Dork Diaries: Brianna's First Year

The Note

It started with a simple note on my desk.

I had just walked into my form room, sitting down quietly and waiting for the class to start. Looking around for Ally, Matt and Cat, whom I hadn't found that morning, I narrowed my eyes. Everyone in the classroom was sitting and staring at me little too quietly, and I immediately became suspicious.

When I didn't detect any immediate danger, I pulled out a pencil from my pencil case and turned to the board.

"Brianna?" It was Taylor Heart, the daughter of my form mistress. She was snooty, the leader of the CCPs. She most definitely does not have a good heart. I turned to look at her, watching her gesture towards my desk. "I think you have a note."

My eyes wandered to my desk, eyebrow raising. Sure enough, a neatly folded piece of paper sat at the corner. I lowered the hand gripping the pencil, turning back to my desk. The paper was shaped like a letter, but rolled up instead of folded. My name was written on the surface in clear, block letters:

Brianna Lynn Maxwell.

I stared at the letter for a good few moments, wondering why someone would be writing to me. I had only been at WCD for a day, and besides Matt, Cat and Ally, I hadn't made many friends.

For the rest of the day, classes consumed me completely and distracted me from the questions in my head. It was only when I was sitting in the library at lunch with Ally and Cat that I realized I still had that unopened letter. I dug into my bag to fetch it and slowly peeled away the wad of tape, feeling even more curious about the less-than-proper way it was written. As soon as I started reading though, I felt the illusion crash down on me.

I nearly yelped out loud and let it fall from my hands, face burning with the intensity of a thousand suns. The letter was..... explicit to say the least. I stared at it where I had dropped it on the desk in front of me, heart racing. I couldn't believe that Matt had written such.... such shameless things in a letter to someone he barely knew. It was unprofessional. Inappropriate. Unacceptable.

I cursed and stood up, still in a disheveled state. Ally and Cat looked up, confused. I didn't care. I grabbed the letter, having only read half of it, leaving the library to find the author of the atrocious piece.

It was well into lunch, and as it was still September, the students were out in the sun enjoying the blissful heat, meaning the hallways were empty. And just as well. I looked like I was on a mission, determined, with a hint of offense on my face. I could still feel the heat dissipating off my very skin as I speed-walked through the corridors. It was a long trek from the library to the Computer Room (where I believed Matt to be hiding), but it didn't stop me.

It was only when I had knocked on the door of the Computer Room and stood there to catch my breath did I realise exactly how disheveled I looked. I blinked, taking a deep breath. I hadn't even thought of what I was going to say. Based on the day before, I seemed to have a tendency to get tongue tied around Matt. I cursed myself internally.

--

The door swung open with a slight squeak, light from inside falling on me. I squinted against the sudden light to make out Matt's surprised face. Before he could utter a word, I held the letter up, pinched between my index finger and thumb, like I could barely touch it.

"May I ask what this is?" I managed to say, voice louder than it should have been in the empty hall. "And also, what warranted this.... this garbage?"

Matt blinked a bit, eyes trying to focus on the letter. He looked at me again then, before his eyes traveled behind me. The hallway was still empty, making my loud voice echo.

"I think you should come in. It's more private here." He suggested, voice much softer than my own. He stepped aside to make room but I didn't budge.

"Absolutely not!" I sneered. Again, I held the letter out. "Maybe this was your plan all along. But I won't fall for it. I have more self respect than that." I dropped the letter, and it slowly floated to the ground. I wished it had a more straight trajectory, so it would look a bit more dramatic as it fell.

"I hope you realize how inappropriate this was." I continued. "And be very grateful I didn't report this to the Principal. But anything more like this and I will. So I would watch it if I were you."

That was the last thing I said before I turned around and walked speedily back the way I came from, my head held up. I felt proud of my little speech, but extremely upset that drama had already happened - on my second day, too - and that my crush for Matt had lasted no more than 24 hours.

I didn't falter long enough to see the utter look of confusion on Matt's face.