2Hi, here's just a short story I had to write for English. 5 pages double spaced (the max limit). I don't particularly like it, but ah well... Anyway, I'd like to hear any comments on it.
All Along
Green eyes.
That was what caught my attention as he strutted nonchalantly down the aisle towards his new seat behind me. The transfer student had entered the room a minute ago, and the teacher had let him introduce himself to the class. Since it was the most interesting thing to happen in the world, I continued to doodle in the corner of my spiral, only half-listening. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed a lot of girls had perked up when he just happened to mention he was the quarterback in his previous school's football team. This, coupled with his apparent good looks, made him an instant magnet. I thought I'd never be attracted to this guy… he was probably an arrogant, egotistical person.
That is, until I saw his eyes.
His smirk jerked me back to the present. I hastily resumed drawing my beautiful picture of what was supposed to be a hand but instead looked more like a blob with disfigured appendages, only to have my lead break. A few more pieces of wasted lead later, the world geography teacher announced we were to create an informational brochure about a Canadian province with a partner. I glanced at Derek, my friend since the seventh grade, and hoped we were allowed to choose our own partners. Despite our constant bickering, we worked wonderfully together and always got finished before anyone else, leaving ample time to chat for the rest of the class period. Sometimes people would joke about how we were actually more than friends, but that's impossible. Besides, he had a crush on a pretty redhead, Arina. Although I didn't exactly like the girl, Derek had a right to like who he wanted. And speaking of liking people, the transfer student's green eyes certainly made me feel –
I was brought back to the present – for the second time in less than five minutes, I might add – by a certain someone's smirk.
"Richelle, isn't it?" Those green eyes glanced at the scrawled name in my notebook and back up at me again. "Care to be my partner? You look pretty smart and responsible."
"Yes, of course!" I blurted out, stuttering slightly. "Ja… James, right?"
"Jake," came his curt reply. I winced at my own social gracefulness, or lack thereof. Deciding to move on with life, we got started on the brochure. As we divided up the work, I couldn't help but stare at Jake. He wore a casual white sweatshirt and faded jeans, complete with black sneakers. His gelled chestnut hair and sharp features perfectly accented his dark green eyes, eyes that had small, auburn specks that –
"What are some of the major exports of British Columbia?" As I fumbled for an answer, his third smirk of the day pranced across his face. As the time went on I realized he could use some help with his schoolwork, since he was the new kid and all. Needless to say, I was ecstatic to assist him… who wouldn't be?
Lunch found one very happy girl humming to herself with a certain Jake flitting across her mind. So did a certain friend named Derek. He plopped down beside me and waved his hand in front of my face. "Rish, hey Rish, you there?"
A glare from me signaled that I was, albeit reluctantly. I began to stab at my spaghetti, which was the only school meal that was eaten by people without a death wish. I just couldn't stop thinking about the auburn specks in those forest green eyes, the specks that danced whenever the lighting changed…
"Richelle." I glanced up to see a very concerned Derek staring at me. "That guy, Jake, he's not a good person." I was momentarily too surprised to answer, leaving him room to continue. "He's just an arrogant football player who isn't really interested in becoming your friend. He probably has some sort of hidden motive or something."
At this point he'd practically grown an extra head judging from the way I was staring at him. "How would you know? Jake is a nice person who just wants help with his homework!" I defended. "Besides, it's not like I tell you to keep away from your Arina simply because we don't get along too well!"
He sighed, frustrated. "Has the thought ever occurred to you that Jake only wanted to be your friend because he wanted a boost in his grades? Why else would he have said 'you look pretty smart and responsible' after he saw how detailed the notes in your spiral were earlier?"
I gaped at Derek, exclaiming, "Jake was just being nice! Why do you dislike the guy so much?" Getting up, I added, "And you don't have to eavesdrop on us. I don't need such a suspicious, selfish person as a friend anymore." And with that, I stalked off to another table, stabbing at my spaghetti until it broke into many little strands.
Over the weeks Jake and I became pretty good friends. When he had problems on classwork, homework, or just needed to copy some notes for reading assignments and the like, I was always happy to help. This arrangement worked well for both of us, although I was secretly hoping for more.
That is, until Arina trotted up to me after school one day. Without preamble, she announced, "Richelle, I want you to stop hanging around Jake."
Well, there was a sentence I heard every day. I raised an eyebrow, crossed my arms, and asked in that utterly complicated way of mine, "Why not?"
"Because he's mine." Wow, that girl wasn't possessive at all. But she wasn't finished. "You think he's really interested in you? A plain, uninteresting girl like you?" She chuckled infuriatingly and shook her head, grinning. "No, what he's really interested in, if you haven't figured it out yet, are your grades. He's just using you."
And I, being my genius self, was left temporarily speechless, complete with bulging eyes and gaping mouth, a very attractive image I'm sure. Arina continued relentlessly, her voice fading to mere echoes while I spiraled down into darkness. Her last sentence, however, pierced the black. "He'll never fall for someone like you!"
I spun around and slowly yet deliberately walked away, in shock. My feet somehow led me to a bench in the city park, and the dull thud of me sitting on the dark wood barely registered in my mind. Images of those forest green eyes filtered through my head, complete with the ever-changing flecks, and the smirk, left corner of the mouth slightly higher than the right, and the eyes, and the flecks, and the smirk, and the eyes, the smirk, the flecks, the eyes, the smirk, the flecks, the eyes, the eyes, the eyes…
A warm hand gently grasped mine, a familiar hand. Derek's hand. I looked up and realized my vision was blurred with tears. Wiping them away, I managed a small smile. He smiled back. Maybe I could start over. Maybe there was someone who was beside me all along.
And again, please comment! And I know it's a bit cliched, but whatever.