[untitled]

“Oh no not again”, said my mother as the trash truck strolled down the road past our house. “That’s the second time this month that you have forgotten to take out the trash”

       “I’m sorry”, I said “ I just have a lot on my mind at the moment and I just have a lot to look forward to and I wasn’t even thinking.”

        “That’s right you weren’t thinking!” she half screamed at me as I rushed towards the door grabbing my car keys off of the table in a rush so I wouldn’t have to listen to my mom carry on anymore.

       “I’m sorry it won’t happen again”, I said as I slammed the door behind me in a rush to get to school a little early.

I was already running late due to the fact that my alarm clock did not go off when it should have and I woke up a half an hour later than I had intended to. This was not a good way to start off the first year I would ever be a senior and the last year I would ever be in high school. Then it hit me once I was already at the end of my road I had forgotten my lunch. I weighed it out quickly, go back home and be later for school than I already am and have to deal with my mom or just buy my lunch. That thought set in and my stomach lurched forward just thinking about eating school lunch.

I got on the straightaway going to school down a back road and I did something I don’t ever do. I drove over the speed limit. ‘Why am I in such a rush to go to school?’ This is so weird I thought to myself.

I ended up getting school about 5 minutes earlier than I would have had I not broke the law a little. But still I got there about 15 minutes later than I had wanted to. Since I had gotten my schedule early I knew where my locker was and where all of my classes were and what teachers I had. I’d gotten all of the classes I’d wanted. I got Trigonometry, yay I thought sarcastically, Advanced Environmental Studies, Desktop Publishing, AP English, AP Government, AP Studio Art, and I get to be a library aid which is pretty cool!

Then it happened. I knew I felt weird but I didn’t know why till now. I was opening my locker and putting my stuff into it when I saw him. ‘He must be new because I have never seen him before.’ I said to myself then I heard someone call after him “ Hey Zander” and he turned around, walked up to one of the popular boys, and gave him a high-five. Stop staring I mumbled to myself and I focused on what I was doing, which was to get my locker straightened out before the bell was scheduled to ring which was in about 5 minutes.

Slowly by the time I had gotten done with my locker I had forgotten all about this so-called new-boy. The bell rang then and I quickly glanced down at my schedule to confirm that I had first hour AP Art and I grabbed my portfolio case and my sketchbook and headed off to class which just had to be on the other side of the school in the back wing. I guess they put it there because of the large room and the beautiful.

Finally making it to the room my heart half-stopped. He was in my first hour class. Trying not to gawk too much I found my usual seat over by the window. I sat here because sitting here I got the best view of the courtyard. Mrs. Samson was not in the room yet so I proceeded to get my sketchbook out my bag and then I got up and went in the other room to set up my drawing. I had just put my name on a piece of tape and just put it on my drawer and I saw a shadow on the wall in front of me and I turned around to see that Zander was standing about 2 feet away from me.

   “Hey I’m Zander. I’m new here,” he said

        “I’m Alexia. You must be new here because I’ve never seen you around here before. Where are you from?” All the while saying this my heart is one beating 90 miles an hour and two I don’t see how he doesn’t seem to notice how nervous I am.

     “I moved here from Indiana about a two months ago. It kinda sucks though because I left all of my friends back in my hometown and I don’t really know anyone here. I met a couple of the football players when I signed up and all but you’re the first person I’ve really talked to.” And he smiled a slightly crooked smile that made my heart beat that much faster.

            He is so gorgeous I thought to myself. He’s about 5 ½ inches taller than me with chocolate brown hair and dark blue eyes that have a hint of green in them. He’s got pale skin but not the kind that makes one look like a ghost but the kind that brings out your darker features. Zander’s not exactly muscular but he is in shape.

Realizing I was looking him over I turned back to my draw to put in a self-portrait I had done over the summer into my draw but I dropped it and it landed face-down at Zander’s feet and he bent down to pick it up then he turned it over in his hands.

   “Wow! You did this?” he said, “ This is amazing.”

 “Yeah. I just got finished with it about 2 weeks ago. It took me almost a 2 and a half weeks just to finish it.” I said as I blushed at the fact that he liked my work.

     Then the late bell rang and he looked up from my picture at me with that gorgeous smile of his and handed me back my painting.

        “Maybe you could draw me sometime.” He said and walked back in the other room.

Not sure what to do now I put my painting into my drawer and stood there. Why would he be interested in me? I asked myself. I’m not really that pretty. I have shoulder length brown hair that never stays straight because it has a mind of it’s own. I have light green eyes and I’m about 5’4. I’m not really that skinny either. I weigh about 135 pounds. So there’s not that much to love about me.

