Page 24 of Affliction
The rest of the school day passes in a blur. I found all of my classes just fine, and during lunch I sat outside underneath a big shady oak tree and texted Uncle Nick to check in.
The final bell rings and I grab my things then walk out my last class down the hallway towards the front door. I pull my phone out of my backpack to see that I have a lot of messages from my friends at Monroe.
Wish you were here.
Come back, we miss you.
How’s Remington? Have you make any friends yet?
The last question makes me frown. The answer is no, I didn’t make any friends today. I pretty much stayed to myself and kept my head down.
I’m in the middle of responding to the texts when I walk straight into a locker and fall right on my ass, dropping my backpack and phone on the way to the floor. Embarrassment washes over me and I squeeze my eyes shut, holding my breath.Please tell me no one saw me.Slowly cracking my eyes open, I glance to my right to see a group of five staring at me and trying to hide their snickers. God, let this floor swallow me up right now.
Great. Just what I needed.
Doing my best to not make eye contact with any of them, I reach forward to grab my phone when the hand of someone else grabs it and crouches down to look at me. The hand belongs to a boy who has golden blonde hair that is cut short and piercing blue eyes.He’s so cute.
“Whoa, are you okay?” He asks and his lips tip into a half smile that causes butterflies in my stomach. He stretches the hand with my phone to me, and I slowly take it back from him, unable to stop staring.Get it together Lizzy.
“T-thank you.” I stutter. He lets out a soft chuckle, his eyes looking at the ground then back up to me, offering me his hand.
“I’m Preston. Here let me help you up.” Tentatively I reach out and he gently brings me to my feet then leans down to grab my backpack and tugsit over his shoulder. The group to the right of us has stopped their giggles, but they’re still staring.
“Don’t worry about them, they just have nothing better to do than laugh at other people's expense.” He says the last part a little louder so they can hear him, and they all quickly turn and walk away from the scene. “Come on, I'll walk with you outside.”
“Oh, that’s okay. I can walk by myself, but thank you for helping me up and getting my things.” I say quietly and reach my arm out for him to hand me my backpack. I’m so nervous. The butterflies won’t stop and every time he talks they flap their wings harder.
“We’re going the same direction and I won’t take no for an answer.” Preston offers me another sideways smile and I feel my cheeks heat. We begin walking to the front doors again when he asks, “So, I’ve never seen you before. Are you new here?”
“Yeah. I used to go to Monroe Prep but I had to change schools.” I don’t offer details as to why. I’d really like it if kids didn’t look at me as the girl with dead parents. That’s another reason I wanted to change schools this year. I couldn’t escape the jokes and the fake smiles of pity people offered. No one knows what to say when you lose someone and losing both of them made people look at me like I was ruined.
“Nice, well welcome! Hopefully you like it here. What grade are you in?” Preston asks.
“Freshman. Are you a freshman too?”
“No, I’m a senior this year.”
“Oh.” My chest deflates. I was kind of hoping we would be in the same grade. It would have been nice to see a familiar face in a class or even at lunch. Guess I’m not that lucky.
We step out onto the sidewalk and I see Uncle Nick’s car already parked along the curb out front.
“There’s my car. Thank you for helping me.” I say and he hands me my backpack.
“No problem. I’m sorry. You never told me your name.”
“Lizzy.”
“You’re welcome, Lizzy.” He says with a soft smile and we stare at each other for a long minute before I hear my uncle call my name from the back seat of the car.
“I gotta go. Maybe I’ll see you around.” I say before taking a step towards the car.
“You will.” Preston declares. “I couldn’t possiblynotsee a girl as beautiful as you again.” He says and I feel my skin heat up and my heart start to race. A shy giggle escapes me and I put my hand over my mouth to shove it back inside.
Why am I so embarrassed right now?
“Elizabeth! Let’s go!” Uncle Nick’s voice booms across the front courtyard, causing me to wince.Elizabeth–not Lizzy–means I’d better hurry
“Okay. Bye, Preston. Thank you again.”
