BEING HALSEY

CHAPTER 15

I can see Dave's stare through the corner of my eyes.

He clears his throat.

Stinking throat!

Halfway through class, the guy beside him asks a question. The temptation is too strong so I steal the opportunity for another glance. Dave immediately looks up and our eyes meet.

I avert my gaze for the next hour but his presence grows larger and larger. I can practically feel it pressing up against me.

Our schedule is the same, English, physics and history but i manage to evade him for the rest of the morning. It also helps because he's arriving late to them.

The bell rings for lunch and it's comforting to resume Polly's company. We take the back staircase, the one less travelled.

"Did he try to speak to you again?" she asks.

My sigh is long and forlorn.

"No."

"Yeah. He should stay back."

I know it's dumb. I know there are more important things to think about on a first day back to school but I like Dave so much that I actually feel miserable.

He literally apologized and I completely ignored him.

He has yet to make an appearance in the cafeteria and it's doubtful that he will now because I saw him weaving through the crowd in the opposite direction. His friends graduated last year, all of them so he's lonely.

In lunch line, Khloe slams her food tray on my back. A bowl of onion soup splashes its entire contents on the back of my hoodie.

I cuss.

Khloe pretends to look disgusted.

" Oops, didn't see that."

I stare straight ahead in shock. A soggy onion noiselessly falls from my back to the floor with a splat.

My cheeks turn double red.

" Bitch!"

"Sorry, didn't catch that," She says. Even though she did.

She's making fun of my soft voice.

" Asshole!" Polly barks beside me.

She smiles with her shark- shaped teeth.

"Yeah? And what are you gonna do about it, sweetheart?"

I clench my fist.

Nothing. I am going to do nothing and she knows it.

I shove my hands in my hoodie pockets. I'm shaking with rage.

I so want to fight Khloe but I'm afraid of consequences. She wants attention.

Polly links my arm through hers and leads me away, abandoning our food trays.

We walk quietly through the halls and i race to the washrooms. I walk out, my hoodie balled in my arms, wet from scrubbing.

"Everything okay?" Polly asks.

" Yeah but I can't wear it until it's clean."

"No worries." She helps me shove it in her bag. "First thing after school."

The lunch line is empty when we head back.

"I had a feeling you would return." The pot-bellied chef removes our trays from behind the counter and slides them towards us.

" Enjoy."

Polly and I sit at our usual table in the far corner. I glance around hoping to see him but as expected, Dave is nowhere to be seen. We're not supposed to have our phones out at school but I desperately want to text him.

I sneak-text him:

Can we talk?

He doesn't reply.

My day worsens.

In physics, we get paired alphabetically to our lab partner for the year. I get Emma Stone, who groans when it's announced because she's popular and I'm not.

Polly is paired with her crush, Max.

How sweet.

I've got two more classes to go.

We get homework assignments and the final bell rings. A text pops. It's from Dave.

"Yeah sure. meet me outside."

I quickly stuff my books in my bag and walk straight outside. Dave is leaning against his car, his long fingers buried in his pants.

"Hey."

Good thing my hair is tied up. The wind is furious.

" Hey" he says. His face expressionless.

I clear my throat. And breathe.

" Look, about what happened I-"

Before I even get to finish my sentence, he leans over and plants a sincere kiss.

Warm and sweet.

My face is cupped in his hands.

" I'm sorry. I missed you so much!" He says.

His green eyes twinkling with tears.

My heart breaks.

I slowly smile.

" It's okay. We should forget about it."

He blows air from his cheeks and grabs my hand.

" Let's go."

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