            Getting over myself I turned off the light and walked back into the other room and the teacher still had not come into the room yet so I walked over to me seat and got out my sketchbook and a pencil and started to draw the courtyard. So engrossed in drawing I didn’t realize until I looked up that Zander had come over and sat by me. I looked at him then I looked over at the teacher’s desk and their sat Mrs. Samson. I hadn’t noticed that she had come in. Following my gaze Zander answered my question

   “ She said we could do whatever we wanted to do today because she has some things to do so we are on our own.” He said and then looked down at my drawing “Your really talented. Where did you learn to draw so well?”

   “My mom used to be an artist so I guess I got it from her.” I said and closed my sketchbook and sighed. “Something wrong?” he asked

“No, I’m fine I just have a lot on my mind that’s all.” I said, “Care to talk about it?”

“Well it’s just that this is my last year and I still need to decide on a college and get everything together.”

            “I see.” He paused, “If it makes you feel any better I still haven’t decided on a college yet either. I’m not even sure I know what I want to do yet. But by the looks of it, it seems like you know what you want to do as he glanced down at the sketchbook sitting between us, and then back up at me.

 

We stared at each other for what seemed like forever and then the bell to go to second hour rang. “That hour went by really fast.” I said “Yeah it did.” He agreed and asked, “What class do you have next?” I thought for a moment and then answered,

       “I have English next. What about you?” “Algebra II.” He said suddenly unenthusiastic “I don’t like math. For me it’s really hard.”

     “Yeah I know what you mean. I don’t like it much either, and to tell you the truth it is really hard.”

            While we’re talking we are walking to our lockers when suddenly I realize his locker is right beside mine. I guess I was so into our conversation that I hadn’t noticed.

   “Well I’ll see you later.” He said as he shut his locker and turned to me “Yeah I’ll see you later and maybe we’ll have another class together.” I said to him. I hope I thought to myself. Then I turned around and walked down the hall to Mr. Jones’ English class.

            The hour passed slow as I listened to the beginning of a long day of lectures and syllabuses. All of the rest of the hours up until lunch passed by extremely slow. Finally I made it to lunch and I went to put my books and stuff in my locker. Then I heard a voice from behind me “Want to eat lunch with me?” Zander asked. I put my last book in my locker and then I shut it and turned around to face him. But what I wasn’t expecting was for him to be so close. “Umm…sure.” I managed to get out and he smiled at my hesitation.

            We got our lunch and we ended up sitting outside in the courtyard considering it was such a nice day. “So,” I said between taking bites of my pizza “why did you move up here?”

    “…Me and my mom moved here after my dad died to be closer to the rest of my family.” He said as he looked past me with this sad look in his eyes. “I’m sorry to hear that.” I said to him as I took a sip of my milk.

 “It’s fine. I’m getting over it. It w as hard at first but it’s getting a bit easier everyday.”

He said as he took a sip of his drink “So how are you liking it here?” I asked

“It’s really nice here. I think I’m going to like living here.” He said then took a bite of his sandwich. Then he looked at me and I looked back at him and he looked down like he was nervous about something. “I know that I just met you and all today but with this being such a big town and all I was wondering if….maybe you could show me around a bit. Would you mind?” he asked making eye contact with me.

Not sure what to say I looked and him. We looked at each other for what seemed like forever and then my brain finally kicked in and I realized what he had asked me.

“ Ohh…umm sure that sounds like fun. Sure I’d love to show you around.” I said and all the while my stomach felt like it was going to explode with excitement.

            We had just finished our lunch and had thrown our trash away then we walked to our lockers. I was unsure what to say so I asked the only question I could think of. “So when do you want me to show you around Zander?”

“Umm…” he sounded like I had caught him off guard “Whenever is fine for you. How about Saturday?”

   “That would work where should we meet?” I asked shutting my locker I started walking towards him.

“I can come pick you up if you want, say around noon?” he asked giving me a sideways glance as he got out his books and shut he locker. He then faced me and I got a good look at his face then. Dang his eyes were so beautiful. I could not look away from him. Finally the bell rang and he asked again “What time should I pick…” 

 “Ohh I’m sorry about 5 would be fine with me. What class do you have next? I have Advanced Environmental Studies.”

 “Me too!” he said and we started walking down the hallway to our class.

“I’ll write my address down for you and then my number in case you get lost.” I said sneaking a side-glance at him and was shocked to see that he was looking at me. “That would be fine with me.” He said and smiled that crooked half smile of his.

            We sat next to each other in class and after the teacher got done lecturing he said that we could talk so Zander and I got to know each other a little more. We talked about everything from the weather to school. I realized that I was beginning to really like this guy. It seemed he was interested in me too but he seemed kind of reserved in a sense like there was a part of him that he was not showing me. Not that I expected him to open up too much because I haven’t even known him that long.

