• “Hey b***h.”

    I flinched. Mikayla’s voice used to mean talking to a good friend. Now it just meant confronting an enemy. An enemy who thinks you stole her boyfriend.
    “Back off, Mikayla.” I said calmly, reaching into my locker and grabbing a textbook. Don’t make eye contact, I told myself. Act like you don’t care, it’ll put her off.
    But my tactic didn’t work, and she continued.
    “I’m NOT about back off from this,” She said angrily, moving so she blocked my line of vision. “Oh no, I am just getting started.” She looked me up and down as though she didn’t think I’d be able to handle what she dished out, and I frowned.
    “You need to get over him, he chose me, its simple.” I mirrored her judgmental gaze and eyed her doubtfully. “Maybe you’re just too stupid to put two and two together.” She gasped and gritted her teeth; I had definitely struck a nerve. Smirking, I turned and went to class, thinking that I had won the battle, and feeling pretty good about it too. But one thought lingered on my mind as I took my seat in history; I won the battle, but there’s still the war.


    “Hey!”
    I looked up to see Caitlin waving madly at me from the other side of the room. I checked to see if Mr. Grasey (my history teacher) was looking at us, but he was scribbling some notes down on the board. I quickly slipped out of my chair and plunked down in the one next to Caitlin, earning myself a glare as the boy who had been about to sit down murmured something grumpily and continued his search for a seat.
    “You are SOOO lucky.” Caitlin moaned. She leaned in dramatically, and whispered, “Me and Chris haven’t even kissed yet!” Her face looked horrified, as if it was some kind of travesty, and I smiled at her seriousness. She leaned back in her chair, “It’s a huge milestone, and we’ve been dating way longer then you and Tyler!” her expression changed to one of sadness. “I know Chris wants to kiss me, but the right moment just hasn’t come up.” She sighed, slumping. “It isn’t fair.” I was about to respond when Mr. Grasey called on Caitlin to answer a question, and her attention shifted back to the board. It gave me some time to think: Was lunch the right moment to have our first kiss? Or should I have waited for some more romantic moment, like Caitlin was? My fingers twitched uneasily, I hoped I hadn’t made some sort of mistake and ruined it for the both of us. But, he seemed just as happy as I was… I don’t think I did anything incorrectly….

    “Ms. James!!” I lurched backwards with the loudness of the shout, nearly falling over. Mr. Grasey glared at me as I recollected myself, my cheeks burning bright red. “Ms. James,” He repeated grouchily, “Can you please tell me what the capital of Russia is?”
    “Moscow.” I said softly, my eyes on the floor.
    “Thank you, that is correct.” He stared down at me. “Now please, try to stay focused.”
    The class snickered as my cheeks turned the color of a ripe tomato. “Yes sir.”
    “Ouch.” Caitlin whispered as I hunched over my desk. “That was pretty harsh.” I shot her a glance, and she winced. “Sorry.”

    …………………………………………….


    Things were going from good to horrible.

    With Mikayla trying to destroy me, the possibility that I ruined my first kiss, and being embarrassed in front of my entire history class, I was beginning to freak out.
    “Katy!” I heard Tyler call out as I passed his locker. Almost reluctantly I stopped and faced him, throwing on a mask of happiness. “Katy!” He called again, smiling and running towards me. “Hey, I…what’s wrong?” I did a double take. How did he know that something was up?
    I sighed. “You can read me like a book.” I gave a slight smile, but it faded when Mikayla walked past, “accidentally” bumping into me as she passed. I stumbled, and my books plummeted to the floor where the crashed with a thwack. I stared at them numbly as Tyler looked after her.
    “What’s her deal?” He said, turning back to me.
    “She called me a b***h.”
    “What?”
    “She called me a b***h. That’s what I said.”
    He stared at me shocked. “She can’t treat you like that!” His expression turned to one of compassion. “Don’t worry, I’ll talk to her.”
    “No!!” I shouted loudly. People turned and stared, and I blushed yet again. “No,” I said again, this time lowering my voice, “That’s what she wants. I’ll handle this, OK?”
    He sighed, obviously annoyed, and I smiled. He cared so much for me, that he would confront his ex and risk a lot of trouble. It made me happy, but I wasn’t about to let him do it. “Good.” I said, taking his sigh as a yes.
    He looked off into the distance, then kissed my head, then my nose, then my lips. We kissed for a moment, and the people around us began to thin as the next class began.
    “Bye.” I said numbly.
    “Bye.” He replied, not quite focusing on me, thinking about something. Then he left, and I turned to my schedule, to see what class I had next. Oh god. Gym.

    Wasn’t Mikayla in my gym class?