Happy Reading!
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Part One
Veronica
I moved quickly through the halls, my eyes targeted on something some twenty paces in front of me. Before my hand could even outstretch to touch the dial, someone intercepted me. “Veronica!” Grinding my teeth, I forced a smile, turning to face Monica. “Hey, girl!” she shouted enthusiastically in that go-team-cheerleader voice she seemed to expel from her mouth every chance she got. She was dressed in our yellow and white uniforms with the words Randal Yellow Jackets printed in a neat font across the front.
“Hey, Monica,” I intoned; she frowned immediately in concern. Spinning away from her, I hoped to hide my expression but it seemed nothing escaped Monica’s intuitive nature.
“What’s up, Nia, girl?” Her dark brown locks swung coyly on the top of her head, trapped within the hair binder.
“Nothing. I don’t want to talk about it.” Shoving my books into the locker with a bit of exaggerated force, I slammed the locker behind me.
Monica narrowed her eyes at me. “If this is about Mike—“
“No, please, don’t even mention his name,” I growled, his name stinging my eardrums like an outspoken curse.
Monica groaned in annoyance. “Seriously, next time I see that boy, I’m punching his lights out.” I had to laugh at this piece of information. Monica was barely five-feet-tall with scrawny arms and a none-existent waist. She didn’t stand a chance against six-foot-four basketball captain Mike Putnam. “He is such a jerk,” Monica voiced loudly, gathering the attention of a few freshmen.
“It’s all right, Moe, I handled it.”
“I’m sorry, Nia, but knowing you, taking care of it means you just completely ignored him.”
“What else was I suppose to do?” I asked, a hint of desperation entering my voice. I needed help, I needed answers, and Moe was the only one that I could think of who would help.
“Are you asking me for relationship advice?” Her eyebrow raised in a sly expression, making me smile.
“If you want to call it that, than yes.”
“Well, hon, first, you have to kick that boy to the curb. You’re too good for him.”
“This wasn’t the advice I wanted, Moe,” I mumbled under my breath, rolling my eyes.
“You mean, you still want to keep dating that idiot?”
“Yeah,” I mumbled, hurrying down the stairs in hopes to ditch Monica in all the crowds.
No such luck.
“Nia, please don’t stay with him. All he does is put you down all the time. What did he say today?”
“I said I don’t want to talk about it,” I said firmly, making a crease form between my friend’s eyes.
“What did he say?” she repeated, eyes like daggers. Though Monica was small in stature, she had a supernatural ability that allowed her to get anything out of anybody.
I caved pretty easily. “That I was looking a little chubby and that I should go on a diet.” As I spoke, I look self-consciously down at my waist, tugging on the waistband of my jeans.
Monica looked furious. “Where is this ass, Mike Putnam? Where is that little fu—“
“No! Please, Monica, keep this between the two of us. I’ll talk to Mike, I promise.”
Monica sighed. “All right. I gotta get to class. You stay out of trouble,” she teased, lightening the mood before sauntering off, skirt of her cheerleader uniform swaying around her sticks for legs.
Watching her leave, I spun back and headed up the stairs towards my fourth hour: Chemistry.
As I was walking in, I caught the eye of my Chem partner. He was seated at the edge of his seat, wiggling his foot anxiously. His eyes pierced me like those of a laser’s and, as normal, I quickly adverted my own. Something about those eyes made me think that he could read my thoughts, see all my secrets and desires. It made me slightly uncomfortable…
“Hey, Veronica!” he chimed like an eager five-year-old before a bowl of chocolate fudge ice cream.
“Hey, Will.”
William
Gosh, she was gorgeous. Entering the Chem class with her hair done in a low bun, loose tendrils curling around her defined face, she made my whole mind go completely blank for a moment. Her soft-golden orbs were lined in insanely long lashes coated in a thin layer of mascara, batting coyly at me, making my stomach flop uneasily inside of me.
But she looked sad. Too sad for someone so perfect to look. Her lids were drooping, her mouth weak when she smiled, her shoulders hunched. I could just guess who was behind it and it made me clench my hands into fists.
“Hey, Veronica!” But I put on a happy face for her, hoping that it will cheer her up.
“Hey, Will.” Her voice was nothing short of pathetic, sounding weak, even to me.
I sighed and looked at her closely. “What’s up?”
Her eyes shot to mine for only a second before looking back to her desk. Shrugging her shoulders nonchalantly, she answered, “Nothing. Why?”
“I don’t know… You just seem sad.”
“Sad? No! Of course not!” She played it off with a laugh that sounded sickly to my ears. Deciding not to act on it, I changed the subject, moving on to class work. We were doing a lab on atoms and the different light spectrums each particle could create. We were at the hydrogen lamp and as the lights were shut off, she glided past me as if carried by an invisible wind.
Her scent was mingled with her perfume, making my heart patter weakly inside of me. “You want to measure?” she asks me, shaking me out of my fantasies.
“Umm, yeah, sure,” I mumbled, thankful that the lights were shut off as to hide the furious blush snaking up my neck. I caught myself glancing at her legs as she bent down to look at the light. They were hidden behind a pair of tight-fitted jeans that molded to her shape, showing off her toned thighs from hours of volleyball practice. “Hey, earth to Will!” she shouted over, smiling for real this time. “You wanna give me the measure?”
“Yeah, sorry,” I mumbled, running a hand through my unruly hair, feeling the blush deepen, spreading to my cheeks. Thank god that she couldn’t see. “Umm…45 centimeters.”
“Got it,” she reported scribbling down the data. I caught myself staring at her legs again and forced some sense into me. She has a boyfriend. She doesn’t think anything of me. I’m just a science geek!
Or, that’s what she thinks…
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