Parker

Chapter Two

I lean back, surprised.

Katrina takes a step back also when she straightens up, looking embarrassed. Her eyes drop to the ground as a few people chuckle. "Sorry," she mutters.

I kind of feel bad for her. "It's fine," I whisper. 

"Class, settle down," Mrs. Archer says firmly. "We will start with are lesson now."

Katrina sits down and tucks her stuff under her desk. As the class's attention shifts to Mrs. Archer, I glance at my girlfriend. Her name is Raine, and the only reason I'm dating her right now is that one of my friends dared me to ask her out for prom last year, and then they told me to keep it going for another few months afterward. Now, I'm usually not the kind of person to do dares that I don't like, but one of them threatened to terrorize my little sister. And knowing him, he'd probably actually do that. I'm not really friends with him anymore ever since that threat, but I have a feeling he'd still go scare my sister April even if we don't talk anymore. So I've been keeping count. Just another week and then we can break up.

I do feel bad about this though. I know that Raine actually likes me, and honestly she's not a bad girlfriend, especially for a popular girl. Her best friend Olivia, the cheerleader girl that can boost or lower anyone's popularity in the school within seconds, is the horrible one. But Raine is actually fine, something that surprised me when I first asked her out. She's certainly earned my respect, now that I know how hard she works in her classes, and how funny she can be sometimes. But I still don't really like her too much. So basically, I'll be glad to break up with her next week. I still don't know how I'll do it though.

Right now Raine is on her phone, typing something. Even though she's in the back of the room, I have a feeling she's still going to get into trouble if she keeps it up. Not wanting to look involved in whatever Raine's doing at the moment, I turn back to Mrs. Archer, who's now talking.

"So students, we'll get right on with the lesson, shall we? I expect you know your way around already and you know how this high school works, so there's nothing to explain. If you're new please talk to me before lunch if you are confused about anything." Mrs. Archer adjusts her glasses. She kind of reminds me of Professor McGonagall from Harry Potter, except an Indian version. She's certainly got the same tight bun, and almost the same strict expression except Mrs. Archer's younger than McGonagall.

My phone vibrates under my desk. Katrina looks at me, startled. I grit my teeth. Curse you, Raine.

Mrs. Archer then explains our first assignment. I listen and follow directions, not really enjoying the lesson but not entirely bored either. Not like how Jensen is unnecessarily writing down notes about everything, or how Katrina is yawning and pulling out her own book and putting it back every few minutes like she's resisting the urge to completely zone out Mrs. Archer's voice. Or how some of the students were throwing paper balls at each other until Mrs. Archer told them to stop.

Then, near the end of class, Mrs. Archer surprises us by saying, "Now I know today was completely me talking, so it was probably quite boring for most of you. Since everyone was pretty cooperative and quiet today, and it's the first day of school, I will give you the last ten minutes today to talk freely among yourselves, though I wish for you to stay in your seats."

Katrina looks at me, her expression full of relief. Then she takes out her book for the hundredth time and for the first time actually opens it. When she does, her brown hair blocks most of my view of the book, but I can see that it's a Manga book. It's full of pictures and she flips the pages backwards. The cartoons reminds me of the anime I used to watch when I was little.

Jensen has taken out his notebook and is scribbling down math problems and solving them. His pencil is a blur, and he's writing so fast that I'm not sure it's humanly possible to move your hand that quickly. Then he suddenly stops, and turns to me. "Hey, Parker," Jensen frowns at his paper. "What do you think I should do after this step?"

I look at his paper, full of his dark, tiny, and somehow neat handwriting. I shrug. "I have absolutely no idea," I say, shaking my head. "I take regular math, remember? And you're on the math team."

Jensen narrows his eyes for a second and then nods. "Yeah," he says. Then he goes back to scribbling, only this time he's sketching out a robot. Dork, I hear Raine's laughing voice in my head. But I don't agree with the voice. In it's own way, it's very cool to be super good at math and robotics sometimes.

Normally, in any free time, I like to talk. The only problem is, the two people around me are both silently doing their own things. And Mrs. Archer said we're not allowed to move around the room. Feeling regretful for not bringing my own book, I just sit there, pondering over whether or not to text Raine back or to talk to Katrina.

I look at Katrina as I'm considering talking to her, and as if she could sense my gaze she looks up from her book. "Oh hey," she says, shifting in her seat.

"Hi," I say, not expecting her to notice me looking at her. "Is that manga?"

Katrina's eyes flicker to her book and then back to me. "Yep," she answers, smiling now. Her smile is open and kind. "Most boys don't seem to know much about it. Great job. I'm impressed."

I smile back. "I used to watch anime when I was in 5th grade. I stopped after we got more homework and didn't have time anymore," I explain.

Katrina nods. "Tinsley says that I should really read more books than just these kinds, but I honestly haven't found any other series that I like since I was, like, ten." She laughs. "That was when I finished the Harry Potter series."

"Cool," I say. "Harry Potter is great."

"Yeah."

"So what about TV shows?"

And then all of a sudden we're in the middle of a heated chat on Steven Universe and Doctor Who, and I'm surprised at how easy it is to talk to Katrina, almost as easy as it is talking to Tinsley. 

The bell rings, and we both jump.

"Class dismissed," Mrs. Archer says formally. "Be sure to be ready for class tomorrow."

"What class do you have next?" I ask Katrina as we stand up. Jensen has already rushed out of the room, undoubtedly getting to his next class early so he had time to solve some more math problems. How the heck that guy can be so obsessed with math, I have no idea.

Katrina answers like she's already memorized it. "Science!" she exclaims. "It's the only class I have with Tinsley."

"Oh, that's great," I say, a little disappointed. "I have Math."

Katrina nods cheerfully. She gives me a thumbs up. "I guess sitting next to you wasn't as bad as I thought it would be," she laughs. "Bye!" She walks away.

I start off too, but with a newfound warm feeling in my chest.