Emerge (12 page)

             
I was not backing down. 

             
“Nope, not at all.
  Don’t let me bother you.”

             
I took off as fast as my stubby legs could take me down the hall and as my foot touched down on the first stair I felt strong buffed out arms grab me around my middle and pull me back to the second floor.

             
“Ok, Ok, you win. I found your locker so I could see you first thing in the morning instead of waiting all
freakin
’ day until 6
th
period.” He laughed.

             
“
Awww
…
” I cooed at him.

             
“Come on, didn’t you need to get into your locker.”

             
“Not really, I was just told there was a hot guy there.  I guess he left.” I cocked my eyebrow at him
.

             
“Ouch
,
” he said jokingly.

             
We walked back to my locker and I put half of my books back in it from the weekend.

             
“Where’s your homeroom?”

             
“ The
Science Building.
You?”
I asked.

             
“Ugh, all the way out by the Driver’s Ed.
Class
.” He groaned.

             
He was right.  It was a long hot walk all the way out there. The warning bell startled us both a little.

             
“So.
.
.
” I started
,
“I guess I’ll see you in sixth.”

             
He did this thing where he poked his bottom lip out and looked like he was thinking.  It made me wonder what his lips felt like. He caught me looking at his lips and smiled.

             
“We’ll see if I can make it sooner. I bet I can.”

             
“How?”
I asked.

             
“I have my ways.”

             
And with that he walked down the hall, the same way I had walked before and before he stepped onto the stairs he waved. I was too busy dreaming up creative ways we could meet up during the day to wave back.

Chapter 11

             
Every time I left one class and made my way to another I looked out for him.  After third period, making my way to fourth period, I gave up.  It was already half way through the day and I hadn’
t spotted him even once.  This was my first mistake, letting my guard down.  My second mistake was giving up on him. 

             
I came into the Language Arts building and needed to make my way up the stairs to AP Civics.  I turned with the herd making my way towards the stairs when my eyes found him down the hall.
I wanted to see him, but I also didn’t want him to win.
He had a look on his face like a jaguar which had zeroed in on his prey.  My heart jolted and I did what any worthy prey would do…I ran
… u
p the stairs at a furious pace taking out half of the other students in the process.
I squeezed and moved my shoulders in unnatural angles trying to outwit my hunter. 

             
When I got to the top of the stairs I leaned out over the railing at the top and saw his face smiling back up at me.  I wiggled my eyebrows at him smugly and he shook his head at me and walked out but not before he was nearly trampled by the now tardy herd.

             
I waited for fourth period to end and before I even tried to make it out to the Science Building I looked out of the window for the other player in our two player game.  I didn’t see him anywhere. So I walked back down the stairs and intended to scurry across the Quad to the Science building.  I
slowed my walk as I got closer, confident that he wouldn’t find me now.  I walked into the building and into my classroom and sat, proud as a peacock, knowing I had outsmarted him again. 

             
Class began and about 5 minutes into it, the phone on the wall began to ring.  Mrs. Credence answered it, opening her lab jacket and sticking his fist on her hip with a huff.  She ‘
mmmhhhmmed
’ and “
unnnhunnned
” for a few seconds and then turned with the phone still to her ear. 

             
She looked directly at me
, annoyed,
and said “Jenna, you’re needed to the computer lab for some type of project.”

             
I looked around wide
–eyed.  I had never been called out of class, plus, I didn’
t have computer lab
or a project. 

             
I gathered my things and put my bag across my chest and headed to the computer lab.  It was right down the hall and I hesitantly poked my head into the door.  There was only one student and one teacher.  I put my hands on my hips and smiled.

             
“Where’s the project?” I said.

             
The big bellied teacher smiled and laugh
ed
a jolly laugh and pointed to the student.
Then he went into an office which connected to the lab.

             
“There’s an extremely imp
ortant project right over there
,
”
h
e
said as he exited.

             
Carlos turned around i
n the computer chair and smiled
the smirk of a p
erson who had just won a round of “hide and seek”.

             
I
squinted
my eyes and gave him my most angry look, which wasn’t very intimidating and asked
,
“You think you’re funny?”

             
He laughed and said
,
“No, I think I am
ingenius
.”

             
I relented and sat down in the chair next to him, sighed and said
,
“True.”

             
I looked around and said, “Where are all the other students?”

