the orange tree grows in seattle

02

     okay, well let's go back to that last part.

     i probably sound pretty dramatic, huh ?

im not being dramatic. this girl is going to change my fucking entire world, flip it upside down, maybe give it a few backflips. in other words, stay tuned !

      so, in walks the most beautiful girl i have ever seem. i mean that quite literally. she has tan, golden-honey skin, she's tall and slightly curvy. she wears a lavander t- shirt, cropped, that exposed her midrift, and denim jean shorts. her dark, wavy chocolate hair stops at her torso.

     fuck, i can't do this. i'm too gay.

she smiles brightly at out advisory, a majority of which is oogling at her. i don't blame them. MHS is a really big school filled with lots of very attractive people, but im 99% sure she surpasses every last one of them. in appearance, at least.

    mrs. noyan seems to notice the boys sizing her up like she's a piece of meat.

     "hi, class. we have a new student today. alani, introduce yourself."

"uh, okay, hi. im alani. well she just said that. so i guess you know that now. uhm. well, i was born and raised in hawaii. i just moved here. i like surfing. i compete. uh, i don't know what else to say. im not, like, super interesting."

     i almost chuckle at her awkwardness, but for some reason i am relieved. maybe she has depth. maybe shes going to be more than a mindless pretty girl.

     karien reaches over and whispers to me.
"she's, like, really pretty."
     i nod in agreement. mrs. noyan patiently quiets the class, and explains to alani to pick the first open seat.

     i look around instinctively and my throat sticks as i realize.
     i'm the first open seat.

new girl realizes at the same time as me, smiling towards me and heading my way.

     it's okay. just swallow down the gay.
     
she grins as she sits down next to me. i am immediately hit my the smell of salty water and fruit. i smile and reach out my hand for a hand shake.

     however, at the same time she goes to reciprocate it, i get scared that a hand shake is formal and switch to a high five. it's awkward, and both of us miss.

     i look at her for a second and she looks back until she bursts out laughing, and i do the same. then we're both laughing almost hysterically. im not sure why. maybe it's because we're both awkward.

     whatever the reason, we're both laughing, and as her eyes crinkle up i take the opportunity to study her features. i swallow.

     she has eyes as gooey as honey. her face is showered with golden freckles. when she smiles, her lips curve up and her dimples show. she has straight teeth (not shockingly white like those fake, airbrushed models on tv have, but not yellow. a normal teeth color). she even has little freckles on her neck.

      something in my heart thumps, but i push it away. now is the new time to make a new friend. girls like this are never gay.

when our laughter finally dies away, she reaches out her hand, sarcastically making sure i know that it's staying there, and i smile as i take it and shake it (bonus points to me for not being an awkward lesbian and acting like this in no way makes my heart thump!). "i'm alani" she says, almost shyly. "i know" i grin. she grins back.
  
     something inside me tells me this girl is going to rock my fucking world.