Zoey 101: You Must Of Had A Broken Heart ☑

Chapter 5

"That sounds great," I said, forcing a smile, falling in line with all the others unable to disappoint Lola.

"Really? We don't have to go to the party. I could figure something else out. You looked pale when I mentioned it."

"No, I want to go," I lied.

"Perfect!" Lola exclaimed, hugging me again. She was very affectionate today; it was throwing me off. I think she realized it too because she pulled back. "Sorry, I'm just so excited that you're going with me. I don't think I could go through with it if you weren't there. Besides, we hardly ever get out of school time together, so this is going to be the best."

I smiled awkwardly, my stomach still twisting with thoughts of the party. It was for Lola. I could get through it. What was the worst that could happen? Well... people might actually try to talk to me. My stomach turned again just thinking about it. This was going to be terrible. I swallowed hard.

More than ever, I needed to retreat to Art class to recover from panicked thoughts of the party. Art was the rotating class that moved through my schedule. Today it took the place of English, as my first class - thankfully. I was desperate to escape in my work.

I walked into the open space of the Art room, inhaling the calming scents of paints, glue and cleaning chemicals with a gentle smile. It was inviting and warm with its tall yellow walls covered with art projects and the oversized windows that glowed with natural light. I breathed easier in this room. No matter how my day was going or what I left behind at home, I gained control over it in here.

Ms. Minaj greeted us as we sat at our stools at the tall black work tables. Ms. Minaj was the sweetest, kindest person I'd ever met. Compassion exuded from her, which made her an amazing artist and an inspirational teacher.

She invited us to continue working on our assignments from last class, replicating a picture with movement we tore from a magazine. There was some murmuring, but it was fairly quiet as the attention was primarily focused on the art. The quiet was another reason I loved this class so much.

My heart skipped a beat - amongst the murmurs, one stood out. I didn't want to look but was drawn to the smooth voice. There he was, standing at the front of the class, talking to Ms. Minaj while holding a camera. She flipped through a book of what appeared to be photographs, making comments. He glanced up and grinned when he saw me. I shot my eyes back to my canvas. I wished I really were invisible.

"So I guess you are pretty good," Chase said from beside me. I looked up from my canvas. My heart was behaving insanely, beating at a pace that didn't coincide with sitting still. Calm down - what was wrong with me? He continued when I could only stare up at him blankly. "Soccer. That was quite the game yesterday."

"Oh, thanks. Are you in this class too?" I felt the heat rise in my cheeks.

"Sort of," he responded. "I asked to switch to this class if I could work on photography projects instead. Ms. Minaj agreed, so here I am."

"Oh," was all I could mutter. He grinned, which sent more color to my face. My body was betraying me - between my hyperactive heart and my fiery face, I had no control. It was not like me, and it was driving me crazy.

To my relief, Ms. Minaj interrupted us before the possession could completely humiliate me. "So you know Zoey Brooks? That's wonderful."

"We met yesterday," Chase replied, glancing at me with a smile.

"I'm happy to see that you've made some connections. Zoey, would you mind showing Chase the photo lab supplies and the dark room?" My heart went from being on speed, to a dead stop, but my face kept beaming red. It must have been radiating heat by now.