            The rest of the day dragged on in that ‘first day kind of feel’. Finally the last bell rang and I went to my locker. Wanting to hurry up and get home so that I could do some of my chores before mom got home and had a chance to yell at me. She get’s home about 5:45 so I’ll have about 2 hours to get what I need done. All the while I was thinking this I was getting my stuff organized and in my rush to get my books out of my locker and shut it I dropped my keys. I bent down to pick them up put a hand landed on top of my and I looked up and about fell backwards but he caught my hand. Slowly, with the keys in his right hand, he stood up while still holding my hand. I looked at him and then looked down at my keys.

“Sorry I didn’t mean to drop them and then practically bump into you.” I said blushing a little. Noticing the slight red tone to my cheeks he smiled and said

“No problem.” He was still holding my hand and all the while my heart was pounding. I looked back up at him and he looked at me and then looked at the clock over my shoulder.

“I would stick around,” he said “ but I have a job interview in like 20 minutes over at the pizza parlor called…Joe’s Pizza and I don’t want to be late.” With that he let go of my hand and I looked down not sure what to say to him.

“Well good luck with that Zander I hope you get the job.” I said honestly. We said are goodbyes and walked out to the parking lot without another word to each other. I had gotten into my car and was about to pull out when I looked up and saw him in his car in the parking space in front of me and he smiled at me on last time and then pulled out.

            As I was driving home my cell phone rang and I picked it up and flipped it open and said “Hello”

“Hey sweetie it’s mom.”

“Ohh hey mom.”

“I don’t mean to bother you but something came up at work and I am going to be late coming home tonight and I just wanted to call and tell you that. Are you going to be okay for dinner?”

“Yes mom I’ll find something to fix for dinner although I’m not really that hungry.”

“Are you sick honey?”

“No mom I’m not sick I’m just tired.”

“Okay Lexi I just called to tell you I’d be late and that I love you and I’ll see you as soon as I get off.”

“Okay mom thanks”

“Bye honey”

“Bye mom” then the phone clicked off and I snapped my phone shut and put it back in the passenger seat with my bag.

           

Fifteen minutes later I was home and since mom was going to be home late I decided to get on the computer and check my e-mail. Nothing but junk mail made up my inbox. I deleted it all and then went to the fridge to get my something to drink. After taking few swallows I went to the calendar on the wall and looked at what chores I had to do today. Since it was Monday I had the easy chores. Mom cut me some slack on this day considering I don’t really like Monday’s like a lot of people. All I had to do today was sweep and mop the kitchen floor and then vacuum the living room. Since dad left us two years ago mom and me had to split the chores.

            It was about 4:15 when the phone rang. I walked into the kitchen and picked it up.

“Hello”

“Hey it’s Zander”

“Ohh hey Zander how did the interview go?”

“It went great. I think I got the job but he’s still got some people left to interview so I won’t know until Wednesday whether I got it.”

“Well I hope you do. Did you want something?”

“Yeah I did umm…do you live over in the Fawn Brook subdivision?”

“Yeah I do.”

“Then I think I know where you live. When I used to come here in the summer I had some family that lives over in that area so I should have no problem finding your house Saturday.”

“Well that’s good.”

“Okay then I just called to let you know that. So I’ll se you tomorrow then?”

“Yeah tomorrow. Bye.”

“Bye Alexia.” The dial tone kicked in and I put the phone back on it’s receiver and went back to cleaning in a daze.

 

I finally finished cleaning and putting things away. Remembering that I didn’t have any homework I decided to go watch TV. Suddenly my stomach growled and I realized that I was slightly hungry. I know this sounds contradictory from what I said to mom earlier but I can’t help it. So I walked into the kitchen and looked in the fridge then I saw the partially eaten sub I got two nights ago at Subway so I took it and the carton of milk out. I put the sub in the microwave to heat up a little and the grabbed a cup out of the cupboard and poured me some. The microwave beeped and I walked over and got it out. Then I put the milk back in the fridge and went into the living room to watch TV. I turned it on and flipped through the channels to see if anything good was on and when I noticed there wasn’t I just put it on MTV to watch music videos.

I had just thrown my plate away and rinsed my cup out when the phone rang again. Jeez the phone sure is ringing a lot today. It usually doesn’t ring this much on a good day. So I went over to the phone and picked it up.

 

“Hello.”

“Hey Alexia how’s it going?”

“Ohh my gosh Jenna how are you? I haven’t talked to you in…wait all summer how was your trip? I’m sorry I didn’t see you yesterday. I’ve been good. And you will never guess who I met today?”

“The new kid? He is so cute I saw him…well you two after school. Yes I saw you two. And you should have seen the way that he was looking at you.”

“Yes! Really? I know how he was looking at me I was less than a foot away from him and my heart was pounding the whole time too!”

