Summer Daze
Chapter 5
Suddenly a feeling of anxiety seemed to attack her as she stood staring at herself in the hall mirror. Perhaps it had always been there, but somehow overlooked with all the cheerleading business and Justin and Trace to be bothered with. If she could have spent the week before school in any other fashion, Quinn was sure she’d be unsatisfied. Aside from the doting and obvious drooling, Trace had proved himself to be quite the charmer and had done his part in sweeping her off her feet. Without even trying she had started to like him and couldn’t help but give in to his fanciful words and expressions. Thinking of him now brought a smile to her face, a smile that seemed plastered whenever he was around. It was something about him that always had her in a fit of giggles. So of course thinking of him now offset whatever horrendous thoughts she had in mind for the day before her. Obviously her first day of school had her on edge.
“ Quinn, did you want pancakes or toast?!” her mother yelled up the stairs at her. Opening her door, Quinn leaned out just in time to see her brother emerge from the bathroom clothed in a terry cloth robe.
“ You suck!” Anthony sneered sticking his tongue out. Quinn kicked him in his leg as she moved to the stairway to answer her mother.
“ Neither, I gotta go and catch the bus!” Quinn yelled, moving into the bathroom to check her hair. Deciding to drift away from the norm, and add a little jazz to her appearance- even if she wasn’t feeling it on the inside- she had her mother cut her hair into a layered bob. Smiling uneasily, she realized that she had completely missed whatever her mother had been harping about from the kitchen.
“ What?!” she screamed out the bathroom door in sync with the doorbell. That’s odd, Quinn thought crossing over to her bedroom and placing her gold hoops into her ear. Giving herself a once over glance and approving of the denim shorts and matching vest with an off the shoulder long sleeve white stretch shirt. She was just bending down to tie her white converses when she heard the heavy footsteps and the voice boom up the staircase.
“ Thanks Mrs. T.” Without bending back up, Quinn met eye to eye with Justin as he reached the last stair on his way to the bathroom. At which point, all forms of breathing and concentrated as well as educated thought diminished and she was left with reality, which involved Justin Timberlake and once again a compromising position. She couldn’t even speak, she couldn’t even blink. Much worse, it took her several minutes to realize she was still bent over and looked even more the part of a deer caught in headlights she portrayed. Why had it always seemed that she and him always ran into each other in the most obscure fashions? Finally standing up she smoothed her vest out and almost ventured into a state of cardiac arrest when he offered a brief smile. If she wasn’t reading too much into the real situation, she would be safe in saying that the smile was not only a greeting, but a synopsis of his take on her appearance. If all was what it seemed, Justin liked what he saw. Once he was safely in the bathroom, she finally realized that he WAS in her house, and from the sounds of it so was Trace. Why were they in her house?
“ Hey, bighead! Trace said its time to leave!” And when had Trace and her brother come onto first name basis. Looking in the mirror, Quinn needed proof to see if her actual countenance reflected the confusion and bewilderment inside.
“ Don’t worry, you look real good.” Justin smiled from the hallway before he made his way downstairs. Could he be any more problematic to this situation, Quinn thought sighing as she shook her head. And so the anxiety heightens.
Pulling up into the crowded parking lot of Stoneybrook High made Justin think twice about the events that the year held before him. He would now be taking his place as an upperclassman and would be serving as the captain of the basketball team. He had grown several inches since last year, and those who had the privilege of catching up with him during registration had made note of it. Since then he had a pretty active life- especially in the girl department. It didn’t hurt that he had a flagrant reputation by word of mouth from experienced herself Scarlett and a permit with full access to a car. In fact, his mother had passed the Mazda down to him in trade with her new Explorer SUV. Justin could just imagine the tricks Trace would pull, even though it seemed like he wanted his hands tied with Quinn. Glancing in the backseat, he smiled lightly at her anticipated look. She still looked out the window, as if the world outside of it always seemed to change and turning away from it would be chance for her to miss out on something big.
“ So is this anything like New York?” she looked at him through the rearview mirror and abruptly shook her head no.
“ This is nothing like New York.” she sighed grabbing her book bag and waiting for Justin to park before opening to the door.
“ Hold on there little lady, let me take care of that.” Justin laughed as he watched Trace move from the passenger door to the backseat to let Quinn out. Stepping out himself, he caught sight of Joshua and Scarlett making their way across the parking lot. She winked playfully, even with Joshua’s arm draped around her shoulder.
“ By the way thanks Justin for the ride.” Justin almost laughed at the crushed look on Trace’s face, but quickly recovered when he met eyes with Quinn. She really was beautiful, and he didn’t want to seem to out of place by mentioning it. It was pretty much clear who had their sights on her, and had it been anyone other than Trace, maybe he would have pursued. Then again, he probably wouldn’t have, it wasn’t like he decided to be the best candidate for a boyfriend that year and breaking her heart would somehow weigh heavy on his. That thought alone bothered him, bothered him more than he wanted it to.
