Word that the new girl, Abigail Scarlett was going out with Cindy’s ex-boyfriend spread through the school like wildfire. People that, under any other circumstances wouldn’t have given Abigail the time of day, suddenly saw her in a whole new light, as if she were a totally different person (or in Abigail’s case, as if she actually was a person).
As the two of them walked down the crowded halls, hand-in-hand, people would raise their eyebrows in surprise and would immediately turn to their neighbors and begin to whisper excitedly to one another. Some of the guys would even stop to high-five Jake or shoot him a thumbs-up as he passed them in the halls. Abigail even thought she heard the odd wolf whistle escape some of the more raucous guys.
Now that Abigail knew she wasn’t going to lose Jake anytime soon, she didn’t know if she preferred for everyone to ignore her instead of this constant, and rather demeaning and embarrassing attention.
The people, of course, who remained indifferent to this new development, was Cindy and her clique of friends. If anything, they grew colder and more exclusive than ever before.
“This is so weird.” Abigail commented one day, as they made their way to French class together. As she said it, she glanced uneasily around at the many people peering over each others heads to catch a glimpse of the two of them.
“It is?” Jake asked, a hint of sadness tinged his voice.
“Not this.” Abigail laughed, leaning her head on his shoulder. “This.” She gestured to the crowd of people trying to hide their obvious curiosity, with her free hand.
“I couldn’t agree more.” He laughed with her, relief etched onto his face. He kissed the top of her head gently as he spoke.
“So where are you planning to take me for dinner?” Abigail asked playfully, standing on the edge of her toes to ruffle his already tousled dirty-blonde hair.
“I thought my house, you haven’t been over in a while, and to be honest, I think my parents miss you.” He replied, winking.
“Awesome! What’s your dad cooking tonight?”
“His famous Greek-style kabobs, your favourite.”
“Mmmm, those are the absolute best kabobs ever!”
“Great! It would give me an opportunity to introduce you to my parents.”
“What are you blabbing about? I’ve already met them, and I’ve been to your house a hundred and one times by now-”
“I mean introduce you as my girlfriend....”
“Oh.” Abigail smiled, trying to hide her embarrassment. “I’d like that.”
“Good.” He murmured into her hair.
They had reached their class by now and entered together; sitting in the same spot they had sat the first time they had French class on Abigail’s first day.
“Please settle down!” Ms. Lawrence’s sharp, barking voice commanded the class. Nothing could be heard but the scraping of chairs as people rushed to reach their seats. “Today is your in-class assignment day. You will have this class and this class only to write a fictional story, namely, a series of paragraphs about a topic of your choosing. Remember, time you waste only hurts your grade more, and as always, any inappropriate topics will earn you an immediate zero. There are lined papers up here on my desk if you need them. Good luck, you may begin.” As she finished addressing the class she sat down briskly and wasted no time in getting to work marking tests; her glasses perched on the tip of her pointed noise, threatening to slide off at any moment.

YOU ARE READING
(You are Never) ALONE
Teen Fiction"Sometimes, when you're trying to find yourself, it takes more than just yourself to do it." It's a story about love, about hardships, about hope, but most of all about finding yourself especially when you never thought it was possible. Because ever...