Alexandra and Daniella accompanied Melissa into Harbingers High School as they did nearly every morning. Once inside, they did not disperse immediately. Rather, they stood, huddled together watching everyone else arrive and chatting until their attention was diverted. A boy they had never seen walked through the main entrance of the building and began walking down the hallway.
“Who is that?” Daniella asked.
“I don’t know, but he is hot!” Alexandra added. “Wow! That boy is fine!”
Melissa tried not to stare as Alexandra and Daniella, along with every other student and faculty member roaming the hall did, but it was difficult not to. The new boy was unlike anyone she had ever seen. He was attractive, more attractive than any actor or model she had seen starring on television, in movies or gracing the cover of a magazine. Yet, he did not stride with the self-assurance of boys far less attractive than he; he did not seem to embrace his spectacular looks.
She struggled to place the exact attitude he assumed, could not find words to properly describe the way he carried himself. He seemed confident enough, but lacked the swagger she expected of a boy as handsome as he. Instead, he seemed oddly nervous, uncomfortable. She guessed it would be impossible for him to not feel nervous and uncomfortable while everyone around him stared and seemed mesmerized by his presence. She didn’t think anyone would be capable of adjusting to scrutiny so focused, so concentrated. She cringed at the thought of it happening to her. She felt bad for him.
He continued moving and was about to pass them, all the while his eyes remained ahead of him, staring toward a distant destination. As he came closer, his eyes briefly glanced in her direction. She could not be certain, but she believed they made eye contact.
Melissa quickly rejected that belief, however, and dismissed it as nothing more than wishful thinking. She blushed, embarrassed, and lowered her eyes to her feet and silently scolded herself for thinking a boy as good looking as he would look at her. It was more likely that he was looking at something behind her, or just next to her, a point that gave the illusion of his eyes meeting hers. She turned to her friends and was about to speak but stopped when she saw that both of them were nearly drooling over him. Alexandra and Daniella allowed their gaze to follow him as he passed. They, like the others, were blatant and unapologetic for their intense inspection and deep appreciation of his generous physical attributes. When he had finally passed and the spell that had been cast was finally broken, Alexandra spoke first.
“Damn girl! Did you see how he stared at you?” Alexandra asked Melissa.
“Yeah right,” she replied sheepishly.
“What are you blind? He looked right at you. And no one else”
“Come on, Alex! That’s ridiculous!”
“Believe what you want, but I know what I saw.”
“I have to agree with Alex on this one,” Daniella chimed in. “He looked directly at you.”
“You guys are nuts!” Melissa countered. “I can’t even listen to this nonsense.”
“Suit yourself, Melissa. You’re so clueless!” Daniella began playfully. “I have to run. See you later!”
Daniella walked quickly toward the staircase leading to the next floor where her locker resided.
“See ya, Daniella,” Melissa said.
“Later,” Alexandra chimed in.
Alexandra turned to Melissa and spoke. “I gotta go, too. I’ll see you later. I need to go to the nurse before the bell rings. I need an antacid or something. That breakfast burrito I had isn’t sitting well,” she said patting her chest to encourage a burp.
“Good luck with that,” Melissa said as Alexandra turned and walked in the opposite direction.
Melissa was alone. She began walking to her first period class
Kevin was not in her first two sessions. She was not sure whether that was a blessing or a curse. On one hand, it bought her time to prepare for their awkward confrontation. On the other hand, it allowed for time, a lot of time; time that would be spent worrying over how the situation would play out. The interim between their date the previous night and third period English was nightmarish, agonizing. She simply did not know what to expect.
After several seconds of brooding, she resolved to push Kevin to the back of her mind and submerge herself in her courses. Determined, she walked confidently to her locker and grabbed her books for her morning classes.
First and second period passed quickly. There had been no social repercussion whatsoever. As far as she could tell, no one knew of their middle-of-the-night date, how it had ended poorly.
As she sat in her third period English class and waited for the room to fill, Melissa expected the quintessential ax to fall. She waited for Kevin.
When Kevin finally did arrive, he breezed in past her and did not offer so much as a fleeting glance in her direction. She felt relieved. She had not entertained the possibility that nothing would happen, that their first interface would be free of drama. Her penchant for negativity had grossly exaggerated Kevin’s meanness. He was lecherous, but perhaps not all bad. She allowed herself to relax before the bell rang and felt certain the day would not be as awful as she predicted.