Hybrid

Being Noticed

"What the hell just happened?" Kerry looks at me.

"Don't look at me. I just met him this morning. Can we just grab some food and talk about something else?" I start walking toward the cafeteria line.

"Talk about something else? An incredibly hot guy moves in next door to you and-"

"He's not next door. He moved in around the corner." I look at the food and decide the spaghetti doesn't look too offensive.

"Oh sorry, around the corner, and he drives you to school." Kerry picks a salad. 

"No, he didn't drive me. I rode on the back of his bike." 

"Oh my God, that's even better."

"How is that better?"

"You had to hold onto him the entire time, right?"

"So?"

"Do I have to spell it out for you?"

"You're making too much of this."

"Are you kidding? Look around. Everyone is talking about this guy."

I grab my food and look around. Kerry's right. Everyone is talking about Joe. It's pretty amazing that one person can spark a firestorm of gossip in just one morning.

We make our way to the senior tables. We say hi to our fellow classmates, too engrossed in our conversation for much more than a quick hello. We take a seat.

"Okay, I admit it. He's cute," I say. I take a bite of the spaghetti. It's actually very offensive. I take a few more bites just so I won't starve to death the rest of the day.

"Thank you. I'm not crazy then."

"You're crazy to think I even have a chance with him. Why are we even talking about this? I don't even know if I want a chance with him. Do I have to keep pointing out that we just met this morning."

"Oh, you want a chance with him. And so does everyone else."

"I refuse to fall for him."

"What if he falls for you?"

"The likelihood of that happening is about as good as alien lifeforms landing on our planet." Kerry and I both push our plates away.

"How do you know aliens aren't already here? Maybe some of our classmates are aliens?"

"Kerry, you really should be a writer. You have an incredible imagination. I have to get to class. I want to get there early so I can get a good lab partner."

"Okay fine. Call me later."

"Fine."

"Fine."

I leave Kerry in the cafeteria and head to my Environmental Science class. I really don't want to think about Joe any longer. I'm sure he's not thinking about me. And I'm tired of being the girl who easily swoons over a cute guy. If he really likes me, he has to prove it to me. 

I walk into class and see a seating chart on the teacher's desk. I find my name and notice that the chair next to mine at the lab table is empty. I take my seat, which has the book for the class on it. I pick it up and thumb through it. The experiments are up my alley. I scan the room and start to panic that I may not have a choice about who my lab partner is. I wait as the rest of the class trickles in, checks the chart and takes their seat.

The class fills up. It's Advanced Environmental Science so I recognize a lot of the same faces from my other advanced courses. The teacher preps his papers and writes his name on the chalkboard - Mr. Strand. I don't recognize his name. I think he's new here.