*Back to present**
Math class was a bore. Sure, I understood it, Algebra and Geometry and all that crap, but I spent most of the class watching my friend Carter Brown make a fool out of himself. Despite his charisma, I couldn't help but think that although Carter was hilarious, Jason was a comedy legend here at Eastwood High School. A master of theatrics, Jason loved to impersonate people, such as the Indian guy at Comcast, the typical white girl, and our old seventh grade teacher, Mr. Lee, who said "yep" and "thanks" in every sentance. Nearly everything Jason said or did was comedy gold, and he was comic relief for nearly everybody at EHS.
Stop thinking about him, I thought to myself, and pushed Jason to the back of my mind as I joined the rest of the class in laughing at Carter, whose sense of humor was more innapropriate and crude than Jason's smooth-talking and sharp wit. However, Carter was hilarious noneless.
Carter was a short, stocky, fulll-scale model of Adonis, with a mop of brown hair, a slightly chubby frame, one dimple on his left cheek, and a "Mexican" face, although his ethnical background was anything but hispanic. Whenever somebody, mainly his best friend Jason, called him Mexican, Carter would roll his eyes and shout at the top of his lungs, "I'M FUCKING FILLIPINO!!" This would usually result in eveybody looking at him, but Carter didn't care. Much like Jason, he basked in the attention. Carter was a bit of a pervert, and we had been friends since 8th grade.
As the class clown, Carter loved to think think of new way to annoy our bespectacled, nasally teacher Mr. Greenwald, by making rude jokes or innapropriate comments, which cracked the class up. Mr. Greenwald, however, was not amused by Carter's antics. Despite his behavior, Carter maintained perfect grades, shocking all of his teachers. How he managed to do this was a mystery.
After class, Carter and I walked to the lockers together, and chatted about life. Despite his jokester reputation, he was a real teddy bear.
"So Skye, hows life going for you? Like, your looove life," Carter drew out the word love like a second grader, and grinned evily.
"Very funny."
Carter knew all about my attempts at trying to develop feelings towards past boyfriends, but the attempts were all in vain. It hadn't always been that way, but after one particular relationship, I seemed to have lost all affection for guys. Except, of course, for people like Carter, who I loved like family.
And except for the one who broke me.
"Nah, I'm just kidding Skye," Carter punched my playfully in the shoulder. I rolled my eyes, but couldn't help but smile.
"So, how are you and Brooke doing? Having fun?" It was my turn to tease.
"I wish. She's dating that big football jock, Matt. Fucking Matt thinks he's sooo cool," Carter spit, glaring over to where Matt was carrying Brooke on his back on the other side of the school yard. Carter had liked Brooke since eighth grade, and everybody knew it. Including Brooke.
"Well, don't you worry. You'll get her. And if you don't, you'll move on and find someone better"
"Why Skye, you give such good advice, but you seldom follow it," Carter joked.
"Hilarious."
***
The day seemed to drag by, as I suffered through class after class. Here and there, I caught a glimpse of Jason, but other than that, I barely saw him.
At lunch, instead of sitting with my friends, Brooke, Ana, Sarah, Ally, Lulu, and Addie, I grabbed a ceaser salad and headed off to sit on the little bench, where I sometimes spent my lunch periods. As I opened my all-time favorite book, Looking For Alaska, and munched on a ceaser salad leaf, I suddenly felt like I was being watched. I glanced up, and immidiately recognised a tall figure standing behind the bench, watching me curiously with a big smile plastered goofily across his face.
"Classic Skye. Always with her nose in a book," Jason laughed, and bubbles of warmth spread throughout my body. I smiled and attempted Jason's famous eyebrow raise.
"You should try reading sometime. It'll do you good. Surely, nobody, not even the great Jason, can balance humor and grades very well," I said sarcastically, not taking my eyes off the book.
"Oh, is that so?"Jason rolled his eyes playfully.
I went to open my mouth when Carter yelled something to Jason.
"What did you say, little Mexican?" Jason called, eyes sparkling, before flashing me a bright smile and jogging across the field to Carter. Even from where I stood, I could hear Carter screaming, "I'M FILLIPINO!! FILLIPINO YOU DUMB FUCK!" Watching Jason go, I sighed, partially out of happiness, and partially out of hopelessness. Jason was an amazing, hilarious guy, but there was no way he liked me. This was just another one of his little mind games he constantly loved playing on me. I just couldn't trust him.
**flashback to sixth grade**
I lay on the grass outside of my science class, reading a book while the other sixth graders enjoyed recess in the quad. I was flipping the page of my Hunger Games book, when someody shouted something at me.
"Heads up!" A purple Nerf football flew through the air, and smacked right into my forehead.
"GOD DAMMIT BRANDON!" I yelled at a kid with a greasy bowl cut and freckles as I threw the ball back.
"Sorry, Skye. Can't help it if you decided to park your fat ass right near we're playing." Brandon scoffed, and high-fived his buddy, Dillon. I narrowed my eyes at them. I can't believe I ever obsessed over you, Brandon, I thought to myself as I searched for my place in my book.
"Hey."
I jumped, and looked up at a familiar-looking boy with ash-brown hair and a big smile.
"Oh, hey. I didn't see you there. I mean, now I see you, but I didn't before and now I do, oh wait that sounded awkward.." I trailed off as he sat in the grass next to me.
"Hey, I know you. You're that girl who was watching my friends and I play baseball!"
I smirked, my confidence boosted. "I wouldn't exactly call what you were doing 'playing baseball.' It looked to me like all of your attention was focused on crude humor and squirting water bottles at each other. Hey, what was your name again? Joshua or Jackson or something?
"Haha. No, I'm Jason. And you are...?" He smiled.
"Skye. I'm Skye."
"Well Skye-" Jason started to say something, but was inturrupted by Brandon.
"JASON! Come on!! Stop chatting and come finish the game!" Brandon tapped the Nerf football impatiently against his leg.
"Coming. Well, I guess I'll see you around, Skye." Jason smiled playfuly as he got to his feet and ran over to Brandon.
I sat on the grass, way too excited to read my book. Jason had talked to me. I had a weird tingly feeling inside of me, and wondered what it could be. It wasn't love, and it wasn't like, so it must have been what the kids at school called like like. Strange. Strange but oddly pleasurable.
I watched Jason and his friends toss the football around, and could no longer concentrate on reading. All I could focus on was Jason. Sure, he had a kind of big nose, and was super tall, especially compared to me. But I couldn't help thinking that maybe, just maybe, something was starting.
**End of flashback**
