It had been a month and a half since school started, and it was like The New York Stock Exchange: the homework went up, the socializing went down...steadily. Everytime I bought a stock, I lost money. The translation: I would make a new friend, and then I would have less time to complete homework. The best studying was the observation of guys, the only exception being Taylor, yuck. There was one guy I had a particular eye for.
Simon Colllins, that freshman babe that I've had my eye on since day five. Everyone nearly ignored him, maybe because of his...bookworminess. Some girls talked to him, but he would shy off. It was so cute. his glasses reflected a slight nerdiness, but he was tall, sort of lanky, and white-blond spiky hair. Bright, crystal blue eyes, and pale skin. No one got him to talk a lot, so he was unnoticable.
But I noticed him.
"Rachel, have you ever noticed Simon Collins?" I asked one of my close friends, Rachel Dmitri, as we walked to Algebra. It was a chilly day in that late October, and I kicked up the leaves that had fallen from the trees that turned a brown color
"Oh, you mean that one bookworm kid?" she asked, flipping her hair while holding her books.
"He's not a bookworm, he's just...smart...and..." I trailed off.
"Well, I've never talked to him, but he looks pretty harmless." she stated.
"What do you mean by that?" I asked, confused, looking at her.
"Well, so many guys here only want you for your body, and, well...for how good you are in your experience with...you know...it, or how you would be, if you get my drift." she tried to divert her explanation from totally blurting it out.
"Yeah, I guess so. That's...kinda dumb." I said, getting used to the idea.
"Yeah, really, I mean, I learned all of this stuff from my two sisters, how they're from the "ol' skool", haha; Danielle and Sherry, you know them." she laughed at the thought, quoting them.
"How could I forget?" I said, thinking about it. They were weird sisters. Twins, at best. They were always pretending to be ghetto, and were always comical at attempting it.
"Hey, are you busy this afternoon?" she asked.
"Not at all. You want me to come over?" I asked back.
"Is four o'clock good?"
"It's sweet. Come on, class is gonna start."
"Hey, sorry I was late. My dad wanted me to go over to Taylor's and-" I started to say, entering her room with enthusiam. I threw my books on the floor as she interrupted me.
"Taylor? Taylor Hanson?" she asked, a smile rising over her face, getting up to stand with me.
"Yeah, and-"
"Oh, my god, he is sooooo fine! I've always wanted to ask him out." she gushed, clasping her hands together.
"Oh, puke, how could you like that piece of crap?" I said, squinting my eyes and sat down on her bed.
"What's not to like?" she asked.
"Everything." I opposed.
"Well, whatever. Let's get started on homework so we can do something else later."
"For starters, Taylor is...well, he's rude, and, well, he's...just...unlikable." I spilled out, munching on some carrots in ranch dressing.
"How is he unlikable? He's like...perfect." she whispered the last word.
"He just is. I mean, unlikeable; and in no way perfect. Why do you like him?" I asked, frowning.
"Well, he's smart, kind of shy, sensitive, sort of moody, sweet, caring, flirty, and he's very cute, and-"
"Oh, shut up, he's just a guy. A stupid jerk, actually."
"So why don't you give him a chance? Look on the upside of things."
"I have an upside."
"About Simon."
"Yeah. But maybe. Can we please get off the subject of Taylor?"
"Yeah, whatever."
There was a silence before one of us spoke up.
"He's really cute though." she muttered.
I threw a pillow at her, and she laughed.
"...So, as of Romeo and Juliet, why do you think that William Shakespeare chose that ending to be so dramatic, especially in the times that he lived in? Miss Chavez?" asked Mr. Jennings.
"Here." I said, nearly completely bored out of my mind, tired, restless, and totally out of it. My head rested on my head and I stared out of the window, proclaiming my boredom for the subject.
"Yes, we established that during attendance." he said, shutting his textbook.
"What?" I asked, turning around.
The whole class started to laugh. I was turning beet red, and I tried to smile covering up my mishap.
"To be, or not to be, that is the question." he continued, talking to a fake apple, pretending it was a skull. "This semester, we will be studying the two most famous pieces of William Shakespeare: Hamlet, and Romeo and Juliet. We will read Hamlet first, then we will read the play of Romeo and Juliet, and we'll put on a production of the playwright." he explained.
My ears perked up. I loved acting! And Romeo and Juliet is such a romantic love story...
"Miss Chavez, would you answer my question?" Mr. Jennings interrupted my thoughts.
"Um, E equals mc squared." I said, jokingly.
"I'd like to see you after class, Miss Chavez." he said.
A few snickers and "ooh, busted"'s were heard, as I endured the rest of the day.
"Dad, are you going over there again?" I asked as he left for the Hanson's.
"Yes, we're going out, and I want you to stay over there with Taylor. Maybe keep him company." he hinted.
"You want me to baby-sit him? Isn't he old enough to watch over himself? Oh, wait a minute, I guess not, since he still acts like a little kid." I scolded.
"Noelle, that was rude, and no, you aren't baby-sitting him. You two could spend so time together, besides, I would feel more comfortable if you were with someone that I knew so well."
You don't know Taylor well, you know Diana well "Psshhh! We'll see who's the right one." I muttered.
"What?" he asked, turning his eyes to look at me.
"Nothing, dad." I replied.
"That's what I thought." he said, and left for his room.
When something's final with dad, there is no trying to stop him. Some night this was going to be.