The One
"He was driving downtown with the girl I love and I'm like forget you and forget her too!" I heard coming from my little alarm clock radio on my bedside table as I slapped the button down to turn it off. I ran downstairs with my giant ratty purse full of my school books in my hand. The smell of burning toast wafted through the air. My stomach started growling as I turned the corner at the end if the stairs into the kitchen. My mom was standing by the stove with a spatula in her hand. Her dark brown hair was curled into large round curls. She was wearing a long zebra and cheetah print skirt with a light pale brown top and high black leather boots. She handed me a plate of food: eggs, bacon, toast, and a glass of orange juice with my pills wrapped up in a napkin next to the plate. I sat at the counter on a red counter high stool and dug into my breakfast. My youngest brother Sam came racing down the stairs with my other brother Matt at his heels.
"Lyla! Help!" Sam screamed. He was laughing. I knew that Matt could never hurt Sam. They were too close to each other.
"Don't touch the little bugger Lyla." Matt said smoothly as he stopped to catch his breath. Sam ran behind me and clung onto my blouse.
My mom turned around with a stern look on her face.
"Now I don't want fighting today boys. Hurry up and sit down for breakfast." She ordered.
Sam and Matt sat down at the small table next to the sliding glass door laughing. I turned back to my food and shoved a giant spoonful of eggs into my mouth. I started to panic when I looked at the clock and it read 7:15. School started in 20 minutes and it was my first day in high school. I felt so nervous. Not only was it my first day of high school, it was also my first day of school in our new town: Falcon, Colorado. We had only moved here two weeks ago. I didn't know anybody. My stomach gave a lurch as I kept thinking about it. When I was finished eating, I washed my plate off In the sink and gave my mom a kiss on the cheek as I ran out the front door. I jogged down to the bus stop and I was right on time. The bus had just pulled up. I scrambled on and sat in the only empty seat. The front seat. The ride to school was un-eventful as I had hoped thank god.
My first class was choir. I had auditioned for the jazz choir over the summer and I was accepted. I love music. I play guitar, piano, and trumpet. My parents met in music class in college. When my dad died, he was coming home from a gig when he was shot going to his car outside the bar. The murderer took my dads favorite guitar. It was a Martin. The sound that came out of that guitar was majestic. After the funeral, I stopped music. I hadn't touched a guitar in two years. I realized many years later that he would have wanted me to keep playing. I lost a good connection between me and him by not playing.
I walked into the choir room and the teacher greeted me with a smile. He was a plump man and he had short, spiked hair. He was wearing a green striped polo shirt, cream colored dress pants, and tennis shoes. He was young. Maybe in his 30s. His name was Mr. Pine. He gestured meaning I could sit wherever. I sat down in the back row of seats just as the ten minute warning bell sounded. Students started shuffling in the classroom. Some in pairs and some in large groups. The last person to get to class was a striking young man. He had short brown hair and large, kind hazel eyes. He had a large nose with a very angular chin and cheekbones. His smile was glowing white and his skin was unnaturally tan for Colorado I thought. He looked muscular but I couldn't quite tell because of the large baggy hoodie he was wearing over jeans. He was very handsome.
He said hello to the teacher and sat down right next to me. He slung his backpack over the seat. I caught a glimpse of a small tattoo on his neck right below the hood of his jacket. He must have caught me staring because he held out his hand and introduced himself.
"Michael.... Michael Billig." He had a slight stutter but his voice was smooth as butter. I clasped his hand in mine and lousily introduced myself back.
"Lyla. Lyla... ummm.." I had just forgotten my last name! Oh my goodness. Yeah Lyla, totally go around talking to enormously hot guys like that. It will get you so far I thought to myself. "Cole." I finally sputtered. "Lyla Cole."
Mr. Pine cleared this throat at the front of the class trying to get everyone's attention. Almost everyone in the whole room was talking. They weren't even listening to Mr. Pine. After about two minutes of this chatter, Michael stood up and yelled for the class to quiet down. He said it with such confidence that my lips curled up into a smile. Everybody stopped talking. He sat down with an angry but accomplished look on his face. My stomach did a flip and it twisted itself into a knot when he gave a little chuckle. It was so hypnotizing that I suddenly had the overpowering nerve to check my clothes and makeup to see if it looked ok. I looked down at my knees and fixed my shirt. It was a plain blue button up collared shirt. I straightened it out at the bottom and crossed my legs. I straightened my back and I nervously tapped my fingers across my knee cap.
Mr. Pine took roll and then he played the songs we would be singing. I wasn't listening. My whole mind was focused on Michael. He hadn't moved at all since he sat down but his expression changed. The look on his face was blank. As if he weren't listening to Mr. Pine either. I didn't realize that I was starring at him until he locked eyes with me for a split second and then we both looked away at the same time. I shook my head at the same time the bell rang signaling second period. I turned around to grab my purse and my hand grazed Michaels thigh as he was standing up. He turned around to look at me but I had already gotten out of my seat and was walking out the door with my schedule in my hand and a shaking buckling feeling in my knees.
Michael was in every single one of my classes but one. Band. It was the last class of the day and I was exhausted. During second period I sat next to a girl named Sarah and we started talking. I sat with her at lunch and she seemed pretty cool. We had 3 classes together, including band. She played the oboe. I played trumpet so I didn't sit by her but we were exchanging glances the whole class. It was very boring. All we did was go over norms and we were given our music but none of us had instruments so we didn't play any.
The bell rang and I walked out to the buss parking lot after saying goodbye to Sarah.
