“So what is there to do?”
I dropped my backpack to the floor and sat down on the desk. “What are you going to do this weekend?” Mark asked.
“Probably go to the rink and practice a little, help my sister with her recital practice and then hang out with Ana.”
I heard a sharp gasp and I turned my head idly to the direction it had come from. “No way in hell,” I breathed and held my breath.
“What?” Mark asked and punched me in the arm. “What? Tell me.”
But I couldn’t say anything. I was completely awe-struck. What was she doing there? Why was she in class? I blinked but she didn’t go away. She was standing behind the teacher’s desk, listening to what he was saying. Finally he dismissed her and she turned away. Her gaze fell on the class full of students. A girl ran up to her and started talking.
She nodded and started looking over the room. Her eyes met mine and she paused for the smallest second. She had no idea who I was. Of course. She didn’t remember what I looked like. “No. No, I can’t. Thank you though,” she whispered and turned back to the desks. “Umm? Where do I sit?”
“You will be taking the empty seat… There, behind Mr. Surmise.”
Mr. Sellers pointed to the desk behind me. I saw her head turn quickly. She looked at Mark and there was a slight grimace on her face. “Dude, new chick’s looking at me.”
“I will beat the shit out of you if you stand too close to her,” I grumbled through clenched teeth.
“She’s Ana?”
“No duh,” I said and he started laughing.
“No wonder she’s looking at me. She already knows what’s good for her.” I glared at him as she slowly began walking to the desk.
She stopped as Mark blocked her path. She waited but he didn’t move. He looked at me. “What?” I asked and he started laughing. A confused look crossed over her face and she took a deep breath. “Mark, stop being a jerk. Move.”
He rolled his eyes and sat in the desk beside me. “All right, class,” Mr. Sellers started and the class quieted down. Everyone took a seat. I couldn’t force myself to turn all the way around, not when I knew Ana was sitting right behind me. “Let’s all get settled down and turn to chapter sixteen.”
The lesson was boring and the class seemed to go on forever. Knowing that Ana was behind me distracted me beyond belief. I wanted to know what she was thinking, how she was feeling, what she saw, everything. “Mr. Surmise, could you read the first three paragraphs?”
I nodded and turned to my book. “Mark Twain once wrote, ‘A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval.’ Mark Twain had said and written hundreds of things during his lifetime but in my own opinion this was one of the most truthful things he every wrote…” I read the passage and then someone else was told to read.
“All right class, break up into groups of two. Then I’ll give you your project guidelines.”
The class started to get loud again. I started to turn around and Mark looked at me. I started to shake my head when Mr. Sellers said, “Ms. Faith, I need to see you for a minute.”
She stood up and walked to the desk, waiting for Mr. Sellers to sit down. “Dude, you’re my partner.”
“Dude,” I said, “No.”
“What? You’re barely here half the time and when you are you aren’t going to help me?”
“Fine,” I snapped. “I’ll be your partner.”
Ana had finished talking to Mr. Sellers and she looked at the room again. “Umm, Mr. Sellers? It looks like everyone has a partner.”
He looked up from his laptop.
“It seems that way doesn’t it?” She nodded. “All right, you can either work by yourself or be in a group with Mark and Luke.”
She took a deep breath and nodded. “Okay.”
We were quieted down and then given the project instructions. Ana still hadn’t said if she wanted to work with us or not. “All right, you have two weeks to complete this project. Get to work.”
Mark looked at Ana. “Do you want to work with us?” he asked and she held her breath.
“Sure.”
I turned my desk to face them both and Mark started talking. He always talked. Ana nodded every once in a while but she never looked at me. I wrote on a sheet of paper and turned it so Ana would see it.
Are you okay?
Yes
Really?
Yeah, just tired
“But they won’t let me get the bike,” Mark said and Ana looked at him, then nodded slowly.
“Sounds interesting,” she murmured and cleared her throat.
The class ended and Ana was called to the guidance office. “She doesn’t seem that into you man,” Mark commented as we walked to second period.
“I know.”
I didn’t have second period with Ana or third period but I had lunch with her. I sat on the wall of the courtyard and waited for her. Ten minutes before the bell rang she came from the back building. From across the courtyard her gaze met mine. She walked towards me, moving around the people sitting on the ground and stepping over the backpacks that cluttered the pathways. I stood up and waited. She didn’t say anything, she took a deep breath and shuddered letting it out. Suddenly, her arms were around my waist.
For a second I was shocked. Then I smiled and kissed her hair. My arms held her tightly to me. She sighed and rested against me. “Maybe I was wrong,” I heard Mark say and I turned. Ana didn’t move.
He was leaning against the brick wall, his lunch sitting next to him. “Yeah, me too.”
“Never pictured you with a blonde though,” he said, sitting on the ledge. “Or a dancer.”
I shrugged and closed my eyes. “Do you have to go to the doctor tonight?” I asked and she shook her head. “Then do you want to come and see Scarlett practice?”
“Sure. Oh gosh, I picked out her costume and I couldn’t see. Is it horrible?” I chuckled and smiled. “I’ll feel so bad if it looks horrible.”
