The Switch (GirlxGirl)

Chapter 2: This Strange Feeling

Song: This Strange Effect - The Shacks

Standing outside the unfamiliar class, a smile inevitably forms on my lips when I hear The Lumineer's Ho Hey blasting in the room and a beautiful voice singing along.

"I belong with you, you belong with me and my sweet heart..." I love this song!

I step into the room and look around. There's a somewhat messy desk at the back and counters lining two parallel sides of the classroom. Desks in rows are filling the centre of the room.

Ms Clarke must have noticed my presence because she stops singing and the music gets quieter. I turn around to face the wall with the door and see a small desk with a laptop and a white board on the wall.

"Hello." She greets me, walking towards me from the small desk. I feel myself frozen in place. I must be more nervous than I thought I was. I look at her. Her smile, her curly hair, the tattoos that cover her arms. I was right, she does have tattoos. Only when she is standing right in front of me do I notice my staring.

"Hi uh" I have trouble forming words as she smiles at me. "I'm Xena Ingram. I'm gonna be in your seventh period class for the rest of the year." I notice my hand is shaking when I give her the little slip of paper that Mrs Caldwell gave me. I watch in admiration as she quickly reads the note.

"Well Xena, it's nice to meet you." She holds out her hand for me to shake and I do so. When my hand touches her, it makes my stomach warm, like a cookie fresh out of the oven. It feels like home. Confused by what I'm feeling, I quickly take my hand away from hers. "Did you have Mr Stevenson?" She asks me, her smile never leaving her beautiful face... What?

"Uh, yeah." I still struggle to speak confidently which seems to amuse Ms Clarke.

"Cool. He and I pretty much do the same stuff. I just teach a little differently." She directs me to sit down in one of the desks and I do so a bit hesitantly. "I'm sure you'll be fine in here." She sits on top of the desk in front of me and looks relaxed. I try to do the same.

"What do you mean by different?" I gain the courage to ask her. If I'm sitting I'll probably be here for a while. I actually don't want to leave. I could go to creative writing but something in me makes me want to stay with Ms Clarke.

"I just call things by different names. Some of my math techniques are different too but you can use whatever way works best for you. Are you good at chemistry?" She makes steady eye contact with me which makes me uneasy. How can she be so confident?

"Yeah. I'm actually really good. I was kinda like a TA for Mr Stevenson cause I was so good." I explain, feeling a bit more comfortable. I still don't understand what it is about Ms Clarke that makes me feel so nervous. A good kind of nervous. She seems taken aback by my response which makes me smile.

"Awesome. Maybe you can help me too." Her smile causes me to grin as well. What is happening?

"Of course! I'm always happy to help." I say without thinking. My cheeks hurt from smiling so much but I can't seem to stop. The way Ms Clarke's pale greens eyes watch me makes me happy, like I would do anything for her to look my direction.

"So Xena Ingram," the way she says my name with intrigue makes me feel confident. "What do you do for fun?" She asks, trying to get to know me I guess. It makes me feel that good nervousness again. I bite my lip, thinking.

"Well Ms Clarke," I return her name with the same tone she said mine with. It makes her laugh a bit. God, her laugh! I would give anything to hear it again. "I play ukulele and..." my voice trails off while I search for other things about myself. When I'm about to say something else, I look back up into Ms Clarke's eyes to see her excited expression. It amuses me that she has the same looks on her face I would expect a kid in a candy store to have.