“Anyway…my summer was awesome! I am going to have to come over and show you all the pictures….Oh sorry I have to go Bailey just spilled milk on the floor. I’m stuck babysitting her. So I have to go.”

“Okay I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

“Bye”

“Bye”

 

I am so bored. I don’t have anything to do and I don’t feel like watching TV. Then it hit me. Hey I can go work on my sketchbook project that I haven’t worked on all summer. So I went upstairs and turned on my radio and got my canvas out and my paints. Ohh my gosh I love this song! It’s All over you by The Spilled Canvas. So I walked across the hall to get some water. Then I began painting. I got the idea for this painting in a dream I had before school ended. It turned out to be a girl who was sitting on the edge of a lake at an angle and there was a boy sitting next to her. Everyone that has looked at it has said that she looks like me. Then I realized the boy sitting beside me had his head turned to the side looking at me. He looks exactly like…Zander. Holy crap that is so weird. Finally getting over the resemblance I started to paint it. By the time I got tired painting it was about 5:30. I’m almost finished with it I thought to myself. So I left it on the canvas to dry and went to the bathroom to wash out my brushes. Once I had finished with that I went back downstairs and turned the TV back on. I watched it for a little while and then after a few minutes my eyelids started to close and I began dosing in and out. Eventually I just gave in and closed my eyes.

 

I woke up to the sound of my mom’s voice.

 

“Sweetie wake up. It’s after eight. I think that you should go to bed you look really tired.”

“Ohh…I’m sorry mom I was just…”I said stifling a yawn “watching TV and I guess I just crashed.”

“That’s okay Lexi. I had to work really late. There was a really bad accident in the next county and since we’re the largest hospital around that’s where they sent the injured.”

“Okay mom. I’m just going to go to bed. I’m really tired.”

“Alright sweetie. See you in the morning.” She said and kissed my forehead.

           

I finally managed to get up and make my way up the stairs. Shuffling into my pajamas I hopped into bed and drifted to sleep. That night I dreamt that I was back at the lake. The one that’s in my painting that I haven’t had a dream about in months. I was at the lake and the sun was giving way to the dark clouds on the horizon. In my dream I was gazing off into the distance when I heard something behind me. I slowly got up from the edge of the water and turned around slowly. Then I saw him. Zander. He was there and he was walking towards me. Unsure of what to do I just stood there frozen. Finally he was in front of and less than a foot away. Suddenly he did something I did not expect. He leaned his head towards me and kissed my cheek. Then pulled back and looked at me. I looked back at him with a ‘where and I am what are you doing here?’ look. He responded by taking his hands and putting them on both sides of my face and he leaned in and kissed me.

            Then I woke up. But I didn’t get up right away because I was trying to remember my dream. Finally after lying on my bed for about five minutes I rolled over and looked at the clock. It was about 5:50 ten minutes before I usually wake up. So I got up and grabbed my clothes off of my chair and went to the bathroom to take a bath and get ready. I stepped into the shower and let the warm water run down my skin letting it wash away the sleep. After I rinsed the shampoo from my hair I stepped out of the shower and wrapped the towel around me. Then I walked over to the mirror and wiped the steam away. I just stood there looking at my reflection thinking wow this is how I look? I am so plain looking. My skins not tan so it has a milky tint to it. Soon I got bored looking at myself I moved away from the mirror and put my clothes on and ran a brush through my tangled hair and picked my pajamas up off the sink, hung my towel up, and walked back to my room to put up my pajamas. I then went downstairs to get me a glass of orange juice and a breakfast bar.

My mom isn’t here because the past few months she has had to go into work early, which is at 5:30. I swear she is going to run herself ragged if she does not slow down. Looking at the clock it said 6:30 so I finished my breakfast bar and guzzled down my juice and ran back upstairs. Suddenly feeling happy I went to the bathroom and dried my hair and curled it. Once I was done I unplugged the curler and went to my room. I turned on the radio and then got out my makeup and put on some eyeliner, mascara, and a little conceler, and put it away. By that time it was 7:00 so I walked over to my vanity and grabbed my favorite pair of earnings and my necklace and grabbed my book bag off the floor and went downstairs to grab my keys and left. I wanted to leave a little early so that I could stop and get me a cappuccino from McDonalds.

Finally I got to school at about 7:35. I walked to my locker and put my stuff away in my locker. When I heard a locker open up and it took me out of the trance that I was in. I looked over and saw Zander. Then it hit me. My dream. Zander was the boy in my dream. Something else hit me to. I remembered the way he kissed me the way it felt and the way he touched my face.

 

“Hey Lexi.”

“Ohh.Umm hey Jenna how are you?”

“I’m good. Sorry I had to hang up yesterday it’s just that Bailey had spilled milk all over the floor and she just would not listen to me.”

