Hey Justin!What's going on? We haven't talked in a while. Anyway, I was just wondering if you wanted to go to the Sadie Hawkins dance with me tonight. I'll see you around, and you know my number.
Love,Sherri
Justin rolled his eyes again and folded the paper back. He knew they were sizing him up, and it made him feel dirty. The bell rang and he threw everything in his bag and raced out the door, dropping the note in the trash on the way out.He raced across the campus, heading straight for the math building. A few of his friends tried to stop him but he didn't stop. He knew that Alex would be in the room already, she was always one of the first there. The words she had said to him last night still rang in his ears and he wanted to ask her about it.
Justin slowed down right before he reached the door. He straightened his shirt and sauntered in the room. His heart skipped when he finally saw her. She wore a pair of jeans and a blue button down shirt that accented her eyes. She looked up at him and smiled weakly before returning to her papers.Justin cautiously made his way to her and sat down at the desk in front of her, turning around to talk. "Hey..." He started. Again, he found himself at a loss for words, but Alex did that. She was the only girl that could render him speechless.
"Hey. You don't mind studying at my house today, do you? I need to watch my little brother." She asked, not looking up from her papers. Justin was surprised because he had never expected her to ever invite him to her house. "Where ever is convenient for you. I can drive us over there later."
"I need to be home when my brother gets off the bus." She stated, still looking at the papers in front of her. "It'll take me five minutes to drive to your house. What time does your brother get home?"
"About 3:00 o'clock." "Then it's no problem. I'll just drive us over to your house after school. I need to stop by the gym though; I need to tell Coach that I can't make practice." She looked up at him for the first time since he sat down.
"Don't miss practice Justin. We can study when you have time." "No, it's OK. Actually, Coach has been trying to get me a tutor for a while now, he says he doesn't want to have to bench me, but he will if I fail."
"Well then, I like your coach." She smiled and he felt his stomach flutter. She always managed to give him butterflies. "So...what are you....?” His question was cut off by the bell and the rest of the class filing in. He turned back around and then quickly made his way back to his seat.
Class was uneventful. He managed to avoid getting called on by the teacher, which was good. It was strange because he found that he kept looking over at Alex. He watched her and kept trying to catch her eye, but she never once looked his way.
When the final bell rang Justin jumped up and grabbed his books. He was about to rush out the door when he remembered Alex. He turned around and waited for her to leave the class room. When she looked up a surprised look crossed her face."What are you doing here?" "What do you mean? I'm waiting for you. I figured we could walk to the gym together and then to my truck." He said as they started to walk. Justin didn't miss the dirty looks people were throwing their way, and it made him angry.
"You didn't have to wait for me." She said quietly, her head down. Alex didn't miss the stares either. "But I wanted to." He stated firmly. They continued to walk towards the gym and they were almost to the door when one of Justin's team mates called out.
"Yo! J...working on a charity project?" The kids around them snickered and Alex's head bent lower. "Maybe this isn't a good idea..." She started to turn away but Justin grabbed her arm.
"No. You will walk with me, and don't you listen to anything they say to you." He walked past the group of guys and was trying his best to ignore them. The one that called out earlier reached out and grabbed Justin's shoulder. "Hey man. What are you doing with that piece of trash?" The boy did nothing to keep his words quiet and Justin saw red. He looked at the kid and smirked with contempt.
"You don't even deserve an answer from me. But if you'd really like to know, I'm spending some time with my friend. And if you'd take your head out of your ass long enough, you'd come to realize the only trash around here is people like you."
He roughly shook away the boy's hand and walked away, a firm grasp still on Alex's arm. He turned the corner and let out a frustrated sigh. Alex whimpered and he realized just how tightly he was holding onto her arm."I'm so sorry...I..." He started to apologize but she cut him off. "Can we leave please? I just want to go home." He head was still bowed to the ground and she shuffled her feet. Justin gently grabbed her chin and lifted her head so she would look at him.
"Don't listen to them Alex. You are my friend, and if they can't see you for the person you really are, then it's their loss." He smiled genuinely and she managed a small turn of her lips."Let's go please." He nodded and they walked down the stairs and out the back to the student parking lot.
