Sweet Tea & Cigarettes

2. Sweet Tea?

It was the first day of school and I wondered if Leila would be attending.

"You ready?" Wes asks me. Wes has been my best friend since we were in diapers. Him and I played basketball and football together and basically everything else together. He's been picking me up for school since he got his truck.

"Yeah." I said and grabbed my backpack. We hop in the truck and he turns on the radio. It's dangerously hot so we roll down the windows and cruise to school. It's only a ten minute drive since the town is so small.

"Sawyer!" I hear Maxwell call to me. We bro hug and me, Wes and Maxwell walk over to our group of friends. We all talk about what we did over summer but mostly about football try outs. Most of the guys have girlfriends but that never appealed to me. With work, football and school I had no time for girls.

"You hear about Jenna?" Maxwell asks me and I shake my head no.

"She already got into NYU." He tells me and I nod. Jenna was one of the only people around here that was actually getting out. Jenna was nice and all but she was attached to Maxwell at the hip. And speaking of the devil she's walking towards us right now.

"Have you seen the new girl!" She squeals. I'm almost certain she's talking about Leila.

"No." Everyone replies unamused.

"Well one she's most definitely not from around here." She says and everyone just nods along.

"Oh my god she's right over there." She says and nods to Leila walking with headphones in. She wore tight, ripped black jeans with a black long sleeve and hoop earrings. I wondered how she could manage the heat like that. Her beautiful hair was pinned back and she wore black high top converse and I could see a scar on her collarbone. She holds a plastic clear cup with sweet tea inside, I could tell just by looking at it.

"Oh my lord." Wes said looking at her.

"Her name's Leila." I tell them and they turn to look at me.

"I met her yesterday, she's cool." I tell them and shrug my shoulders.

"She's hot, that's what she is." Wes says laughing. She walks right past us not acknowledging us. She looks kind of zoned out listening to her music, I could hear it blaring through her headphones. We all stare at her when all of sudden she turns around and walks towards us.

"Stop staring at me please." She says blankly. She was right that we were looking at her, how could we not?

"Hey Sawyer." She says and looks at me. I see a glint of something in her insanely blue eyes.

"I'm Wes." Wes says smirking at her and she looks at him.

"Leila." She says but it's more directed at all of us.

"I'm Jenna." Jenna piped up. Leila just nods.

"Why in the world are you dressed in all black it's like 100 degrees." Jenna asks laughing. Leila still doesn't smile.

"I like black." She says and the sides of her mouth twitch up. She likes making them uncomfortable.

"I could totally give you a you know weather appropriate makeover." She squeals and Leila's eyes go wide.

"For sure." Leila says and nods slowly. Jenna links her arm with Leila's and drags her away gabbing away.

"That went well." I say and everyone goes back to talking.

"She's kinda I don't know weird." Wes says and I shrug my shoulders.

"I call dibs." He says.

"Something tells me she's not interested." I tell him.

"She will be." Wes says and I roll my eyes. Leila wouldn't. I feel like I've known her forever. I have no many questions and I don't know why.

"How was the college tour?" Maxwell asks me.

"It was amazing but there's no way I can go there." I say sadly.

"You don't know that." He tells me and I laugh.

"You know my parents will never leave Georgia, I'll be either staying at the diner or state university." I tell him and the pit in my stomach begins again. I wonder what Leila's plans are for college.

"Never say never." He says and I shake it off.

"I don't wanna be late for class, let's go." I say and we head into the school and down the hall.

I find my locker and see Leila across the hall trying to balance her iced tea and notebooks while opening her locker.

"Need some help?" I ask and she shakes her head.

"I got it thanks." She says and sure enough she opens her locker... but not before her iced tea and notebook go flying.

"Damn it!" She curses and I pick up her notebooks.

"I guess I did need a little help, thanks." She says and mops up the spilled liquid with some loose sleeve paper.

"Here." I say and hand her the books I collected from the floor.

"A damn shame, what a waste of sweet tea." I say with a smile. I see her eyes smiling and that's all that counts.

"I haven't got the taste for it." She tells me.

"What southerner doesn't like some sweet tea?" I say shocked and she shakes her head.

"I was born here but I'm not a southerner." She says.

"Hmm well still, a damn shame." I say and I can see a smile creeping onto her face.

"And about my friends, sorry if they creeped you out. They mean well." I reassure her.

"I didn't doubt it but when a pack of guys are staring at you like you have 2 heads, it kind of creeps you out." She says with a light laugh.

"A pack? What are we wolves?" I ask laughing.

"You tell me." She says and closes her locker.

"I'll see you around Sawyer." She tells me and hands me her now empty plastic cup.

I watch her as she walks down the hallway. And as if everyone already knows her the students in the hallway stay out of her way.

I'm not sure if I'll be able to do that.