“That’s okay I understand.”

 

            I finished getting my stuff out of my locker when I looked over and saw that Zander was looking at me. I looked away and focused Jenna. I looked at Jenna and she was looking down and was smiling. Then the bell rang and she handed me a note and walked off smirking. I slipped the note into my pocket and looked up. I noticed that Zander was looking at me and then he asked

 

“Want to walk to first hour with me?”

“Sure.” So we walked to class in silence and went to the table that we sat at yesterday.

 

Mrs. Samson was there today so we sat there listening to her lecture on and on about what we would be doing this year and projects and stuff. I let out a sigh because I knew that this would last all hour. Zander looked at me with a ‘what’s wrong?’ look. I nodded towards the teacher and he said “Ohh.” Then he looked back at me. I looked at him and I couldn’t seem to look away from him. Something in his eyes held me. Then not wanting to think I was staring at him, although he was doing the same thing, I looked away. And I got out my sketchbook and started drawing. I was not really drawing I was more so doodling. Finally Mrs. Samson quit talking and I looked up to see that everyone was buzzing around getting things and carrying on conversations of there own. Then I looked up to see that Zander had a sketchbook, where it came from I didn’t know. Obviously I had zoned out the world around me while I was drawing. Then I looked at what he was drawing. It was what appeared to be a girl. I looked a little closer and I realized exactly who it was. It was me! Now why on earth would he be drawing me? Noticing that I was watching him he looked up. Only having part of my face drawn out he handed me the sketchbook.

 

“What do you think?” he asked looking at the drawing then back at me.

“I think that it is really good. I had not idea you were so talented.” I said analyzing the drawing.

“Well this is an art class after all.” He said and laughed. And my he had a good laugh. Then we both laughed. I handed him back his sketchbook and I closed mine and started to get up and the bell rang.

“I swear this hour always goes by so fast. I never know where the time goes.” I said grabbing my sketchbook.

“Neither do I but it always seems to go by fast when I’m with you.” And with that we both went to out lockers.

 

            The rest of the week passed by in what seemed like a huge blur. Finally Friday night arrived. I was so anxious because tomorrow I get to see Zander. Stop it I thought it’s not like you have never hung out with a boy before, I mean your 17 years old. But other than seeing Zander I did have some more things on my mind. Like the fact that I was going to be resuming my job soon. I took a week off so that I could go take a trip to visit a college. I work at a place called The Sandbar. It’s a restaurant and we serve just about everything there. I have been working at The Sandbar for almost two years now and within the last year, I have been promoted to waitressing. I started out bussing tables for about the first year and then I decided to be a waitress. It is not an easy job let me tell you, but I’m a fast learner so I caught on quick. I like it now that I have gotten used to things. I plan to work at The Sandbar for about another year and then I’m leaving to go to college. All the while, I was sitting on my bed thinking this. I then stifled a yawn. It had been a long week and I was tired so I decided to call it a night.

 

            I woke up the next morning at about 9:30. Thankful that I got an extra two hours of sleep I rolled out of bed and into the bathroom to brush my teeth. Then I went downstairs to turn on the TV and fix me a pop tart. Once my pop tart was done, I grabbed it out of the microwave and went into the living room to watch music videos like I do most Saturday mornings.

 

            Once I was done eating, I threw my trash away and went upstairs to get ready. By this time it was a little after 10:30 so I got dressed, brushed and fixed my hair, and I put on a little makeup and perfume and went back downstairs. Since I had about 40 minutes before Zander was to get there I decided to check my e-mail. It was mostly junk mail and spam. But I did have an e-mail from Jenna. I opened it up and up and it said:

 

Hey Sorry I haven’t been able to talk to you much this week. I’ve just been busy with babysitting and the fact that I’ve been getting a lot of stuff in order for college and Graduation in the spring and all. I hope to get most of this stuff done soon so that we can hang out. I’m sorry we’re not going to be able to do it this weekend but I promise we will do it sometime soon. Maybe even take a trip to the mall.

 

Much love,

Jenna

 

P.S Have fun with Zander. I’ve also sent you some pictures from out trip!J

 

 

So since I had nothing else to do I decided to look through the pictures and e-mail her back.

 

 

That’s fine Jenna. I understand that things in your life are crazy right now. Same here! I bet your having fun watching your baby sister. Too bad, it’s not a real job, like the kind where you actually get paid..Ha..Ha..Ha. Anyway, that’s fine that we can’t hang out right away. We will get around to it. and I would love to take a trip to the mall. Ohh and by the way I loved the pictures they were so cute. Especially the one with you and your sister! Well I will see you later.

 

Love always,

Lexi

 

After e-mailing Jenna, I went back into the living room to watch TV. I had just sat down when I heard the doorbell ring. So I got up and walked to the front door. I opened it and it was Zander. He was about 20 minutes early.

