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CHAPTER ELEVEN! ( YOU STILL SMELL. )
AFTER SCHOOL THAT day Joan wanted to talk to Charlie about the girl. She was hoping to casually tease him about it in conversation, but she hadn't been able to find him for the last hour. She hated that she had gotten to the point of actually seeking him out, she never thought she'd be the girl who wanted Charlie's attention. She didn't even really know why she wanted to ask him about the poem, it was just another English assignment that everyone had to complete. Joan finally decided to give up and just walk around the campus for a while. The boys would be playing a soccer game tonight, so she figured she would just talk to him after that. Joan wandered aimlessly past the rushing river and tall brick walls. Despite the terrible experiences she'd had at Welton, it truly was a beautiful place. And she was slowly adding more positive memories this year.
As Joan walked, her mind wandered to Charlie. Instead of stopping herself, she decided this was a good time to sort out how she felt exactly. She was tired of not being able to stop thinking about him, she hated herself for the possibility that she liked him. Joan couldn't help but feel a painful tightness in her chest at the thought of him in love with another girl. She thought about it for a moment, and to her horror, she came to the realization that she liked him much more than she initially planned. From his stupid jokes to his stupid brown eyes, she actually did love it all. The only problem was that she didn't see how it could ever work out. He had plenty of girls pining over him, that she was sure of. His flirty disposition didn't help, he just loved the attention he got from girls.
Okay, that's enough, she scolded herself as she turned back around to grab a book or start on her trig homework. Anything that required her to focus on something other than her wandering thoughts.
After getting through a few chapters of her book, Joan and Violet headed out to watch the soccer game. Sure enough, once they reached the bleachers Joan saw Charlie in his striped goalie jersey. By this point he would've usually winked at her or at least made a face in her direction, but instead he just continued getting ready. Joan swallowed hard as it occurred to her that he might be avoiding her.
Joan turned to Violet to say something, but saw that she was staring at Meeks, who was staring right back until Pitts knocked him on the side of the head. Why didn't he just ask her out already??
After the game the boys lifted Keating into the air in victory and ran around the field. Joan grinned as she watched the scene and jumped off of the bleachers. She finally locked eyes with Charlie who had a wide smile on his face. He held his hands up in victory as he walked over to her. She smiled back, but just then Todd walked past, still looking a little disconnected from the group. Joan intercepted him and patted him on the back.
"Nice goal, kid," she congratulated. "You're full of surprises y'know? You're easily one of the best on the team."
"Thanks," he laughed. Todd turned back towards the rest of the team as Neil ran up to the two of them. Neil looked like he'd just dunked his head in water.
