Find a Penny, Pick Her Up

Chapter 5

Spanish IV hadn't ever given me this amount of anxiety in my life, and I meant that wholeheartedly. I managed to ignore the looks on the walk to class, entertaining Hampton's easy chatter with simple yes or no's. After two flights of stairs and down the hall to the Language classrooms, the amount of attention I got made me feel like a celebrity returning from rehab. 

Hampton probably thought it was him, being the new student and all. I gave him a sideways glance, wondering what his reaction would be. His ever-present smile was still there, but a little smaller than it had been when he was alone with me. It hit me: Royal High's newest celebrity was shy. Who would've known. 

I made my way to the corner where my seat was. Jess didn't share my morning classes with me, unfortunately, so I wouldn't see her until lunch time. Which was going to be a whole other ball-game. 

Hampton followed, taking a free seat behind me. 

I ignored the twenty set of eyes trained on the both of us, spinning around and saying, "The teacher for this class is Senor Iban. He's cool, I like him." Senor was especially sensitive toward my situation, telling me on the first day that if I ever needed an extension, he would have no problem giving it to me. I didn't have the same treatment with my other teachers. 

He nodded, "Cool," and leaned forward in a whisper, "why-"

"Hey," the girl in front of me said, reaching an outstretched arm across my desk to reach Hampton. "I'm Hazel, it's nice to meet you." 

I shrunk back, careful to not come in contact with her arm that was so clearly protruding my personal space. Seriously? 

Hampton eyed the situation, tentatively shaking her hand. The contact nearly brushed against my right boob. "Hampton. You too." 

Hazel gave a warm smile, her eyes flashing with, I'm-the-first-person-who-met-the-school-hottie-and-we're-definitely-going-to-prom.  

Just then, the front door slammed shut and Señor entered the room. The eyes of everyone receded, their new attention begrudgingly being brought to our teacher. I couldn't help but see the whispering when he turned to write something on the board. It may have been the most brutal 50 minutes, so when the bell rang, I stood and hoped Hampton would follow without another glance back. 

He seemed to get the message, however after talking briefly with the teacher. I couldn't blame him, so while I held back and let everyone pass, the curious and mostly dirty looks was the cherry on top of a perfect class. 

~ 

"Where are we going next?" he said behind me. I stopped speed-walking, suddenly feeling bad. I was the worst shadow-buddy ever. We had already sat through Spanish and College writing, all complete with more curious and distasteful looks. I wondered if Hampton noticed, but he didn't act like he did. Plus, boys never noticed anything. 

"Sorry," I mumbled, deciding to glare back at a girl who was looking me up and down. "We're going to lunch. That's one of the best places." The window. That's all I loved about this stupid school. 

"Awesome,  I'm starving. Why is it one of the best places?" 

I led him down two hallways, and up a short flight of stairs. "You'll see." The day had been easier than I thought, actually. Apart from the lingering gazes, no one really tried to talk to me, just Hampton.

 I pushed into the double doors, "Welcome to the coordinate planes." He gave me a confused look, it fading quickly by the time he got a look of, "one of the best places." What happened next could be described as a domino effect. Every head, one by one, blurred into one another as they all turned to Royal High's two most famous celebrities.