Love At First Not: A Non-Stereotypical Love Story

Chapter 4

"Here comes the sun, and I say, it's all right." -Here Comes the Sun, by the Beatles

"Evelyn! First day of school!"

It was 6:30 in the morning, on September 2. Evelyn sighed and rolled out of bed, walking over to her closet to pick an outfit.

Fifteen minutes later, Evelyn had changed into an almond-colored sweater and skinny, sky-blue jeans. She double- and triple-checked her backpack to make sure everything was in it, then she went downstairs for breakfast, brushing her teeth on the way.

"Good morning! How are feeling?" her dad asked as she walked into the kitchen.

"Fine, I guess. If everyone hates me, can I go back to public school?"

"Give it a month, okay Evelyn? Then we'll see," her mom said as she passed a bowl of cereal to Evelyn, who sighed and drowned the cereal in milk. After a half an hour, Evelyn and her mom got in the car. She was on her way to Fillmore Academy.
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Fifteen minutes of driving later, they pulled up in front of the school. It had a grand, mansion-esque facade, with huge windows surrounding the entrance. It was too insanely majestic to be in the middle of some off-shoot neighborhood. "Cmon, let's go inside," her mom said.

"Wait, you're coming too, Mom?" Evelyn asked.

"Of course! I have to talk to your new principal anyway."

The inside was just as grand as the outside. The high ceilings were illuminated by large windows, and students were milling around the area in groups of threes and fours, talking and laughing. As Evelyn drank in the scene, she accidentally locked eyes with another kid. He had a mop of brown hair on his head, and he smirked at her, as if saying that she wasn't welcome here. She gave him a look that meant, You got a problem with me? Too bad. He looked taken aback, then mad, then he smirked again. This one was different, however; it was a warmer look. Evelyn could still sense the coldness behind his face, though. As she turned away from Idiot Kid to listen to the principal, she saw him shove a smaller kid, a sixth-grader by the looks of it. Abandoning all sense of judgement, she stormed over to Idiot Kid to knock it off. The two were too busy arguing to notice her coming.

"I-What do you mean? I wasn't 'checking her out,' you dolt! If anyone was, you were!" the sixth-grader yelled. A crowd was beginning to form around them.

"Dang right, you better not be!" Idiot Kid yelled back. "She's gonna be mine, and mine only! You twerps aren't getting in my way!" With a chill, Evelyn realized they were talking about her. She couldn't take this anymore.

"Ahem," she said, and both boys froze and turned to look at her. The sixth-grader looked relieved and mouthed a quick Thank you and ran off, while Idiot Kid had turned whiter than a piece of printer paper.

"I-I just want you to know, ma'am, that this... nutcase here was checking you out. I just had to put a stop to it. I can't have you getting hurt on your first day here, right?" Idiot Kid said in an oily and cold voice. He smiled at her, but Evelyn was having none of it. Especially not the "ma'am" part.

"So what? Last time I checked, I'm my own person. I don't need you 'helping me out'. If I want help, I'll ask for it. And you can count on the fact that I'm not asking you for anything," Evelyn fumed.

"Tell you what," Idiot Kid replied, unfazed. "Want to sit with me at lunch? I'll always be ready to help you out."

"I would move to the other side of the country before I ever eat lunch with you, idiot." She rolled her eyes and walked away, but before she got too far, she heard Idiot Kid say smugly, "Just you wait, guys. I'll have her as my next girlfriend in no time at all."

Evelyn turned on her heel and punched him hard in the arm. "I am not some piece of property that you can just take whenever you want, you tactless oaf! If you want a soulmate that badly, then I'd suggest you go hook up with a sewer. You two would be a great pair," she shouted. A huge crowd was now standing around the two, and she was unaware that her mom and the principal were coming over until her mom said, "Evelyn."

She whirled around and saw the pair of adults looking too annoyed for her liking. "Uh, hi Mom," she said, not knowing what to say in front of everyone.

"What on Earth is going on here?" the principal said sternly. The crowd looked away nervously, even Idiot Kid. Before she could register that opening her mouth wouldn't do any good, Evelyn opened her mouth and started explaining everything. "That kid started acting as if I had to be his girlfriend or whatever dumb idea he's got worked into his head, so naturally I had to take the initiative and stand up for myself. I'm sorry for the inconvenience here."

Evelyn's mom still looked shocked, but the principal nodded and said, "Very well. Come with me, Ms. Boyce." Evelyn shot one last glare at Idiot Kid before following the principal to her office. Great, class hasn't even started and I'm already in trouble, she thought.