No Strings Attached

Chapter Two

Chapter Two - Christine Walt

I drummed my fingers against the wooden desk, waiting for Trigonometry to be over. Come on, clock. Hurry up. I glanced at my wristwatch. Ten minutes more... I fought the urge to rest my head on my arms. 

'No, Christine. This is not the time to sleep.' I thought. But  I couldn't fight my drowsiness.  Sine, cosine, tangent, just, kill, me.

"Remember, the sineof an angle is always the ratio of the opposite side and the hypotenuse." The teacher said for the umpteenth time. "You guys know SOHCAHTOA, right?"

The class murmured in response.

"Okay, so who wants to try solving the problem on the board?"

Nobody.

"Easy peasy." I heard Jared mutter behind me. I rolled my eyes and snorted. Yeah, Jared's very fond of numbers. My total opposite. I turned around and gave him a teasing look. His mouth curled upward into a slight smile. "Face the board, dope."

"Numbers make my head hurt, Jared." I whispered, massaging my temples.

"Miss Walt!" I flinched, facing the board, startled. "Uh, yes, sir?"

"Would you like to answer the problem?"

No. I groaned internally. Everybody was looking at me with 'oops-you're-so-unlucky' expressions. I sniffed, prolonging the time. Why, oh why? Why can't I be saved by the bell? I stood up, hesitating.

I stared at the problem, my head hurting. 

Amelia sees a jet heading south away from her at 42 degree angle of elevation. Twenty seconds later the jet is still moving away from her, heading south at a 15 degree angle of elevation. If the jets elevation is constantly 6.3 km, how fast is it flying in kilometers per hour?

Heh. Shoot me. Somebody cleared his throat behind me. Jared. Please, please, please. Save me, J. Mr. Irven raised a grey brow at me. I smiled apologetically and shrugged.

"Actually, I would like to answer the problem, Mr. Irven..." Jared suddenly stood up then walked with confidence. Mr. Irven smiled and nodded but gave me a disapproving look. I shrunk back to my seat, looking down at my jeans. I bit my lip, shaking the mortification away. Ugh. This sucks.

After a few minutes, Jared finished the problem. Placing the marker on the board's ledge, he walked towards me and gave me a wink. I puffed my cheeks. Geek.

Mr. Irven scanned his solution and gave Jared a smile. "Good job, Mr. Stuart. Maybe you should tutor Ms. Walt, if you don't mind."

The class chuckled, shooting Jared brief looks.

"Not at all, sir." Jared responded, thumping me lightly at the back. "Gee, thanks." I rolled my eyes, exhausted. The numbers have drained my energy. All of it.

"Okay, then. Class dismissed." And as if on cue, the bell rang.

I swiftly gathered my things and bolted for the door. "Hey, C, wait up!" I heard Jared call. I ignored him, running. I smirked and looked behind my back, checking if he can follow me.

"Oof--!" I slammed against a hard figure, knocking me breathless. "Hey, watch i..." I looked at the figure and felt blood rising to my cheeks.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I wasn't looking." I reached for my books as he reached for his. "Hey, I'm sorry, too." Mike apologized as he reached for a piece of paper. I looked at it and snatched it away from him. Oh, God. He saw my quiz in Trig. And I got D- on it. Shit. Way to impress Mike Saller, the math dude.

He blinked rapidly and smiled, "I didn't mean to."

"Nah. It's fine. Numbers... Uh, they're... They aren't exactly my kind of thing. Math's, um... Well, how do I put it... Lame." I bit my lip, frowning. What on earth , Christine! That has got to be the dumbest statement ever.'

Well. What can I do? Who can form a decent statement when they're talking to the love of their life? Who, by the way, doesn't know it yet?

Oh goody.

Mike's sapphire blue eyes looked so deep. It twinkled brightly when he smiled and he had perfectly aligned teeth. His lips were moving but I can't hear a thing. I was lost in his eyes... Was lost in his gorgeous smile. Then he frowned, his eyes full of concern.

"Um, hey? You alright?"

"Uh what?" I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts.   

Mike laughed, shaking his head. "Okay, okay. Nevermind. What's your next class?"

"Um... Bio?" I scratched the back of my neck then found Jared's gaze. He was laughing, hysterically. And in his hand was a camera. The lens were pointed to us. He wagged his brows, teasing.

Mike looked at me oddly. "Alright, then. I gotta go. See you 'round." He stood up and walked away, giving me one last smile.

"You looked so stupid." J walked towards me, pulling me up, with a camera on his other hand.

"Shut up, Jared." I glowered, "And get that thing off my face."

"Aw, come on, pretty face. Smile!" He guffawed, slinging an arm around my shoulders. "Let's get to class, shall we?"

"Jared. Keep. The. Camera. Now."

"Okay, okay! Chill, Christine." He put the camera in his bag, "By the way, I caught it on act. You'll see it later. Online."

"What? No! Delete it, dope." I reached for his bag but he moved it away from my reach. "Nope, I'll post it on Facebook tonight." He chuckled, dragging me to the direction of our next class.

"Jared!" I whined, "Please, delete it. I know, I know. I looked foolish... But can you blame me? And I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean to abandon you. I was just..." I sighed, rueful.

"PMS-ing?" He suggested.

"You could say that."  

"It's alright, Christine. You know I wouldn't humiliate you. I was joking." His arm left my shoulders as he held my hand. "I can't hurt you, you know." He mumbled, staring ahead.

I smiled as I squeezed his hand. "Yup, I sort of know that."