Not My Type

Chapter 10: Unexpected

I can see the way other people look at him as he saunters down the hallways. The way other girls look at him. The way other younger girls look at him.

It’s quite entertaining to see the looks on their faces. An expression of awe and excitement and incredulousness, as if they’re in the presence of some celebrity.

I hate to admit it, I really do, but a part of me feels kind of cool for knowing Jason. Just the fact that he knows my name and says hello to me in the hallways. I can see the reactions from other people, too. The same kind of reaction as when they see him in the halls.

I mean, let’s be honest here: the star quarterback talking to an awkward and nerdy AP girl. Granted, Jason is just a nice guy, and he talks to everyone he knows. I guess the randomness of our acquaintanceship is what gets to people. It’s what gets to me. Who would have known three years ago that Jason Roberts and Anjali Sharma would be on a first-name basis?

The season ended on a high note. We were 10-0 and we were advancing to playoffs. Jason’s senior year could not be any better.

Mine, on the other hand, was a different story. Calculus was a lot harder than I thought, and so was physics, and on top of all of that, I was supposed to be doing my college applications. November rolled around and suddenly I had to actually start doing things. I really wasn’t sure how to deal.

Jason, as usual, remained relaxed. He had retaken his SATs, gotten the bare minimum score of 1800, and was extremely proud. I suppose I was happy for him, except I wasn’t. Here I was, busting my ass to get grades that weren’t even close to guaranteeing me a spot in a huge majority of the schools I was applying to.

“Angie, you need to relax,” he told me one day when he overheard me having a mini panic attack with Ashley.

“Easy for you to say!” I retorted. He grinned a cheeky smile. He was wearing his letterman jacket that had our school colors on it, blue, white, and black. It really did make him a lot more attractive.

“How was Yale?” interjected Ashley. Jason had visited the week before.

“Pretty great,” he said, smiling at Ashley but knowingly avoiding my eyes. “The campus is nice. People are nice. Obviously it’s a good school.”

“Are you going pro?”

I felt his eyes shift to me quickly. “Well, that’s the plan right now.” I raised my eyebrows at him.

Mr. Fernandez walked over to our group. “Chicos, let’s go back to our seats. Time for class to start.”

Jason looked me in the eyes and smiled, placing his hand on my shoulder. I felt my stomach doing flips. Something about those crystal blue eyes made you go crazy. “You guys are going to be fine.” He smiled at Ashley and walked away.  

“Damn,” said Ashley. “He really is charming.”

He really was.