 

“Hey Alexia” he said

“Hey your early.”

“Ohh..is that a problem?” he said frowning a little.

“No that’s no problem at all come in.”

“Okay that’s good. Thanks.”

“Umm do you want something to drink?” I asked going into the kitchen.

“No thanks. Actually, the reason I came so early is that I was wondering if you wanted to go out to eat with me.”

“Ohh. Umm that sounds good. I’d like that I just need to turn off the TV and grab my purse.”

“Okay I’ll wait at the door.”

“I’ll just be a second.” I said walking into the living room.

 

After grabbing my stuff, I met Zander at the door and we walked out to the car.

 

“So where do you want to eat?” he asked opening the passenger door for me.

“Well...there’s this new restaurant that just opened up over on Wesley Avenue. I’ve heard that is it really good and that it’s not very expensive.”

“Sounds good to me. But hey, I need to talk to you.” He said once we were in the car and pulling out of the driveway and getting on the road.

“Sure what do you need to tell me?” I said nervously knowing what he was going to say.

“I know that I just met you and all but I really like you. That’s why I decided to take you out. And I know that I still need to get to know you but I decided that what better way to do it then take you out to eat.” He said all of this and looked over at me with curious eyes.

“I have something to say also. I kind of like you too. And I’ll have to get to know you too.”

“So…we both like each other huh?” he said looking over at me smiling nervously.

“Yeah seems like we do.” Then we stopped at a stoplight, he looked over at me, and I looked at him. And in that moment, I saw something in his eyes. I saw a certain kindness and sincerity but I saw the part of him that he kept reserved and hidden from everyone else. That then got me wondering what is it that he’s hiding. I have come to learn I have a knack for reading people. Then the light changed and he looked away.

            Finally, we got to the restaurant and were seated. Looking at the menu, I could not seem to decide what to order. Then our waitress came by.

 

“Hi what can I get the two of you to drink?” she asked.

“I’ll have a Pepsi.” I said looking at her then back at the menu.

Zander said, “I’ll take a Mountain Dew.”

“Okay and I’ll be back with your drinks and then to see if you are ready to order.”

“Thanks. So do you know what you want to order?” Zander asked looking up from his menu.

“No I can’t decide if I want to get a taco salad or if I want to get the fish.”

“Yum that taco salad sounds good. You should get that.”

“Yeah I think that’s what I am going to get. Have you decided what you are going to get?”

“…Actually I think that I am going to get the taco salad too! It sounds good. But I don’t like it with the tomatoes, onions, or black olives on it.”

“Neither do I.”

 

            We had just decided what we were going to order when our waitress came back with our drinks.

 

“So have you decided what you are going to order?”

“Yes we have.” Zander said. “We are both going to order the taco salads but without tomatoes, onions, or black olives.” Then he looked at me and smiled and I smiled back.

“Okay then and I’ll take your menus.”

*(W)“Thank you.” we said and she left.

 

“So Zander are you still liking it up here so far?” I asked him then taking a sip of my Pepsi

“Truthfully. I like it a lot it’s really nice here. Ohh did I tell you? I’m going to be on the football team! I just have to get my physical tomorrow and then I can catch up on some last minute training so that I can be ready for the next game.” He said with excitement in his voice.

“Wow! I didn’t know that. That is really cool. Look’s like I’m going to have to come and see you play. Did you make Varsity?”

“Yeah I did. See and the school I went to last year I played on Varsity. It wasn’t easy to make Varsity here. Your school has a lot of good players but I did it.”

“Well congrats on that I’m glad you made it. What number are you?”

“Thanks. They told me that I was going to be number 9.”

“Really that’s cool. My favorite number is 9.”

“That is cool. So is there something you want to talk about while we wait for our order?” he asked taking a drink of his Mountain Dew.

“Umm..not right off but I know something else we could do.”

“What is that?”

“I know it may sound childish but want to play 20 questions.” I asked looking at him.

He responded to that by looking at me with those blue eyes of his. Not wanting to get caught up in his eyes I looked away, picked up my Pepsi, and took another sip.

“Sure. That doesn’t sound childish at all. The way I see it is that it’s a good way to get know each other. Do you want me to start or you?”

“You can start.”

“Okay so I’ll start out with the easy questions. Favorite color?”

“Purple. Yours?”

“Mine is black and red. For some reason I have always liked those colors. What is your full name?”

“Alexia Leigh Jones. But most of my friends call me Lexi. So what happened to your dad if you don’t mind my asking?”

