gross!”
They both start to laugh until they spot me; they give me a quick once-over and return to their story. After them, there are a few grungy boys messing about, swinging on the ceiling beams, and then there ’s Josh.
My breath halts in my throat as I catch sight of him standing with his back half to me against the wall, talking to Stacey. Anger fires up from deep within me, and part of me wants to go toss her down the hall so I can be with him; so I can stand there across from him casually talking about how we both share the same undying love for one another.
What am I saying?!
As I walk past them, I try desperately to keep my eyes focused straight ahead and my hands firmly by my sides, so I don ’t accidentally reach out towards her neck.
“ Is that her, Josh, the one you were telling me about?”
I turn automatically and mentally kick myself for doing so. Stacey has the dirtiest smirk across her face, which I ’d like to personally remove. I glance at Josh. I can’t watch Stacey anymore without wanting to throw up.
She knows she ’s one of the prettiest girls in the school. She’s the all-American girl next door; the blonde hair, blue eyes toned body and she always makes sure she is wearing the preppiest of outfits. To some she might appear to be the sweetest, most innocent girl of all, but everyone in the school understands that isn’t the case. She didn’t earn the title ‘Racy Stacey’ for baking cupcakes.
Josh keeps his eyes on the floor, not acknowledging what Stacey said, or me standing here silent, staring at him like a dumbass. I take my place at the back of the line as the classroom door opens and we all pile in.
As we sit in a circle, with the teacher at the top, I fight the urge to ogle Josh, but I lose. He seems different, not as smug as he was yesterday when we were in the hall. Now I can take him in properly, I can tell his eyes aren’t filled with only disappointment, they’re also shaded with sadness. My heart aches for him, and I wish I could run across this circle and grab his hand so we can escape together. He shifts in his seat, so he’s angled away from Stacey as he gazes off into nothing.
The teacher announces that today we will be doing a romantic reading from Romeo and Juliet, so we will have to work in pairs. I watch as Stacey moves her hand to Josh ’s shoulder and brings her lips up to his ear as she asks if he’d
liked to be paired with her. My fists clench at how close she is to him. I listen intently for his answer, but the teacher announces she has already chosen the pairs and begins to read them out.
I stop listening; relieved Josh isn’t voluntarily going to be with Stacey. I glue my eyes to the floor, so Stacey doesn’t see my grin at her ill fortune.
I ’m not bothered who I'm partnered up with, I’ll wait for him to come over and we can practise whatever part of the play she gives us. I hear Stacey whisper to her friends and I quickly go back to staring at her.
Even though, Stacey won ’t be with Josh, she doesn’t give up. She moves her hand down to his knee and leans in closer to him. Her lips part as she prepares to whisper. I can’t watch Stacey shamelessly flirting with Josh anymore, and I don’t even want to think what she might be about to tell him. I got a pretty good idea from what she just told her friends. I focus hard on the floor; I trace the cracks in the aging wooden boards in an attempt to calm the sudden rage firing through me making me desperate to get to her.
“ Guess I'm with you.”
I wasn ’t expecting the person who got stuck with me, to be too happy, but this guy sounds positively miserable.
I look up straight into Josh. This is getting to be a habit. I watch Stacey seething from the other side of the classroom. Her aura has turned a blackened pink and the bookworm she’s paired with is as unimpressed as her. I let out a small laugh as the teacher goes over and announces that they are to rehearse and perform the
They both start to laugh until they spot me; they give me a quick once-over and return to their story. After them, there are a few grungy boys messing about, swinging on the ceiling beams, and then there ’s Josh.
My breath halts in my throat as I catch sight of him standing with his back half to me against the wall, talking to Stacey. Anger fires up from deep within me, and part of me wants to go toss her down the hall so I can be with him; so I can stand there across from him casually talking about how we both share the same undying love for one another.
What am I saying?!
As I walk past them, I try desperately to keep my eyes focused straight ahead and my hands firmly by my sides, so I don ’t accidentally reach out towards her neck.
“ Is that her, Josh, the one you were telling me about?”
I turn automatically and mentally kick myself for doing so. Stacey has the dirtiest smirk across her face, which I ’d like to personally remove. I glance at Josh. I can’t watch Stacey anymore without wanting to throw up.
She knows she ’s one of the prettiest girls in the school. She’s the all-American girl next door; the blonde hair, blue eyes toned body and she always makes sure she is wearing the preppiest of outfits. To some she might appear to be the sweetest, most innocent girl of all, but everyone in the school understands that isn’t the case. She didn’t earn the title ‘Racy Stacey’ for baking cupcakes.
Josh keeps his eyes on the floor, not acknowledging what Stacey said, or me standing here silent, staring at him like a dumbass. I take my place at the back of the line as the classroom door opens and we all pile in.
As we sit in a circle, with the teacher at the top, I fight the urge to ogle Josh, but I lose. He seems different, not as smug as he was yesterday when we were in the hall. Now I can take him in properly, I can tell his eyes aren’t filled with only disappointment, they’re also shaded with sadness. My heart aches for him, and I wish I could run across this circle and grab his hand so we can escape together. He shifts in his seat, so he’s angled away from Stacey as he gazes off into nothing.
The teacher announces that today we will be doing a romantic reading from Romeo and Juliet, so we will have to work in pairs. I watch as Stacey moves her hand to Josh ’s shoulder and brings her lips up to his ear as she asks if he’d
liked to be paired with her. My fists clench at how close she is to him. I listen intently for his answer, but the teacher announces she has already chosen the pairs and begins to read them out.
I stop listening; relieved Josh isn’t voluntarily going to be with Stacey. I glue my eyes to the floor, so Stacey doesn’t see my grin at her ill fortune.
I ’m not bothered who I'm partnered up with, I’ll wait for him to come over and we can practise whatever part of the play she gives us. I hear Stacey whisper to her friends and I quickly go back to staring at her.
Even though, Stacey won ’t be with Josh, she doesn’t give up. She moves her hand down to his knee and leans in closer to him. Her lips part as she prepares to whisper. I can’t watch Stacey shamelessly flirting with Josh anymore, and I don’t even want to think what she might be about to tell him. I got a pretty good idea from what she just told her friends. I focus hard on the floor; I trace the cracks in the aging wooden boards in an attempt to calm the sudden rage firing through me making me desperate to get to her.
“ Guess I'm with you.”
I wasn ’t expecting the person who got stuck with me, to be too happy, but this guy sounds positively miserable.
I look up straight into Josh. This is getting to be a habit. I watch Stacey seething from the other side of the classroom. Her aura has turned a blackened pink and the bookworm she’s paired with is as unimpressed as her. I let out a small laugh as the teacher goes over and announces that they are to rehearse and perform the
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