas of your own?”

            I stared at my blank sheet of paper, and slowly began to write out some things.

            1) Cliff jump

            2) Go night swimming

            3) Learn to play an instrument

            4) Sleep under stars

            5) Change my hair

            6) Get lost somewhere

            I smiled; this was a good start. Folding up my paper, I glanced over at Sasha, tapping my finger on the paper softly.