Wing Beats

Chapter 2: Introductions

Chapter 2: Introductions

    A pair of curious green eyes stared at me from across the cafeteria.  "Ella he's still staring me," I whispered as I gave her a nudge.  The boy from the bus sat with his lunch tray in front of him, untouched, just staring at me.

    "Alright then, let's go ask him why," she replied, getting up from her seat.

    "What!  No!" I exclaimed.        

    "Fine then," she sighed, sitting back down.  "But you'll have to talk to him sooner or later."

    I groaned, but she had a point.  I mean this guy wasn't just looking at me for no reason, right?  I turned around to see that he had vanished.  I frowned and turned back to Ella, only half listening as she went on about her trip to Florida this summer.  I began doodling on a page in my sketchbook and let my thoughts wander.   I wonder who he is, he looks about our age, and maybe he's in one of my classes, urgh, why do I keep thinking about him!

    "Earth to Angelina."

    "Huh?  Oh sorry, what?" I shook my head and the world came back into focus.

    "We have to go, the bell just rang," she answered, looking at me, puzzled.

    "Oh, it did?" I asked, still confused.

    "Um yeah, are you sure you're all right?"  She asked looking concerned.

    "Yeah, don't worry about me I'm fine," I replied, although even I was beginning to doubt my sanity.  We left the cafeteria and I hurried over to my locker.  I opened it, grabbed my books and then felt a light tap on my shoulder.  I turned around to find myself face to face with the boy from the bus!

    "Hey, you forgot this in the cafeteria," he said, holding out my sketchbook.

    "Oh, thanks, you're on my bus aren't you?" I asked casually, as I tucked my sketchbook into my backpack.

    "Yeah, I'm Daniel, I just moved here.  And you are?" he asked.

    "Angelina," I replied.

    "Angelina," he repeated, slowly, enunciating each syllable.

    I shut my locker, just as the bell rang.  "I have to go," I said, and began walking in the direction of my next class.  I looked back over my shoulder, but Daniel was already gone. I sighed, and then realized I had just walked right past my classroom.  I walked into the room and hurried over to an empty desk.   The last students began filing into the classroom, and, of course, Daniel was among them.  He smiled at me as he walked past, and I could feel myself beginning to blush.  Then Mr. Anderson walked in and everyone hurried to their desks and the room became noticeably quieter.

    Throughout the class I found myself unable to concentrate on the lesson.  I doodled on the cover of my history notebook for most of it.  The rest of the time I wondered whether Ella was annoyed that I hadn't listened to her, and, of course, I wondered about Daniel.  Where did he move here from?  Why do I keep thinking about him?  And why does he keep staring at me?  I glanced over at him and he quickly looked away, but when I turned back to Mr. Anderson, I could feel him watching me.

    Before I knew it the day was over and I found myself heading out the front doors to catch the bus.  Ella had band practice, so I would be on my own today.  The rain was coming down harder than ever and I ran to the bus, but didn't manage to avoid getting soaked.  I sat down and watched as a small puddle formed at my feet.     

     The bus began to fill with people and Daniel was one of the last to get on.  I watched as he searched for an empty seat, and realized there were none.  I waved to get his attention and then gestured to the empty space beside me.  He smiled and made his way towards me. 

    "Thank you," he said as he as he sat down, also dripping wet. 

    "No problem," I replied, suddenly feeling very awkward. 

    "Well, what about your friend, where will she sit?" he asked. 

    "Oh, Ella has band practice so she's not on tonight," I answered.

    "Oh, well thanks," he said again.  I smiled, I mean he had looked a bit embarrassed when he saw there was nowhere to sit, and he didn't know anyone.  I had never been the new kid at school but I could tell it wasn't much fun. 

    "So, um, where did you live before you moved here?" I asked in an attempt to start a conversation.  He hesitated and I wondered if I had said something wrong.  "Oh, you don't have to tell me I was just wondering," I stuttered, feeling embarrassed.

    "No it's okay," he grinned.  I felt relieved, but still a little embarrassed.  "Well before we moved here we lived in Toronto".

    "We, being you and your parents, right?"

    "Yeah" he replied.

    "So why did you leave?" I asked curiously.

    "Um," he frowned.  Suddenly the bus lurched to a stop, but this time I shifted to avoid hitting my head again.  "It's my stop, see you tomorrow?" he asked as he slung his backpack over his shoulder.

    "Yeah, bye," I replied, smiling up at him.

    "Bye," he repeated with a grin.  I watched him as he got off the bus and ran through the rain towards his house. 

    I smiled and whispered to myself ", I can't wait for tomorrow."

*******************************************************************

    Thank you everyone for reading!!!!!  Vote, comment, live, love and laugh.  I will update eventually but I do have school so yeah.