PRESENT DAY: Chapter 7
Chapter 7 —
BRIELLE
I walked into Biology late. I had been in the girl’s washroom trying to stop my over-flowing tears. I didn’t know what this was. What was going on? Did I have a secret admirer or was someone just stalking me, trying to frighten me. I wanted these “hearts” to be gifts from Marc and the thought of them being from someone else was unbearable. I composed myself at last and left the washroom.
With renewed hope I took my seat and immediately opened my desk and found my third little heart-shaped surprise. My body locked up immediately; I was excited. I wasn’t sure who it was but there only had been one guy in my life and I was praying this message, whatever it was, was from him. It read “a.”
I tried with no avail to focus in class but it was impossible. I had so much energy flowing through me I felt as if I could burst. The class finally ended and Mr. Anderson had asked Marc to stay behind. I wondered what had happened and wanted to look at him with such intensity it was unbearable to resist the pull I felt at that moment. I knew he was watching me I never felt something so strong. I was unnerved by the knowledge that I was being watched and I couldn’t walk straight, each step had to be calculated.
Eventually I reached our next class and took my seat. Again, I immediately opened my desk and found a heart-candy with a single word written on it and that word made my spirit soar. I couldn’t wipe the grin that had taken over my face. Marc walked in eventually and took his seat. I was struggling not to look at him. I focused on our teacher, Mr. Michael and noticed him staring back at Marc. He cleared his throat once and then twice. I was beyond curious and looked his way with a smile still plastered on my face. He was staring back at me and it took all my strength not to stare back at him the way he was staring at me, like I was his world.
~
School had ended and I was in the grounds hiding behind a huge Oak tree. It was my usual hiding spot and gave a great view of the front doors. I could unabashedly watch Marc walk away for minutes before he completely disappeared from my view. But today was different. I sat down and placed my heart-shaped gifts on the ground in the order they were given and read the message.
I HAVE A CRUSH ON YOU
Now I wasn’t completely sure if it was Marc who gave me these “treats” but I was willing to bet on it. Consequences be damned, I had made up my mind; I was going to tell Marc how I felt about him tomorrow. He needed to know.
MARC
I needed to see Brielle after school even though my previous attempts at finding her then were futile; I thought maybe it wouldn’t be so difficult today. I was miserably mistaken though. I couldn’t find her anywhere and eventually gave up and left.
When I got home I went straight to my room. I usually eat like a pig when I come back from school but my nerves were shot and I didn’t think I could sit still. I paced the floor in my room over and over again and yanked at my hair. I didn’t have the self control to wait till tomorrow to talk to her. I finally got tired and sat on the edge of my bed. I stayed like that for a bit, and then I got tired of doing that too. I plopped myself in the bed and stared up at the ceiling and a need kept nudging at me. I was trying to ignore it, but the anticipation of finally telling her how much I loved her and her reaction to it all was doing things to my body. I went to the washroom and satisfied my “needs.” I didn’t feel so awful about it since it was a natural part of growing up but still it was wrong to think about Brielle while doing it. I felt guilty and lied down for awhile.
My eyes were glued shut. I opened them and abruptly got up. I looked at the clock in my room. It was around seven thirty p.m. I sat there for a bit and scratched my head, thinking. I knew what I had to do. I got out of bed and walked to my closet. I went through it and found a clean pair of jeans and my best shirt. I went to take a shower and clean myself up.
~
I was walking along the sidewalk of the quiet neighbourhood. The people who lived here appeared to have the perfect lives. I was looking for a particular house though and finally found it at the very end of the street. I looked at the tree branch right beside Brielle’s window and smiled. Thank goodness for huge, old, gnarled trees beside girl’s bedroom windows. I ran behind it and started my descent. I was slightly freaked out by the thrill I felt at the thought of her being scared to death when I knocked on her window, but I was stalking her after all.
