2.
Ms. Adams goes through the syllabus.
We have a minute left until class is over and she still has two more pages to go over. I start putting my notebook away so that I don’t have to rush to second period.
The bell rings and everyone gets out of their seat. Everyone is in a hurry to get out of this classroom. I’m not going to lie, Ms. Adams’ class was such a dull way to start 7th grade. That's saying a lot since English is my favorite subject.
I make my way out of the classroom and merge into the sea of students.
“Hey,” I hear someone call out behind me. I keep walking since it couldn’t possibly be directed at me. None of my friends were in my class. There’s a tap on my shoulder. I spin around and there's a pair of green eyes staring back at me. “You forgot your pen.” Theodore hands my pen to me.
“Oh. Thanks,” I respond, taking my pen from his fingers.
“Sorry, I didn’t catch your name,” he says, with a small smile tugging at the end of his lips.
“Romina,” I say, “but I go by Mina.”
“Nice to meet you, Mina. I’m Theo.”
“I know,” I stupidly respond. His eyebrows shoot up, “I mean, I heard your friend call you Theo before class started.”
“Oh. Yeah, Alex,” he remembers. “What do you have for second period?”
“Uhm, Pre-Algebra with Mr. Spencer.”
“Oh, me too. Can I walk you to class”
“I’m not sure how that would be considered walking me to class if you also need to go to the same class.”
“Well, can I walk with you?”
“Sure,” I finally give in. I turn around and continue on the path that I was on before he returned my pen. He walks beside me. I notice that he must be at least a whole foot taller than me, but I'm trying not to stare at him or even look at him.
“So uhm, tell me about yourself, Mina," he says. Where do I start? I don't want to overshare. What if this is some sort of prank or bet he has going on with his friends?
"Uhm," I start.
He laughs. "Fine, I'll go first. My name is Theodore Wynn. I go by Theo. I have a little sister. And I've played hockey since I was 3."
"Three?" I ask.
"Yup," I'm trying not to look at him, but I can hear the smile in his voice, "Where did you go to school before this?"
"Reed," I answer shortly. I am still having doubts about his intentions.
"Oh, nice! So you know Trevor," he says.
"You know Trevor?" I ask.
"We play on the same hockey team. We have since we were 10," he says.
"Oh," I answer shortly again. I used to have a crush on Trevor. Actually, I have had a crush on Trevor since we were in kindergarten. He's always been nice and says hi to me and tries to include me in group settings. But in 4th grade, Rosie moved from Colorado and since she was the new shiny toy, she had all the boys chasing her, including Trevor. In two weeks, they were holding hands during recess and they've been together ever since.
We finally arrived to Room 117. "Uhm, well, I guess we should go in." Unlike Ms. Adams, Mr. Spencer hasn't assigned seats. I walk ahead of Theo to the front row and hope that he doesn't follow me. Maybe he has another friend in this class that he'd rather sit next to.
"Theo!" I hear another boy call out to him. Of course he has friends in this class Why wouldn't he. I sit down and pull out my yellow notebook. I put away my pen and choose my pencil. There are too many mistakes that can happen in math and notes with stuff crossed out bug me.
"Did you save us a seat?" A deep voice asks. I look up, confused. Us? I didn't save anyone a seat, let alone seats for multiple people. The voice belongs to Trevor. His light blue eyes are twinkling back at me and the dimple on his left cheek is marked as he smiles. Standing behind him is Theo with his green eyes. Why would either of them want to sit next to me? Why can't they just sit together, somewhere else?
Unfortunately for me, this classroom has tables that seat three. Trevor is already taking off his backpack and moving to my left while Theo walks across the front of the classroom to take the seat on my right side. I move over to the middle seat so that Trevor can sit. What is happening today?
Oh, did I mention that Rosie doesn't like me? By the end of 4th grade, she found out that I had a crush on Trevor and warned me to stay away from him. Of course that was kind of an impossible thing. Trevor lives across the street and our moms have become best friends. The four of us have movie nights once a week. I'm still not sure if Rosie knows that, but I have avoided talking to Trevor at school if I could help it.
"Theo just told me he met you in first period. What a coincidence that my hockey bestie meets my bestie bestie," he's still smiling at me. I look over at Theo on my right side and he smiles at me too, looking rather proud of himself. I sigh and turn to face the white board to wait for Mr. Spencer to begin the class.