“Well…” I could see he was struggling to get the words out “He died in the war. We got a phone around the end of May. It said that he was missing in action at first. And my mom and me began to worry. The weeks passed and finally we got a phone call that they had found him and he was dead. They found him out in the middle of nowhere. He was out in a remote village about 50 miles east of Iraq. He was sent out there to get a good look at the village and its residents.” He paused for a second and looked down. Then he started again but he didn’t look up. “ My dad was walking down the road when, and all this was what I was told, a car came down the road and stopped across the street from him. Looking over at the strange car, he didn’t like what he saw so he walked over to it to see what was up. Then one of the guys turned to him and started to yell in some strange language. My dad realized what the language was and caught bits and piece of it because the guys were talking so fast. He must have caught onto the words because his face went blank and he started to turn and run. Then the car exploded. And when his company noticed that he had not come back when he was scheduled to they sent people out to go check on him and they found that he was missing. They stayed in the village a couple of days to investigate. Luckily, a camera crew was doing a documentary of the village at the time and caught it all on tape. They found his body and had it taken back to base. When they relied that he was missing that’s when we got the first call. The second call was the confirmation that he was dead.”

            By that time in his story, we had already gotten our food and had started eating. Zander put his fork down and looked at me. I then saw something in his eyes that said he had just shared something that was extremely personal and close to him and that, the story about his dad was not one that he told often.

 

“Wow.” Was all I could mange to say to someone that just told me, what seemed like, their darkest secret.

“Yeah. I’ve never told anyone that. I mean other than family but most of them already knew. None of my friends know what really happened.” He said as he took a bite. Then he looked at me and I looked back. What I saw in his eyes was relief and happiness that he had gotten something off his chest that seemed to have been bugging him for a long time.

 

Finally, we had finished eating and we went to the register to pay. I started to get my wallet out and he said, “No this is my treat.” And looked at me and smiled at me with that brilliant smile of his. Once we had paid, we walked out of the restaurant to his car. He walked around to the passenger side and opened the door for me, I looked at him, he looked at me, and I couldn’t help but smile at him. But the smile was not entirely genuine because I couldn’t seem to shake this one thought in my head. See I have never really been popular with the guys and I can’t help but wonder why Zander chose me. Don’t get me wrong I have good self-esteem it’s just that I wonder why. I know I shouldn’t question why but I do. Then I slipped into the car.

 

“Is something wrong Alexia?” he asked. Being thrown back into reality, I looked over at him and he had a worried look on his face

“Ohh no. I’m fine I was just thinking.” I said looking towards the parking lot where I saw a couple come out of the restaurant hand-in-hand beaming at each other.

Then I looked back at Zander and I saw that he was now looking at the couple then he looked at me.

“What are you thinking about?” he asked “Was this too much?

“No, this was not too much. Actually, this is the nicest thing a guy has ever done for me. And I was just thinking, and I know I shouldn’t, that I don’t see why you chose me out of everyone else.” I said sneaking a side-glance over at him to see his reaction then I saw him looking at me with a questioning look on his face.

“You want to know why I like you?” he asked turning to face me in his seat.

Turing to face him a little then I looked down and answered

“Yes.”

“Well for one your beautiful. You’re smart and you have a great personality. And last but certainly not the least I feel that I can be myself around you and I can talk to you.”

 

Then I felt something touch my hand. I looked down and saw that it was his hand. Feeling my stomach fill with butterflies I responded by weaving my fingers through his. Then I looked over to him and saw that he was looking at me. I stared back and something clicked. I felt this deep connection with him and I sensed that he did too. Finally, he asked, “What time do you have to be home?”

“Umm... I don’t have a set time. My mom trusts that I won’t be home too late so I don’t have a curfew.” I said wondering what he had up his sleeve because a devilish smile came across his face.

“Why?”

“Well when we were moving up here I saw something, like a lake or something, it’s about 3 hours outside of town. I was wondering if you had somewhere to be or if you wanted to go with me.”

“I would love to go with you. Sounds like fun.” I said suddenly happy that I got to spend an afternoon with Zander

“Great.” He let go of my hand and then started the engine and pulled out of the parking lot.

We didn’t say much on the way there. But we did manage to look at each other a lot. The kind of glances that make your heart race and your blood pound through your veins. I came to realize in the little that he did say that he had an amazing sense of humor. Even though he swears that, he’s not that funny but I beg to differ. Finally we got there about 6’o clock and oddly enough as the sun was setting. We pulled around by the lake and something looked familiar though I could not put my finger on it. Parking over in front of the lake, he got out, came around to my side of the car, and opened the door for me. I got out and closed the door behind me. Walking towards the lake, he grabbed my hand again. Then when we got to the edge. He let go of my hand, turned back around, and walked back to his car. Not sure what he was doing I sat down. In the time that he was gone, I realized what had been so familiar. This was my dream. This was what I had been painting all along. Finally, I heard his footsteps behind me and I got up and turned around. Not realizing he was that close to me I about fell backwards, yet again. And of course he caught me after dropping what he was holding.

