Clueless and In Love

Epilogue

(Chloe)

I was starting my second year of college here at Ridgewater.

Jackson was studying in Australia, miles away from me.

Every day, we text, or call, or Skype just to see each other and ask how our day was.

He came home last summer just so he could see me and everyone else.

But for the past year, I didn’t know why, but he suddenly stopped communicating with me.

No e-mails, no texts, no messages. It was like he disappeared form the face of the earth.

I was half expecting that he had met a better, more normal girl than me at his new school, but Mara reassured me that he wasn’t that kind of guy.

So, I thought maybe something bad had happened. I was worried about him, and if he was okay.

I didn’t want to start my first day back to school feeling miserable, but I was forced to by my parents.

The start of school was packed with students bustling along the halls. Old friends meeting up, teachers and students talking to each other, girls flirting, guys joking, it felt like home.

I was still just a photographer at this school. I didn’t want to climb up the ladder and go for the top. I was okay, being the same Anime loving, smart aleck, weirdo who didn’t give a damn what others thought.

I was walking along the halls; my camera hanging from the chord around my neck, when Joy, the schools “Popular Girl” runs up to me like she was in a Marathon.

“You’re Chloe Young right?” she asked, a little out of breath.

I nodded.

“And they say you’re an amazing photographer?” she continued.

“Yeah, why?” I asked, having a weird déjà vu feeling.

She sighed in relief. “Great. Listen. I want you to take a pic of the new guy.”

I raised an eyebrow. “New guy?”

She nodded her head so hard, I was afraid it would fall off. “Yeah, he’s so cute, and he was-“

At this point, I didn’t need to pay attention. I’ve heard it all. ‘He’s cute, handsome, amazing……..’ Blah, blah, blah.

I was only interested in one guy, but since he’s a million miles away, if I didn’t do what this girl wanted, she wouldn’t shut up.

“Fine,” I said, giving my best perky smile. “Where is he?”

“He’s over at the field, behind the school,” she said.

I sighed. Let’s just get this over with.

I made my way to the back of the school and stepped onto the campus field.

The sun shone high in the sky. The wooden bleachers were surrounded by mostly girls, giggling and gossiping. They were probably checking out this 'amazing' new guy.

I scanned the area, looking for a new face, but I didn’t see one.

“I’m gonna take a seat and just let you handle it,” Joy said, leaving me there to fend for myself.

I shook my head and raised my camera, using the zoom feature to locate this mystery guy.

I had nearly given up after a while, but then, suddenly, I saw a soccer ball roll to my feet.