Challenge | Adam Banks

FOUR

Classes began bright and early the next morning. For the most part, Julie and Delanie just spent the morning staying out of each other's way, alternating use of the bathroom and talking very little. By the time Delanie had finished straightening her hair, the blonde girl was gone. Delanie took advantage of the silence, taking deep breaths to compose herself. First days of anything were always nerve racking, today was no different for her. She had been trying to convince herself that she was ready, but now that she had twenty minutes... was she?

A quiet knock on the door pulled her out of her almost-meditation, and she immediately stood up to answer it. Mabel was waiting on the other side, excitement shining in her eyes. As soon as Delanie opened the door, her friend pulled her out into the hall. "Are you ready?" she asked excitedly, bounding on the balls of her feet.

Delanie laughed lightly, "Clearly not as ready as you are." While her nerves were multiplying by the second, Mabel seemed to be nothing but enthusiasm. Delanie couldn't help but feel envious. It was like her friend didn't have anything to worry about, while she was stuck worrying about everything. "How are you not nervous?" she asked out of pure and genuine curiosity.

Mabel shrugged, "Dunno. The way I see it, why waste time being nervous about something you can't avoid?" Delanie thought on that for a moment, hoping that point of view would give her relief.

It didn't.

"I wish I could think like that," Delanie laughed, shaking her head as if trying to chase her thoughts away. She sighed, "I could embarrass myself eight hundred different ways."

Mabel smiled softly, patting her friend's shoulder. "If you think like that, it'll actually happen," she advised, before grabbing her arm and tugging her down the hall, "Now come on, we have classes to get to!"

-

Delanie's first period class was English, which she unfortunately did not have with her friend. By the time she had separated from Mabel and found the correct classroom, she was one of the last people to get to class. There were two empty seats she could get to easily, one next to a blonde boy who Delanie immediately realized was probably way too cute for her, and the other next to an oddly familiar face. She shouldn't have been surprised to see Chris Mcmahon in English I, but the sight of the junior still caused her to falter for a moment. By the time she had cleared her head, another boy had slid passed her and into the seat next to the blonde, causing her to sigh. Begrudgingly, she slid into the seat next to Chris.

The upperclassman's face lit up at the sight of the freshman. "Little Park!" he said enthusiastically, a grin appearing on his lips, "How are you, mini Jett?"

"Don't call me that," Delanie grumbled, slumping back in the wooden chair. An angry huff left her lips as she realized the situation she was in. When Chris opened his mouth to talk again, she held up a hand, "I'm only sitting here because there's nowhere else to sit. How about we just pretend that Jett isn't my brother, and we've never met each other? Does that work?"

Chris crossed his arms, "Whatever, Park," he muttered, "don't ask me for help later on in the year."

A genuine laugh left Delanie's lips, causing the older boy to frown in annoyance. "That was a good one, Chris," Delanie snorted, shaking her head, "I really don't think I'll need help from someone who failed English I... twice."

Chris immediately got defensive. "Hey! I only failed because I never showed up!" he snapped. Delanie had clearly offended him, but she wasn't sure that she felt bad about it. This kid had spent years disrupting her peace by playing pranks on her -- a little bit of smack talk was the least of what he deserved.

All Delanie responded with was a roll of her eyes as she busied herself with getting prepared for the beginning of class. The bell rang shortly thereafter, and their teacher began what always was a boring first class period. She went over classroom rules, the syllabus, anything and everything the students needed to know to prepare them for the coming year. Delanie almost fell asleep. Chris did fall asleep.