“ It’s cool. U want one home?” Trace stuck his thumbs up in the air for his approval causing Justin to smirk. Quinn looked uneasily about the parking lot, and for a minute Justin didn’t quite understand her hesitation. Then he looked himself and noticed that most of the girls were shooting tainted looks over towards them.
“ I...”
“ Trace’ll meet you at your locker at the end of the day.” Justin summed up, not giving her a chance to back out. Quinn flashed him a grateful look and Justin felt his heart melt, even with the decision to keep her out of it she still found ways to crawl into it. He shook his head, not really ready to dwell on that thought and started towards the school.
“ I hear your dating Trace.” Quinn had imagined that her first conversation with a fellow Stoneybrook High student would at least start off with her asking for directions to her homeroom class. However, that idea was shot out the window when a rather round and quite short girl heaved upon her as she painstakingly tried to ram her bag pack into her undersized locker. Glancing at the red head girl, Quinn continued her relentless shove ignoring whatever topic of discussion the girl was trying to breech upon.
“ He’s really cute, but I think J looks better.” And if Quinn could look less interested, she sure hoped it would involve a sign of some sort, because expression seemed to be a lost cause on this one.
“ J?” Quinn finally decided that her first impression shouldn’t be one of a bonafide bitch and noticed that the girl seemed to be waiting on some kind of response, and since ‘J’ was a new name for her, Quinn might as well have ventured.
“ Justin Timberlake. Only THE hottess guy at Stoneybrook.” Quinn smirked to herself. He was a sight for soar eyes, if she must say so herself. In fact she had the privilege of vouching for his perfection in all the right places, and she was sure she would be on one accord with most.
“ Oh, yeah he’s cute.”
“ Didn’t think you noticed.” Once again paying attention to detail would have almost saved her from admitting that in front of him had she taken notice to the red head girl’s sudden frozen state or bug eyed stare directly behind her. So turning around and seeing Justin standing there would be that much of a chock, or as exhilarating, had she just paid attention to detail. Perhaps either way, the exhilarating part might have stayed the same.
“ Do you make it a habit of yours to sneak up on me during the most embarrassing moments?” Quinn laughed closing her locker and turning to him. She couldn’t remember a time she had ever been so close to him and had found herself trying to get closer.
“ I could ask you the same thing.” he smiled cooly and Quinn felt her heart do a series of backflips. She watched him unconsciously lick his own lips and thought about how it felt to kiss them. Which was a real absurd thought for her seeing as though she never kissed anyone, and the likeliest candidate for her first kiss would be Trace. Not Justin.
“ Hey Bernice.” Justin greeted and Quinn turned and smiled at the girl who looked nonetheless phased by her exclusion from the conversation during those brief moments. Quinn didn’t even think the girl noticed at all, but was just satisfied to be staring at Justin.
“ Hey.” she said rather dreamily and Quinn stifled a laugh.
“ So, your making friends already.” Justin smiled and Quinn looked towards Bernice, outstretching a hand she smiled at the rosy cheeked girl.
“ Quinn Carroll.”
“ Bernice Marshalls.”
“ Justin Timberlake.” he mocked and both the girls laughed. Leaning onto her locker, Quinn turned her attention back to Justin. In one way or another, he had stayed in her thoughts all day. Contrary to her own beliefs, it just wasn’t her own doing. He seemed to be the buzz all over the school. Bernice of course wasn’t the first girl to approach her or make conversation with her in reference of Justin or Trace. No wonder she had ignored Bernice’s initial interest. From homeroom, to English class, Justin was the present topic of conversation. She had overheard a few things that made even her blush, putting whatever Simone and the girls back at home like to talk about to shame.
“ So what brings you around these parts, where is Trace?” it was to her understanding that Trace would meet her at her locker after school. Now she stood next to Justin, with no complaints, and wondered whatever happened to Trace.
“ Oh he has a football meeting, so your stuck with me.” Justin shrugged, smiling as he touched Quinn’s chin.
“ Oh brother.” Bernice muttered and Quinn turned to laugh at her. The girl showed no inhibitions about her liking towards Justin, even with him standing right there.
“ I guess that’ll do.” Waving goodbye to Bernice, she followed behind Justin out the door.
“ How about Dairy Queen, my treat.” smiling to herself as she jumped into his car, Quinn once again wished she had some type of device that would record her day blow by blow. If not for her friends, at least for her to dwell upon day after day. She was building up quite the memoir for her life, especially when compared to the nonexistent life she led before.
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