How We Met

A Chapter by Nika Sinclaire

People have all sorts of crazy stories about how they met their friends, boyfriends, girlfriends and sorts. And here is ours.

Our first class that morning was microbiology. Waiting for the teacher was boring that I had decided to doodle in my purple journal which I promised last year I would try to keep clean. I tried pulling out a few pens to get the creative juices flowing and right when I pulled my pen out I pulled something else out too. A sanitary napkin went flying out of my bag and on to the floor thankfully I was at the front of the room and everyone was busy probably accomplishing the assignment that had been assigned the day before. And just as I got to the front of the room to pick it up someone got there before I did. To my horror there was a guy at the doorway holding it up for me to claim. I mumbled a quick "Thanks" and got back to my chair. I didn't know him. Then again, no one seemed to. He wasn't that tall and that big but there he was blocking my view of everything. All I could seem to see was... him.I'm not sure if it was because of the devastating event that just took place or something else i couldn't quite put my finger on. All I could think about was the glasses he wore that seemed to make his eyes brighter than I had ever seen anybody's. Which got me thinking if he wore them to make him look smarter or if he really needed them. The thought reminded me of an episode of "Friends" which made me laugh out loud. My laugh got me a little late to notice that he was walking to the chair closest to the doorway. Or at least I thought he was walking towards me but sadly no. He walked past me and right to my best friend and started asking her if he was in the right class. It was predictable. She was pretty and well let's face it so was he. I was nice but she was nicer, funnier, and smarter. I gave up before I bothered with the idea of getting to know him. He sat down next to Mia. Yup, that was her name. Short and simple like she was. After first period Mia and I walked to the cafeteria for a snack like we always do. We started talking about the new kid. "His name is Anthony Richards, he moved here from some other school in the city", she said. Just as she was telling me the story of how she met Anthony I walked straight into some 2nd year student and dropped all the books I was trying to balance in my clumsy arms. "Crap," I cussed. "S**t. I'm so sorry." He said. It was only 3 seconds later when I noticed something hot seeping through my shirt. Apparently the 2nd year was drinking coffee. This is perfect, I thought. Wonderful.

He helped Mia and I gather all my belongings. He apparently thought this was an appropriate time to introduce himself.
"I'm sorry again. Uhm, my name's Michael Sinclaire", He said as he offered his hand.

"Okay."
I shook it despite how pissed off I was about my soaking shirt. And besides it wasn't like I didn't know him. Who didn't? He was on the Soccer team and was very popular because of his last name. He had older brothers who were legends at the school.
"Listen i'm really sorry about your shirt and all. Here you can wear this today if you don't have an extra shirt in your locker," He said handing over his letterman jacket as if it were nothing.
Mia spit up a bit of the juice she was drinking.

I just stood there feeling sticky and wet with every passing minute. So I took it.

"Thanks. When can I get this back to you?" I asked.
He hesitated for a second and said, "uhm you're probably gonna need to wear it until you get home. Why don't you just give it back to me tomorrow?"

"Oh okay. What time are you going to be at school?" I asked.
And as if he forgot I was even there he walked a way.
Freak.

All of a sudden the bell rang as if to remind me that I only had 20 minutes to take my lunch break. After saying goodbye to Mike, I pulled Mia (who was still in a state of shock) to a bathroom so I could get rid of this shirt. It was completely ruined and yet I couldn't just toss it. This was my favorite shirt. So I took it off and stuffed it into one of my bags. Mia lent me a tank top and wore Michael's letterman jacket over it.

"Wasn't it weird for Michael to offer you the jacket. Right?" Mia said as I changed my shirt.

"Why? It was his fault in the first place." I fired back.

"Yeah but that's what boyfriends do for their girlfriends! It's like the 1950's," She said.

"Mia! C'mon it's only because he spilled coffee on me! "

"Yeah you're probably right..."

Of course I was right. There was no way Michael liked me. It was insane, I mean i'm not exactly the prettiest thing on this planet let alone this bathroom. The way my mind works really bothers me. From simply spilling coffee on me and offering me to borrow a jacket I would usually assume he was in love with me by now. But a Sinclaire? Now that was funny. But I couldn't lie to myself. Wearing a Sinclaire's jacket was exciting.

As Mia and I walked to finally eat our snacks at the cafeteria, I could hear people whispering behind my backs. I bet they were all jealous. I had to admit it felt good.

I wonder if Michael knew what he had started.

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