Catch Me

Chapter 1

I still remember when I saw Carter Mattingly for the first time. I was standing by the bus stop before school when I saw him; he was tall, roughly 5'10, with dusty blonde hair and a thousand watt smile. If it wasn't his looks that stole my heart at first sight, it was his adorable, yet not too noticeable, southern accent that I first heard when he wandered pensively over to me and asked if the bus stop we were standing at was for Wilvern High School. 

After I got to school, all I could think of was the bus ride on the way here. Carter was so interesting. From his move here to Phoenix, his "Momma" (total Mom's boy-- I found it adorable), to his favorite color being green, I felt I learned a lot about him but I still wanted to know more. In the twenty minutes we spent chatting, I decided I had to make a move before the rest of the school caught wind of the Southern sweetie. Wow, as much as I hated it, I sounded like such a teenage girl. 

"Hey Rylee, wait up," Carter shouted. I stopped and waited for him to catch up to me. 

He released a fake and dramatic sigh before saying, "I'm glad I caught you. So listen, I have no idea where to find my Geography class." 

"Let's see what room you're in," I said holding his schedule. I glanced down and read the small numbers on the page. "Oh, you're in room 42. That's my class," I said, trying to appear calm and collected while my heart flounced inside my chest.  

"Well, that's swell," he asserted. I could feel my face flush. 

"You see, class, MacKaye wanted to create a network of farms and communities so that--," Mr. Mathers stopped his spiel and glared at Carter and me with mock anger. "You're late, Rylee," he said, almost jokingly, "And you," he said eyeballing Carter, "Must be our new student." 

Carter grinned. "Yes, Sir. That would be me," he said, glancing around the room. 

"If you don't mind my asking, what brought you to Arizona? I mean, in April of all times." 

"Family," Carter said, suddenly engaged in the conversation, "My grandmother has fallen ill and my Momma wanted us to be here to take care of her." The class snickered after he referenced to his mother in such fashion. 

"I am sorry to hear that, Carter. Where are you transferring from?" 

"Cary, North Carolina," 

"Oh really? Well, we are currently learning about the Appalachian Mountains," Mr. Mathers looked to Carter for a response. He paused, then continued, "Since it is only about six hours away from there, I would hope that this section would come easily to you." 

"Yessir," Carter said, nervously slurring the words together, "I took a trip there with my Momma in fourth grade and--,"  

"Please select a seat and sit down, Mr. Mattingly," Mr. Mathers said, abruptly ending their conversation. 

As I hoped, Carter picked the seat behind me and after a few minutes he passed me a note. 

"I know we just met today and all, but I was hoping you could help me find a convenience store later. I can't quite figure my way around town yet," 

I looked up from the note, turned around, and flashed him a thumbs up. He chuckled and looked back at the board. Oh boy, everything he did was so cute. I knew I was about to fall hard, but I hoped he'd be there to catch me.