"Roar."
I could recognize that noise anywhere. Even in the crowded zoo I knew who that was. It was Caleb Black, the man of my dreams and soon to be husband, joking around with the other jocks during our yearly field trip to the zoo.
He was, to put it bluntly, what every girl wanted in a man. From his smooth, chiseled body to his enormous personality that sucked the energy out of any room, he the centerpiece of everywhere he went. Truly a party animal, the amount of women he probably slayed his simply too big to fathom. Caleb was the epitome of high school life.
But then there was me. Too scrawny to be chunky, but liked chicken nuggets too much to be slim, I was the type of girl no one but the teachers noticed. Being the teacher's pet since my first day of school, the only time I'd ever had a conversation with a boy was, "What'd you get for number four?" While Caleb was out partying every weekend with his tons of friends, I was usually on the couch, talking to my only friend, Ava, about how great her boyfriend is and how I have never even kissed a boy. Me and Caleb were polar opposites. When would we ever interact?
Well, right now, apparently.
Our science class had taken its annual field trip to the city zoo. The only reason we ever did this was because our teacher, Ms. Johnson, hated us and teaching in general and the zoo is free. As I was standing next to Mrs. Blair, the other science teacher I had always dreamed of having, with my coffee in hand, looking at the monkey exhibit and wishing I was at home, I felt a strong force bump into me. OOF.
"Sorry about that" Caleb said, jokingly shoving his friend as he did to him. My outfit was ruined. "Oh my god! I'm so sorry about that" he said, staring wide-eyed at my now brown sweatshirt. "It's fine," I said, hiding my anger to play it cool for this innocent pile of meat.
After our day of looking at animals suffer in cages was over, we took a long, boring ride back to our uneventful high school. I always sat towards the front with the teachers since I don't really associate with anyone else. About 5 rows behind me, I could hear Caleb and Brittany, his "hoe of the week," as I hear his friends call her, laughing it up, and I could just imagine her twiddling with her hair and flirting with him like the slut she is. We finally arrive at the school. If it would've taken any longer I would've thrown up my lunch after hearing what was going on a few rows back.
As I attempt to grab my things out of my locker, I feel a big, strong hand grab my petite shoulder. It was Caleb.
"I'm really sorry about what happened at the zoo earlier," he said, wholeheartedly. "Oh it's alright," I replied back, taken back by his surprising sincerity. "I just didn't want to come off as some asshole, so how about I take you out for a new cup of coffee?"
I was taken back. I had always seen Caleb as this woman slayer, one who "smashed then passed." I mean, he was always the life of the party, girls on both arms, alcohol in hand. And what about the crap that was going on on the bus with Brittany? Was that nothing? I was shook. I just stood there silently for a couple seconds.
"If you're not interested, that's fine. I..."
"No no no," I interrupted. "Of course." "Great," he replied back. "We can take my car."
As he says this my phone starts to vibrate. It's Ava, my only friend. Although I would never pass up on talking to the only person who usually wants to have a conversation with me, I decide to let it ring. If it was really that important, she would call back. This event is too monumental to pass on. We head out the doors of the school, Caleb holding the door open for me as I place my still-vibrating phone back into my pocket.
As we walk out to the parking lot, I feel my phone still vibrating from Ava's calls. We head towards his Smart Car, the only vehicle left in the parking lot besides my own. It's not exactly what I expected from a hunky brute like Caleb, but I guess that just shows how much he cares about the environment, which I guess is sexy.
As I squeeze into his small ride, I receive a text from Ava. "Everything alright?" he asks, obviously noticing my constant phone noises. "Yeah. You know, everyone hitting me up at once, right?" I reply back jokingly, hoping to hide my actual awkwardness. He smiles and turns his head back to the road. I'm unsure if he actually believes me or not, as I secretly wonder if I just ruined my chances with him.
As we continue toward McDonald's, I look over at him and realize that this is actually happening. I'm on cloud 9; I almost have to pinch myself to make sure I'm not dreaming. As we pull into the parking lot, I ask the question that's been burning in my mind for the past few minutes, "So, you and Brittany, huh?"
"So you think that too, huh? I can't believe the shit that gets spread around this school!" he retorts back. I feel bad. I didn't mean to piss him off with this simple question.
"I'm sorry. It's just... I'm tired of everyone thinking I'm this guy who just goes through women left and right. People act like I don't respect women, which isn't true at all."
I sense the sincerity and hurt in his voice when he says this; the way people are viewing him is truly hurting him deep down.
"I didn't mean to bring up something that's affecting you this bad," I respond sheepishly. "I was just curious, why you took me to get coffee if you can get someone like Brittany who's clearly prettier than me."
"To be honest with you...um, I'm, sorry... what's your name?" It had never hit me before. We have never interacted . I had always been in the advanced classes in school, while he had been in the ones designated for the "average students." The only reason I knew he existed was by seeing him in the hallways. But man did I check him out when I did see him walking to class.
"It's Evelyn," I smiled back, putting a hand on his shoulder as a way to console him. "Evelyn Davis."
"I'm really sorry I didn't know that before. It's just that, you know... it's a big school, and..." I interrupted him, "No it's OK. I understand."
I couldn't believe it. Not only was I going out to coffee with Caleb Black, but I, Evelyn Davis, was making him stutter and feel nervous. I've never felt this much power before.
"Anyway, you were saying?" "Right, sorry Evelyn." I got him back on track.
"I was saying, I know it looks like I hang out with all these girls... well, I do. But I've never really had an emotional connection with any of them. That moment I bumped into you at the zoo, I know it sounds cliche, but I kinda felt something there."
Wow. When it happened I figured the only thing he felt at that time was my ribcage with his elbow. But I could tell his words were sincere.
"What I've done during high school, that's not love, not a relationship. I want someone to actually care about me and me care about them. You seemed like a sweet girl. I've thought that for a long time. That moment at the zoo, it must've been fate. I saw it as opportunity to try and make something. I hope I don't come off too overbearing or creepy, but I feel like I need to tell you how I feel Evelyn. I'm tired of the bullshit I've been doing lately, and well, you seem like the change in scenery I needed."
I didn't know what to say. I had only read about this in romance novels, but never would suspect a guy like Caleb Black to feel this way about someone, let alone me.
"I'd like that," I said. "Let's head in and give it a shot."
