Awkward.

Awkward: Three

                                                    • THREE •

"AH, NICE OF YOU to join us Ms. Miller and Mr. Collins.” 

        The bell rang two minutes before Andy and I walked through the doors of our first class: Health class, meaning we were two minutes late. Mrs. Parks is going to have our heads. Not only is she one of the strict teachers about tardiness at Westfield High, but she is currently four and a quarter months pregnant so I guess you can say her bitch factor is at an all-time high.

        Andy was quick to open his mouth. He's one of those students that you'd call a teacher's pet or grade grubber. Same thing with tardies, if Andy didn't want it on his record he won't hesitate to speak up – or in his case, kiss up. “Sorry Mrs. Parks we had a few car troubles but--” 

        “No excuses Anderson,” she cut Andy off mid-speech. "You know my policy about tardies.”

        “Yes ma'am and we apologize for being irresponsible – but wow, is it just me or are you glowing Mrs. Parks? Isn't she glowing, Blake?”

        I blinked a little taken aback. His question caught me off guard since normally he would do all of the sweet talking while I stood back until we were off the hook. I glanced around the classroom and saw all of my peers staring at us with an amused expression on their faces enjoying the show. Suddenly my gaze landed on Aaron who was turned around flirting with Sherri – Ms. Head Cheerleader – sitting behind him (definitely not the same girl from earlier). 

        Sherri is what everyone calls “Asian Royalty” at Westfield High. Her parents are the Philippines's most famous and loved actors and Sherri was their rising child star before they moved here. They live in the Bill Gates of Heaven side of town, obviously, but with their traveling back and forth to Asia, the house is basically Sherri's. 

        I grunted disgusted just at the sight of him and his painfully visible teenage hormones running wild. It took me a while to break away from the repulsive sight and realize that Andy and Mrs. Parks were waiting for me to respond. 

        “Huh? Oh yeah, you're definitely glowing,” I mumbled out, playing along.

        The hard look on Mrs. Parks's face began to soften. “You think? I have been using this new moisturizer lately.” 

        “Well it's totally working for you.”

        If you didn't know Andy, you'd think he was flirting with the teacher but because Westfield is such a small town, every one at school knows about his love for the male species – which is a good and bad thing for him, especially if Aaron's friends are involved. Aaron doesn't really contribute to his friends' obnoxious behavior when it comes to teasing Andy. He kind of just stands behind and watches and coughs out a short laugh once in a while. It's a bit of a surprise since the guy is never out of comebacks. 

        “Oh stop,” she gushed, dismissing his compliment with a wave of her hand. “Tell you what, since it's the first day back from Spring Break I'll let you two off the hook; now go take your seats.”

        As we were walking down the aisle to our arranged seats towards the back, Andy leaned down and whispered into my ear, “Dodged that one.” He stuck out his fist sideways to me and I bumped his with my own. Andy went ahead and traipsed over to our desks as I followed in step behind him. That is, until a hand gripped onto my arm, pulling me back. 

        “Kept this seat warm for you, Miller.” I turned over my shoulder and glanced down at Aaron sitting down with his arm outstretched while his hand was wrapped around my forearm. With one tug I managed to pull my arm back. “Keep warming it for someone who doesn't feel like throwing up every time they see you.”