“It looks great. Don’t worry about it.”
The bell rang but we didn’t move. “Dude, you can’t miss fourth period again,” Mark said.
“Actually, I don’t have fourth period anymore so… There is no fourth period to miss.”
We didn’t move as the courtyard started to clear. “I have to go to class,” Ana finally said and I nodded.
“All right, I’ll go to the library and I’ll wait out front for you when class ends.” She nodded.
The library was quiet, I sat at one of the several empty tables and took a deep breath. Ana could see again… What was she thinking? What did she think about me? Did she love me? Did she still care about me? Had she ever cared about me? Did I love her?
I rested my head in my hands and tried to think clearly. Why did she have to be the girl that didn’t remind me of Scar? Why did she have to be the one who made me think that maybe I had a future, one with a family? Why was it happening to me?
The bell rang and the halls filled with hundreds of students. I went to the front of the building and stood next to my car, waiting. Mark came by and punched me in the shoulder. “What was that for?”
“Dude, she’s hot.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“And she’s frickin’ smart.” I nodded, rubbing my bicep where he had punched me. “How did you get her? And what is she doing staying with you?”
“I have no idea.” Ana came out of the school, staring at her feet. She looked up and turned her head. She quickly began walking towards us. And then there were five girls following her. She walked faster and stopped at my side. She looked like she was about to cry. What was going on?
Mark looked from her to me. “What happened?” he asked as I slid an arm around her waist, pulling her closer possessively.
“I can’t…” The five girls came closer.
“Anastasia, we were looking for you,” one of them said, I recognized her as head of the dance team. “Me and the girls were talking and we wanted to invite you onto the team.”
They d
idn’t care about her… They wanted her to dance for them. I held Ana away from them, turning her to me. “Ladies,” Mark said, saving the day. “I’m sure that maybe one day, she’ll want to be a part of your pathetic little dance team. But until then, go away.”
Two of them began walking away the other three made faces. “That’s right. I said pathetic.”
“You’re just jealous,” one of them said and they all left.
“I hate them,” Mark said and gave one of them the finger as they turned back. “They think they’re so amazing.” He just hated that people would rather go to a dance competition than to a hockey match. “I’d better get home before my mom starts freaking out. I’ll see you at practice tomorrow bro?” I nodded, still holding Ana.
He walked away. “Can we go now?” she asked quietly and I opened the car door for her.
I sat behind the steering wheel. Ana drew her knees to her chest and leaned against the window. “Where do you want to go?” I asked and she didn’t answer. “Do you want to go home?”
“No, no, I can’t go home right now.” There was a slight quiver in her voice, was she crying?
“Okay, do you want to go to my house?” She shook her head. “Then let’s go to the park, although it may be swamped with little kids.”
I drove to the park, as I predicted little kids were running over the playground, exhausted parents were running after them, some of them sitting on the benches taking a break. There was one empty swing. I pulled Ana to it and held her on my knees. “Now will you tell me what’s wrong?” I asked and she just laid her head on my shoulder. “What are you thinking?”
“That I love you.” And I was speechless. Had I heard her right? “You have no idea how amazing it was to be able to see you. I saw you in class, watching me with your friend, but I had no idea who you were. And then the teacher said your name and I thought that guy was you and I was like, what is he talking about, how could he be the amazing guy I’ve spent my past few months with. And then you started talking, reading that passage in the text book… And it was just like my whole world came together.
“I woke up this morning and all I wanted was to see you. I didn’t care that I could finally see again, but that I would be able to see you. I wanted to call you right away and tell you but daddy said it would be more fun if I waited to see you in school. And then after class you were waiting for me and all I could think was, how can I love someone that I’ve only known for a few months?”
She shut her eyes and leaned back onto my shoulder. I smiled and let out the breath I had been holding. “And I’m afraid that maybe when we start going to school again, and you’re hockey season kicks in, maybe you’ll forget about me.”
“Oh no babe. That won’t be happening. If you go back to dancing and school and your friends, trust me, you’re going to forget about me.”
“Never,” she whispered and looked up at me. “That could never happen.”
“Ana… I’m going to kiss you now.” I lowered my head to hers and kissed her. Not my first kiss, but by far the absolute best. When I pulled back she rested her forehead against mine.
She smiled and let out a soft laugh. “I never expected it to be that amazing.”
“Neither did I…”
We sat on the swing in silence for a long time. The park slowly emptied and then the sun started to set. “Do you want to go home?” I asked, finally breaking the silence. “Or do you want to come home with me?”
“I don’t really want to go home.”
“Okay, then come on, Scarlett will be happy to see you.”
Ana
I heard music coming from the studio room, Scarlett was practicing. It showed discipline, which she would need if she thought to ever make it in the dancing world. Luke had his arm around my waist, it was comfortable.
And he was absolutely amazing. He was a light copper color, he probably got really tan over the summer. His hair was just a little too long, hanging in his amazing hazel colored eyes. He pushed open the white door to the dancing studio and I held my