Change | E.D

Thirty Three

Ethan

I can't pay attention.

Mr. Martinez is steadily giving his lecture in the front of the class, his voice strong as he makes random scribbles on the board. They're supposed to be the conjugated verbs of give in Spanish.

I used to know them off the top of my head, could spend the class dozing off wondering about the next time I'd be able to eat, sleep, or see Charlotte or something and still ace the test the next day.

But I can't do that today, because my stomach is in fucking knots right now. Charlotte didn't show up to lunch, didn't bother texting me back, and when I saw Issac in the hallway earlier he gave me some kind of chaste smile that I couldn't decipher.

Something's up. I know it is. And I have this awful, gut-wrenching feeling that Isaac has talked to Charlotte and said something to her to make her fall off the face of the planet.

I'd understand it if her phone had died or if her fifth-period teacher had somehow or another decided to pay attention to students using their phones. But I had her fifth-period teacher for math last year. I know that she spends the majority of the class playing solitaire on her laptop while students do problems from the textbook. I know that I texted like the shit all year in that class.

So that's not the problem.

The problem is that she didn't even show up for lunch and that she always does. I know my girl, I know that she eats. I know that when she misses a meal she gets super cranky.

I've always loved that about her. I love that she can act like a dude half the time, but still strike me as one of the most gorgeous girls walking the earth. I love that she calls me a tit and man, and that she can be just as sarcastic as I can.

But I also love that she always manages to smell like vanilla, and that her  curly hair makes me happy just by looking at it even though she always claims to hate it. She always does that; always depreciates on herself even though she's probably one of the only girls who doesn't need to. She's perfect.

Except for the fact that I have no fucking clue where she is right now and it's freaking the shit out of me.

The bell to end class rings forever later and the moment it does, I hastily grab my things and then flee out of the classroom. I always see Isaac right after this period, his locker is close to mine, and I'm about to interrogate the shit out of him. That chaste grin he gave me earlier is still burning in my mind and I need to figure out what the hell it meant.

My eyes start scanning the crowd of bustling students the moment I'm free from that classroom, and land straight on Isaac's face just seconds later. He's walking with his arm thrown around some girl's shoulder, that charming grin I've seen him give to so many girls over the years obvious on his face.

I've never truly liked this kid; never really liked what he stood for. Although he's fun to hang out with because he's always up for a laugh, he's a complete asshole when it comes to the people in his life. He always treats them like they're second to him and that they should love that he's given them his attention.

That's why I was so pissed out of my mind when he told me that he had a thing for Charlotte. He'd tracked me down that one day at the book store and blabbed about her for fifteen minutes; about how he didn't even care that she was a social recluse because he could change that with his "charm".

I still remember that sick look he got in his eye when he mentioned how hot she was, about how he couldn't wait until the day that she realised she was into him too. That was when I'd told him to leave because I honestly couldn't stand him talking about Charlotte that way. And so the day that I found out they had a date...let's just say that it was not a good one. Not a good one at all.