Rose and Her Thornes

Chapter Three

Another important fact about me:

I love math. Love. It. And there is absolutely no hint of sarcasm whatsoever.

However, I hate my Algebra 2 class. Why would I if I love math?

Because of my teacher, Mrs. C.

No one really knows what her last name is. The story she tells us is that it was so hard to pronounce, one student asked her if they could just call her Mrs. C. Since it's high school and some may or may not have grown up, the rumor is that her name stands for a very colorful word commonly used to refer to genitalia. The mystery behind her name is the only interesting thing about her.

What's not a mystery is that she never fails to put you to sleep.

The woman never stops talking. It'd be somewhat okay if what she goes on and on about is actually relevant to the class. But it's not. Everyday she spends at least thirty-five of our forty-five minute class to lecture us or rant about her life or waste our lives on a grueling combination of both. My friends and I have it all down to a science.

But anyways, we're fifteen minutes into class and my friends and I all share a look. Today Mrs. C's speech is about college tuition, when we were talking about the quadratic formula. How she jumped from one to the other, I'm not even sure Jesus could've figured out.

"Yo!"

I smiled and rolled my eyes, turning to the source of the voice. "Yo."

Kyle Wood smiled, leaned towards me, and whispered,"Make any new magic in the music room this morning?"

Instantly, I remember what happened this morning and blush.

Taking that as a yes, Kyle nudged his head in the direction of the door. "Show me during lunch. You head over there and I'll get us lunch so we can just eat there. Sound good?" he suggested with a smile.

I nodded and whispered,"Just don't go overboard with lunch. You know I don't eat as much as you do and I'll pay you back."

Shaking his head, Kyle said,"No it's alright. You don't have to pay me back, this is my treat." I open my mouth to protest but he cuts me off. "Sera, let me be the gentleman I am. Seriously, it's no problem at all. If you want, the next time, you can buy," he says, trying to convince me. But I know he won't let me. We always go through this argument because he never lets me pay.

I feel someone kick my desk from behind and then a cough,"Say yes already.."

With a nod, I smile and blush. "Fine."

Kyle smiles back and goes back to humming "Swords and Pens", waiting for me to do the same.

Quickly, I turn around and glare at Mia. "Really?"

She shrugs and acts all innocent. While she bats her eyelashes and smiles sweetly, she says,"I was trying to help my friend. Free lunch, alone, with the guy she likes, paid for by the guy she likes."

My eyes widen and I put my hand over her mouth. "Shush! Do you want the whole class to know?"

I feel her smile beneath my hand and I pull away. Childishly, I stick my tongue out at her before turning around and humming along with Kyle.

As Mrs. C continues on her meaningless lecture, I hear the clock ticking, some students snoring, and a scoff from the corner of the room. I stiffen and slowly turn to look at the source.

There sat Daniel Thorne, looking right at me.

I felt my cheeks burn as he held my gaze. I completely forgot he was in this class, mainly because he never shows up.

The seconds felt like hours as we both continued to look at each other, as I waited for him to turn away first. But he didn't. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore and turned back to face the board.

A low chuckle reached my ears.

I felt my cheeks get warmer as I blushed harder.

The bell rang and everyone jumped out of their seats, eager to leave the classroom. We were assigned homework and she hadn't even bothered teaching the material. With a groan, we all shuffled out to the hallway, heading in different directions. Mia and I walked to our lockers while Kyle went to his. When he passed us by, he called out,"Don't forget!"

Mia nudged me while she had this wicked grin on her face. I rolled my eyes but smiled anyway. And again, I heard a scoff from behind. However, this time I didn't turn around. I didn't need to know who it was. What I needed to know was why he was doing that. Was I doing something to annoy him? Or is he just trying to annoy me?

Having noticed my stillness, Mia nudged me again and practically screamed out,"Hurry up! Go put your stuff away, get your books, and get your lovesick butt to the music room!"

Frantically, I did as told while she kept shoving me into the locker and fixing me up. Once I was ready, she walked around me to make sure I looked alright. "Am I good to go?" I asked her.

With two thumbs up, she smiled and said,"As good as the pizza I'm about to devour once you leave to get some tasty lunch yourself. Now shoo! Go get your man!"

I rolled my eyes, closed my locker, and started to make my way to the music room.

Even though we did this almost everyday, I was happy and excited to share music with Kyle. And to spend time with him.

With a spring in my step, I walked through the school toward my room. I smiled at people I knew, greeted my friends, and took in the view of the garden from this side of the school.

What I failed to do was take notice of the figure watching me around every corner.