             
He looked around as well and said “Oh, this is the one period where there is no computer lab. And I have Independent Study this hour, so Mr. Rhodes usually lets me hang out in here.”

             
I let out a small huff of breath and smiled, “Good to know.”

             
We talked and joked around for the rest of the hour and both groaned when the bell rang for the next class. 

             
“See you later
,
”
h
e
said as we began to walk in separate directions after leaving the building.

             
Sixth period finally arrived and I spent most of it reading…well, pretending to read.  Carlos spent a few minutes talking to his friends. He was sitting on the very edge of the chair and
doing that knee bobbing thing and he kept looking back and forth between me and his friends.  I couldn’t help but giggle, but tried to cover my mouth to cover it up.

             
He got up, and walked to my corner of the classroom and I glued my eyes to the book in front of me pretending not to see him.  He moved the desk beside me to in front of me and just sat there. After reading the paragrap
h at the top of the page about three
times over, I looked up at him. 

             
“Is it funny?”
h
e asked with the greatest grin on his face.

             
“Is what funny?” I really didn’t know what he was referring to.

             
“Your book.
  You’ve been trying to hide your gigglin
g over here for about
ten
minutes.”
How did he see I was giggling?

             
“Um
..no…
not really. I was laughing about something else.”

             
“Oh, really, now I’m curious.  What is it?” He rested his chin in his palm and waited for his answer. 
Like he doesn’t know.

             
“If you must know…” He raised his eyebrows so he must need to know. “I was laughing at you over there perched on the edge of your chair,
and you were doing that thing with your knee.  You weren’t even paying attention to your friends, you were just nodding. It was funny.”  I dipped my chin slightly, satisfied that I’d gotten all of that out.

             
He got this immensely serious look on his face and said “So…you were watching me?”  One of his eyebrows went up a little as he finished his question.

             
I scrunched my face up in embarrassment and looked up at the ceiling.  He grabbed my hands and rubbed his thumbs and fingertips over my fingertips.

             
“J, look at me
,
”
h
e said and he was whispering and it made me shiver all over.

             
I slowly met his gaze and blew out a breath.  I was caught. And it humiliated that hell out of me.
I was so new at this…
And so bad at this.

             
“You have no poker face, you know that?” He continued to whisper.

             
“I really don’t. I blush at everything. Sorry.” I felt like my chest cavity was wide open. Not only had I let down my walls, but they were down and crushed on the ground and I was open and it was completely new and weird and uncomfortable and freeing.

             
“It’s a really great blush.” His voice was gent
le and I knew he was sincere
.

             
“I
…
”  I tried to croak out a ‘Thank you’ but there was no use. That bell had a personal vendetta against me.

             
He said quickly, “
So…can I take you home again?”

             
My eyes went wide and my heart
trampolined
down to my stomach and up into my throat at the thought of the chastising I would endure if they were home when I got home.

             
“Hey,” he said… “It’s ok, I was just hoping…”

             
“No!”
H
e instantly misunderstood. “I mean, no, I’m not going to let them scare me out of everything.  I would really like a ride home.”

             
He rubbed the top of his short black h
air and was thinking about it. It was a sight to behold and I flexed my hands behind my back protesting their need to feel it for myself.

             
“Ok, if you’re sure.” He finally grinned, but it wasn’t a full-on smile.

             
“We’d better hurry up. You are getting close to your Jenna quota.”

             
He laughed and we walked out of the classroom, then the building.  We got into his car and took off towards my house.

             
“Are you hungry or anything?” He looked over at me. There’s this feeling you get when someone asks you if you want food or something to drink but they are really asking because
they
are hungry or thirsty.

             
“Not really. I mean I could use a Coke. Are you?” I sang the ‘you’ part to let him know I was onto him.

             
“Yeah
.
..” he laughed.
.
. “I’m starving. But I can wait.”

             
“No,
it’s fine.  Anyway, I usually get home a lot later. So it’s not a big deal.”

             
“Ok, where?” he asked as he drove that stubborn stick shift.

             
“ I
don’t care. 
Anywhere.”
 
And I would. I would go anywhere with him.

             
We drove around for a while and then we stopped at this taco stand that had the most divine carne
asada
tacos ever.  I had never had them and got this flabbergasted “What?
You’ve never had…” he sighed and shook his head
.
We ate and talked and talked some more.
  About 20 minutes before I usually arrived home, we left.