"I'm going to kill you!" I seethed.
Ignoring the stares I was receiving from some of my fellow classmates, I marched my way up to Amber's desk and slammed both of my hands on her table.
(Well, to be quite honest, I just gently placed them there.)
(I just wanted to add some sort of dramatic effect.)
Amber bit her lip nervously. "Yeah, about that..."
I raised an eyebrow and sat down next to her. "Where were you? You said you'd notify me if someone had returned! Where'd you two go?"
"Well, we sort of ran away," she sheepishly smiled. "What happened anyway?"
"Well, I didn't have time to climb back down so I had to hide in Dylan's bathroom! In his tub! And guess who decided it would be best if he took a shower? He did!" I glared at Amber as she forcefully tried to hide her snickers.
"Your life is just a bunch of misfortunes, you know that?" she laughed. I couldn't disagree. "Anyway, what went down between you two?" She smirked at me. "Did something happen?"
The frown I was wearing hastily disappeared and I was left sputtering out incoherent stammers, my face glowing red. Honestly, with how warm my face was, the heat I was radiating could have heated the classroom.
"That's insane! How could you possibly—Amber, that's just—it's just absurd to think that could have—why did you—" Amber's laugher cut me off.
"Chill, Aubrey. I'm only joking."
I took a deep breath and averted my attention to the board. The anger I was feeling slowly deteriorated and I was left with a minor feeling of embarrassment. However, I then felt pretty confident. I mean, yes, Amber and Tymon abandoned me during the mission, and, well, Dylan did catch me which ended with both of us in his bathtub, but something good did come out of the situation. God knows where he had my picture hidden but I did manage to get back at him.
I grinned mischievously.
"Why are you grinning?" Amber asked. The teacher assigned us our task for the period and I took out my book.
"Well," I smiled, flipping through the pages. "I did manage to get my revenge in the end."
"How so? He caught you, didn't he?"
"True," I replied, gesturing with my finger. "But, I managed to steal something – a picture. It's quite rare, too. So, he has a picture of me and I of him. We are square – even."
Amber looked impressed. "Woah, now that I think about it, you actually went along with the plan. And you succeeded. Props to you, Aubrey."
I grinned, yet again, in victory. I had never felt that excited in my entire life. I scribbled the answer to one of the questions in my textbook and then averted my attention to the class. Some were quietly working; others, not so much. A mane of black hair caught my attention and I couldn't help but smirk.
Dylan seemed as if he hadn't noticed it yet. But, I knew he would. I observed him. His eyebrows were furrowed and he was biting down on his lip in frustration.
He was quite weird, to tell you that.
Not in the I-embarrass-myself-constantly weird. He was very strange and mysterious and to be quite honest, I have never seen him smile. I know he had smirked at me or something and he did like to patronize me now and then...but the only genuine smile I have ever seen on his face was that of his adolescence years – and it was just one picture.
(Which was hiding in my bedroom.)
He wasn't the type of boy I had expected him to be. I could tell many in this school directly admired him but what was a shock to me was that he didn't seem to care. Like at all. And that's what was weird about him.
"All right, kids," the couch yelled, blowing his whistle after to get our attention. "Boys versus boys. Girls versus girls. Half-court for each. Go ahead and pick your teams."
I was never really good at gym. I actually sucked at it. I never really did anything during the games and I was always surprised at how I would actually pass the class. I mean, I did pitch in the effort and I guess that's how I passed. They were satisfactory results that I was actually happy with.
The team captains were Abby and Anna. Now, Abby was popular. But, she wasn't a cliché popular girl. She had short, red hair and it fell in waves. She had a petite face and figure and freckles were scattered across her face. Her body was covered in tattoos. To be straightforward, she was this...well, she was this rebellious teenager.
And she didn't like me.
Moving on to Anna...Anna was this very sweet girl that I had Biology class with. We never really spoke that much but she was a very nice girl.
"Earth to Dawson! Gosh, c'mon," Abby sneered and a few snickers erupted from some of her friends, including the boys.
Oh.
(I guess you could call it a little cliché.)
"S-sorry!" I exclaimed, passing the ball to her. Coach blew his whistle and the game commenced. Once Abby had caught the ball, she ignored everyone and took a shot.
The ball went through the net in one swift movement. The boys cheered, hardly paying attention to their own game. I crossed my arms and wrinkled my nose. The gym uniform is horrible, I thought, completely lost in my own thoughts. Amber stood near me, unfazed by what was going on around her. She didn't enjoy sports, either.
I looked around. Abby was in the middle of the court and blocking one of our teammates – her name was Carly. Carly tried to shoot but Abby stole the ball and made the shot herself, earning her team another point. She highfived her friends and ran a hand through her hair, a grin plastered across her face.
I sighed, hoping the time would pass quickly.
"Ugh," Amber groaned. "I just want this period to be over. I absolutely hate this class."
I laughed.
Abby made yet another shot.
I looked over to the boys. They abandoned their game and sat next to our half of the court. They were cheering on Abby's team and I have to admit, I felt pretty awkward standing there doing absolutely nothing. I scanned the huddle of boys and found that one stood out. Dylan was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest. The gym uniform consisted of a t-shirt, thus exposing his tattoos.
(Abby made another shot.)
I squinted my eyes.
He was watching her. His face was expressionless but he did seem sort of engulfed, I guess you could say.
The score was even between the two teams and I didn't really care. However, as I was absorbed in my own thoughts, I didn't notice the ball being passed to one of our team members and I most definitely did not notice that certain teammate calling out my name. Well, it was bad timing.
I whipped my head towards her. "Wait, what? No! Don't–"
She threw the ball over to me.
I caught it.
"Fifteen seconds left!" the coach yelled.
"Shoot it, Aubrey! You can do it!" Anna said, struggling to block Abby. Abby managed to escape and raced towards me.
"Ten seconds left!" the coach yelled. My heart hammered in my chest. I averted my gaze onto the net and panicking, I took one last and deep breath and threw the ball. It was then that Abby had reached me. But, it was too late.
The gym fell silent.
The ball rolled around the net in three circular motions as the coach counted down the remainder of the time. Before he could reach one, the ball slipped through the net.
I had made the shot.
The coach blew the whistle three times, signaling the end of the game. "Team Anna wins! Team Abby, hit the showers!"
Abby's face contorted in annoyance and she muttered obscene words.
"Yes!" Anna screamed, grinning and pumping her hands in the air. Surprised cheers erupted from around the gym. Anna highfived me. "Good work, Aubrey! We wouldn't have done it without you!"
"I-it was only one shot," I stammered, blushing. "You guys did great."
"You helped us win, man," Anna smiled. "That counts."
Other team members grinned at me and I smiled, especially at the fact that Amber had to use the school's showers. They were quite filthy showers, too. I smirked at her as she trudged towards the bathroom. It could count as a punishment for abandoning me last night.
Smiling, I turned my head away.
And that's when he and I locked gazes and I basically felt my insides basically melt. He flashed me a small smile and waved and I was shocked. I literally was. I didn't think he even knew my name. I swallowed hard and awkwardly lifted my hand up, waving back at him. His name was Dallas and he was basically all a girl could ever ask for. He was intelligent and charming and sweet and good-looking. Now, I never really talked to him much, which was why his waving at me surprised me.
When I did get back to Earth, everyone was gone and I was standing there like an idiot. I ran to the bathrooms and cleaned up a little, changing into more comfortable clothes. I tied my hair back into a messy bun and left for class.