 

“How many times are you going to make me catch you?” he asked with a smile slowly creeping across his face.

 

I looked down and then back at him and then said, “As many times as it takes I guess.” Then I smiled.

“What did you drop?” I asked suddenly curious.

“Oh…nothing I just had some chairs and a cooler that’s all.” He said bending down to pick them up.

 

He picked them up, set up the chairs a few yards away from the lake, and then sat down.

 

“You can sit if you want.” He said and laughed, “I won’t bite…promise.”

 

So I sat down in the chair beside him and for the longest time we just watched the lake and the waves blow in and out along the shore. The sunset sure is beautiful. It’s not everyday that you see a sunset like that. Finally, he Zander got up and walked back to his car. I heard the car door open and the engine turn over. Then I heard what sounded like the radio. Then I heard a slow song come on. Not sure what he was doing I got up and walked over to the driver’s side where he was at. He was still in the car looking for something. Finally, he came out with a c.d.

 

“Every heard of Forty Foot Echo?” he asked

“Yeah I have. I love them! I went to their concert last summer. The song Brand new Day is amazing.”

“Yeah it is. It’s one of my favorite’s. It’s on this c.d. too.”

“Really?”

 

He leaned back in the car, put the c.d. in, and came back out. Slowly the song began to play. Then all of a sudden I got a weird feeling. Not a bad feeling just the kind where you get nervous, a tingly feeling. Then I felt Zander take my hand and I looked up into his eyes. When our eyes met, the connection that I felt was breathtaking. Suddenly my breathing was uneven and my heart, it felt, was beating out of my chest. He smiled and I knew he could hear it. Not sure what to do next I looked down. Then I felt his hand under my chin and he lifted my face up to meet his gaze. Then his hand moved to my cheek and slowly with his eyes still locked with mine he leaned his head to the side and kissed my cheek. Then he leaned away and looked at me his face still within inches of mine. He leaned in again and this time he didn’t kiss me on the cheek he kissed me on the lips. I have had my share of kissing people before this but…I don’t know how to explain it. My heart rate was going ninety miles an hour. To be truthfully honest it was amazing. The kind of kiss that honestly makes you go weak at the knees like the one’s you see in the old-fashioned movies. I don’t know how long we stood there and held each other but it seemed like an eternity. Then he pulled away and looked at me. Still holding my hand, he reached into the car turned off the radio and grabbed out what looked like a blanket and shut the door. Walking back over towards the lake, he stopped a few feet away and spreaded it out and sat down. Patting the blanket beside him I sat down next to him then grabbing another blanket from the bag he had gotten out of the trunk. Suddenly I felt tired and I yawned. Then I looked over at him and then back at the lake. I snuggled up against him and laid down. He put the blanket over us. Feeling a wave of exhaustion come over me I gave in and went to sleep.

 

I finally woke up to the sun coming over the horizon. I stifled a yawn and then sat up. Zander, I noticed in alarm, wasn’t beside me so I looked around trying to find him. I then looked behind me and I didn’t see his car but the chairs and cooler were still sitting in the same place as they were the night before. Then I looked down and noticed that I wasn’t just sleeping on a blanket anymore I was sleeping on a gigantic air mattress with a few pillows and some blankets. I figured that he had gone off for a few minutes I laid back down, closed my eyes, and listened to the sound of the waves hitting in rocks off in the distance. I guess I dozed off again because I woke up to what smelled like coffee and warm doughnuts. Rubbing the sleep away from my eyes I sat up slowly and looked where the smell was coming from and I spotted Zander standing by his car with what looked like two cups of coffee and doughnuts. Stifling another yawn I started to get up and he spotted me and motioned for me to stay where I was. He picked up our breakfast and brought it to me.

 

“ What is this?” I asked yawing yet another time.

“ Well I just decided that I would bring you breakfast in bed if that was all right with you?” he said smiling that crooked smile of his that was impossible to say no to.

“ I’m…I don’t know what to say.” I stuttered and looked down.

“ It’s okay,” He said lifting my face up with his hand “ you don’t have to say anything as early as it is. If you want to go back to sleep that’s fine, it’s only 7:15.”

“No!” I have shouted and he laughed

 

            We drank our coffee and ate what doughnuts he bought. Not realizing how hungry I was I ate three of the chocolate covered doughnuts. After we were finished and I had woken up a little more we packed up his car headed back home.

 

           

Reviews

[Roxie Martelli]

I love how descriptive and how well the story flows! One of the first things I picked out to read on WC and I finished it. haha. I was extremely happy with how long the chapter was. Really hope to see more of it! Love your characters. ^^

Best of Days
Roxie

[Wendy]

LOVE IT