Star Gazers [BXB] [COMPLETED]

Alone

The very essence of all of my fears and sorrows seemed to manifest itself in the form of first period US History.

Despite nearly sprinting to reach the school building before classes started, I arrived seven minutes after the bell. The only good thing about it was that the hallways were gloriously empty.

Reaching the door to my classroom, I forced myself to stop and take a deep breath. I was getting myself worked up, and the last thing I needed right now was a panic attack.

Steeling myself, I reached out and pulled the door open.

Mrs. Robinson paused in her lecture to look at me, as did every other set of eyes in the room. I did my best to avoid looking back at my peers, but I could still feel their stares.

"Sorry I'm late," I muttered to the teacher.

"That's fine. Take a seat, Mr. Decker," she said in a neutral tone.

I finally raised my eyes to the class.

I normally sat in the back with some of the other guys on the soccer team, but by the looks they were giving me, I figured I was no longer welcome.

The only other open seats were in the front row, and I did not hesitate to sit in the one with the fewest hostile looking students around it.

"Now then, as I was saying," the teacher continued, "this project will count as your final exam, so don't just blow it off until last minute. If you do not do it, I will be seeing you again next year. I will also not be giving you time to work on it during class. This is to be done on your own time while I finish up the last unit. Any questions?"

I stayed silent, intending to ask her what the project was about after class. When no one else made a sound, she clapped her hands together once and said, "Alright. I'll give you the next ten minutes to pick your partners and decide on a topic. After that I'll be lecturing on Chapter 14. Get going."

The room erupted into chaos as students got up to sit by their friends and scraped their desks across the tile floor. I stayed where I was, knowing that none of the people I knew in this class would want to be my partner for the project.

"Mrs. Robinson?" Someone sitting beside me called quietly. I glanced over to see a small mouse of a girl with rectangular glasses and a thin face. She was pretty, but not in the kind of way people noticed.

"Yes, Emma?"

"Can I work on this project on my own?" She asked softly.

Mrs. Robinson took a few steps closer to better hear the girl and responded, "I'd rather you had a partner for this one."

"Oh," she sounded disappointed. "What if everyone already has a partner?"

Mrs. Robinson scanned the room before her eyes landed on me. "Do you have a partner, Cole?"

That's a bit of a loaded question, isn't it?

I shook my head, signalling that I did not.

"There. You can work with Cole," she informed the girl, Emma, with an accomplished smile.

Emma sighed but nodded. I found myself fidgetting with my pencil, avoiding eye contact with any and all people, including my new project partner.

Once the teacher left, the silence was pretty awkward. I glanced back at Emma and found her staring at her folded hands.

Wanting desperately to fill the awkwardness with something less uncomfortable, I turned to her and asked, "What's the project supposed to be about? I kind of missed that part of the lecture."

"Don't worry, I'll do it," she said in that small voice of hers.

I frowned. "That's not really fair, is it? You shouldn't have to do all of the work. I want to help."

"Really?" She asked, her brows furrowing a bit as she tilted her head slightly. She still didn't look at me.

"Yeah," I shrugged, tapping my pencil eraser against the desk, "It's my grade too."

"Oh, um. We have to pick some part of history we've learned about this year and give a presentation on it. A PowerPoint or paper or something," she said hurriedly.

"So what should we do it on?" I asked, my leg bouncing as my anxiety grew.

Emma shrugged, fiddling with her fingers as she avoided looking at me.

I pursed my lips, thinking back to all of the things we went over during the year.

"How about the Salem Witch Trials?" I suggested. "I enjoyed learning about that."

"Okay," she agreed softly.

I leaned back in my chair, debating in my head on whether she was homophobic or just antisocial. She could be both.

We sat in silence again until Mrs. Robinson stood from her desk chair and told everyone to return to their seats. There was a bit of grumbling as students separated from their friends, but once everyone was settled, she began her lecture on the Cold War.

I took out my notebook and started jotting down notes. Just because I was gone for a while, didn't mean I was off the hook for the next test. I fully intended to get my grade back up by the end of the year so I could graduate on time. With that thought in mind, I decided I would stay after the bell to ask Mrs. Robinson for some extra credit opportunities.

I definitely needed it.

×××

A/N

Woooo! Chapter 2! How are you guys liking this book so far?

Any ideas of what you think is going to happen? Anything you want to happen?

Let me know and stay tuned for the next chapter!

Thanks,
-Anon