The beeping of my alarm clock told me it was time to wake up. I grunted, wiped my eyes, and turned off the annoying buzzer. It took me a few minutes to finally roll out of bed, but when I finally did, my body was not in agreement. I brushed my teeth, combed through my hair and sauntered over to my closet. I grabbed my favorite pair of jeans and a tank top. Simplicity was my style. I didn’t bother to put make up on, for there was nothing I could do to brighten my pale skin.

                I shuffled down the stairs to the kitchen. My father sat at the end of the kitchen table, sipping a cup of coffee and holding up the newspaper. Such a typical scene. I kissed him lightly on the forehead and proceeded to the fridge.

                “Good morning, pumpkin,” my father said as I poured myself a glass of milk.

                “Morning Dad.” I sat down across from him. “Where’s mom?”

                “Probably trying to get Ella ready for school,” he mumbled.

                I didn’t reply. It was usual for my mom to spend a long time helping my younger sister, Ella, get ready. She was a pain and in the mornings, it was worse. She needed help with her hair and her clothes. The list just goes on.

                I dumped my half drank glass of milk, said goodbye to my father, and headed towards my car. While grabbing the keys, I called up the stairs, “Bye Mom! Bye Ella!”

                I heard talking, an annoying complaint most likely from Ella. Instead of waiting for a reply, I turned around and headed to the car, not looking forward for the long day of school.

                I searched for a good radio station, before settling on a classical music station. I needed something soothing today. A headache was already brewing in my brain and school was not going to be any help.

                Especially Pre Calculus. This is just a disadvantage of being a smarter junior. While most of my class is in Algebra II, I am in the highly Senior populated class of Pre Calculus. Even worse, Jared Kent would be there, most likely making it as uncomfortable as it could get.

                I sighed. What had he meant with his little comment yesterday? Surely he wasn’t flirting with me, the quiet smart girl who doesn’t have any friends. I laughed to myself. Of course a popular man like Jared wasn’t flirting with me. This is his game; make you think he likes you so he can get in your pants or make you feel important. Well, his little tricks weren’t going to work on me.

                I pulled into the school parking lot. A light sprinkle had started and I didn’t bother to shelter my hair from the wet. I threw my bag over my shoulder and went into the school, heading for my locker. I grabbed my books for first period and headed to Biology.

                The rest of school seemed to pass by in a blur. It was a normal day, indifferent from any other.

                As I walked from the cafeteria to sixth period, I got this strange pit in my stomach. How could such an incompetent senior have this effect on me?

                I walked into the classroom, surprisingly arriving before Jared. I pulled out my math notebook and waited patiently for the bell to ring.

                Just as the final bell rang, Jared Kent came flying into the room, his presence completely aware. Mr. Hender was yet to be in the room.

                Jared turned to me. “Hey, Austin.” I glanced at him, and he had a small smile playing on his lips.

                I gave him a weak smile and turned back to my work.

                “Oh, so we going to play that game again, huh?” he asked.

                I turned back at him. “What game?”

                “The one where you don’t talk to me. You literally force me to get a word out of you.”

                I shrugged. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I smiled sheepishly.

                He snickered and before he could reply, Mr. Hender came bursting into the room with a stack of papers, yelling, “Pop Quiz!”

                Everyone groaned, and even a small one escaped my lips. He passed the quizzes out quickly, telling us to quiet down.

                I was one of the first done, finding the quiz extremely easy. I sat down back in my seat, pulling out my IPod. I also grabbed my journal and started doodling words, matching them so they flowed with the rest.

                Fifteen minutes later, everyone had finished and Mr. Hender excused the class, apparently not in the mood to teach. “Just feel free to talk or catch up on homework for the rest of the period.”

                I continued writing.

                “What is that?” came a voice to the right of me.

                I glanced up at Jared. I had forgotten he was even there. I took one of the headphones out and smiled. “A notebook.”

                He scoffed. “I know that. But what are you writing in it?”

                I lifted my eyebrows. “Stuff.”

                He groaned. “You are the most difficult person to talk to. I literally have to pry a conversation out of you.”

                I shrugged once again and smiled triumphantly.

                “Quite a challenge, you are,” he admitted.

                “Oh, really? Is that bad?” I asked lightly. I was surprised at my actions, how I turned towards him slightly, leaning in, with a little heat on my cheeks.

                “No.” He smiled. “I don’t mind a good challenge.”

                I rolled my eyes. “Good luck.”

                He gave me a small grin and started packing up. The bell rang shortly after. As I stood up, I accidently knocked my math book over. Before I could get to it, Jared already had it in his hand, offering it back to me.

                “Thanks,” I breathed.

                He nodded. “See you around, Austin.”