Chapter Four - Valentine

Part Five - Enjoy~!

My first class was Literature. I checked my schedule at least six times to make sure I didn't stumble into the wrong class by mistake. What if I did? What if the teacher got mad and yelled at me? What if, what if, WHAT IF? Questions swirled in my head, and I had to actually stop walking to clear my brain. I took a deep breath and remembered the advice Mom had given me the week before.

“Room numbers that start with a two, like 201, are always going to be on the second floor. The same thing goes for room numbers that start with a one,” Mom had said, while pulling a burnt pie from the oven. She wasn't the best baker, but she did it anyway, claiming it was her passion. Thinking about her advice made me want to go home. I thought of my warm bed, covered in my bright yellow and pink bedspread. I thought of my cat, Ringo, who always slept on my feet, which, in the morning, I found quite annoying, but now, made my heart swell up with tears.

The tears swelled up out of my heart and into my throat, and soon they started to leak out of my eyes. No, I thought, forcing the tears back down my throat and into my heart, I can't cry. Not now. I took yet another deep breath, and counted to ten.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.

When I had regained my composure, I tugged on the straps of my bag and started to walk to class. I was about to climb the stairs when someone crashed into me. My bag dropped to the floor and the contents of it, including my makeup and journal, flew everywhere, and all my stuff went in opposite directions. “Watch where you're going, GOSH!” I huffed. “Sorry, I am so sorry!” The guy said, handing me my schedule, which had landed near his feet. As I took it, I saw his shirt, which looked very familiar. AC/DC, it said. I looked up, hoping desperately that some guy had the exact same shirt with the exact same studded belt as the cute guy in the library. I saw his face, and his eyes were covered with the exact same SAND COLORED HAIR! I felt myself blushing and looked down at my feet. “Thanks,” I mumbled.

The cute boy held out his hand and said, “I'm Reese. Do you want me to, uh, help you pick up your stuff?” His face was as red as mine, and I was stunned to realize that a guy so cute could be nervous, much less talk to me. “Um, sure, I guess.” I shook his hand and we both bent down and started to gather up my stuff. He handed me my purse and I awkwardly shoved it into my bag. “Er, do you have a name?” Reese mumbled, running his hand through his hair. “Oh, um, yeah. I'm Candy,” I said, bracing myself for the part where he would say, “Your name is Candy? Wow, that's weird. Seriously?” I waited, but he didn't even blink. “Nice to meet you, Candy,” he said, and without missing a beat, he shook my hand. I was amazed that a boy the same age as me could have manners. I was even more surprised when he took my hand and offered to walk me to class. I guess this won't be so bad, I thought to myself, maybe it will actually be OK.

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