New Arrival

“Alright. Settle down.”
Mr. Symonds dropped a pile of folders onto his desk before perching on the edge, facing the room at large. I noticed that over the summer he’d acquired a goatee, and judging by his sun kissed skin and natural highlights in his brown hair I’d say he spent a lot of time outdoors. Silence gradually settled in as students slid off desktops and into chairs, some of the girls promising to hook up at lunch to continue their gossiping. I looked around the room from my seat by the window, frowning. Courtney hadn’t shown up yet, which was strange. The girl lived for the first day of the new school year. It was in her words, crucial to be present bright and early to check out the boy-candy and call dibs on her favourites. Not that she had to. After the whole Aidan disaster I was content to sit back and observe other peoples relationships rather than instigate one myself.
“The bell has gone Mr. Ferguson, put that cell phone away before I confiscate it.”
Drew, who was sitting to my right, flipped his phone shut and pocketed it.
“Okay. Welcome back, seniors. Being your last year at Clearview High School, I encourage you to make the most of it, and do what you can while you can. Because next year will be college or some other form of higher education for most of you, jobs for the rest. No more fun and games. No more ‘the dog ate my homework’ or ‘sorry I‘m late’ excuses. That doesn‘t cut it in the real world. Which is why I also encourage you to be on time for school. No time like the present to start practising for the future.”
Courtney chose this moment to make her grand entrance, pushing the door open and strolling in leisurely like she owned the place. It did not escape my attention that most of the boys in our class stopped their idle chit chat to gawk at my best friend in her black leather mini and tight pink tank top.
“Hey Mr. S. Sorry I’m late. I got caught up in the office.”
I fought the urge to laugh at the irony of the situation.
“Miss Keller. Nice of you to join us. You just missed the tail end of my compelling speech on tardiness.”
Courtney just shrugged, an innocent smile on her face.
“Please, take a seat.”
Confident as ever, she winked at our teacher and sauntered down the row, heading straight in my direction to take the seat in front of me.
“As I was saying,” Mr. Symonds continued. “Make the most of your last year. I’ll leave club fliers on the desk for you to grab on your way out as well as application forms for the prom committee and homecoming prep team.” He got off the edge of the desk and moved around to take his seat. “Now that everyone seems to be present,” he glanced meaningfully at Courtney. “Lets take roll call.”
I leaned forward and tapped Courtney‘s chair.
“Where were you?” I whispered.
“You would not believe who I just bumped into,” she gushed excitedly, turning in her chair. I waited for her to continue, but her boy-candy radar must have kicked into high gear because she was all but drooling over Drew, probably the only boy that hadn’t noticed her grand entrance and continued to ignore her now, unlike the rest of our male peers whose eyes were trained roughly eight inches south of her face. Drew, who had snuck his phone back out and was texting at top speed.
“Who?” I asked, nudging her. She snapped back to attention.
“Your dream guy!”
I groaned quietly and rolled my eyes.
“Noah Duke,” Mr. Symonds called. I answered to my name and glared at Courtney.
“Courts, you’ve been saying that all summer.”
“I know but this time I mean it,” she said, looking at Drew, not me. “He’s everything you‘ve said you want in a guy. Blue eyed. Dark hair. Tall. Hot, tanned bod.”
My stomach just about dropped out from under me. She was describing Tyson. And after seeing that car in the parking lot earlier I was seriously starting to reconsider the possibility that he was here.
“He’s a new student. I caught him going into the principal’s office, and after sweet talking the receptionist, who is also new and a really cute guy by the way, I found out his name is -”
“Tyson Masters,” Courtney and Mr. Symonds said at the same time, just as the door swung open and in walked Tyson himself, looking even hotter than I remembered.
Flabbergasted, I choked on my pen, which I had been unconsciously chewing on and coughed loudly. All eyes turned on me, including a pair of familiar bright blue ones, and I thought I saw recognition flare in Tyson’s gaze but it vanished before I could be sure. Drew reached over and thumped me on the back while Courtney, my so-called best friend was oblivious to my plight, her eyes glued to Drew’s pecs.
“Miss Duke, are you alright?” Mr. Symonds asked, taking a step towards me. Mortified, I waved him away.
“Fine,” I croaked, eyes watering.
Oh, my god. My mind reeled as I tried to regain composure. Tyson was here. Here, at my school. In my homeroom. For some reason, this concept was impossible to grasp. I looked up, blinking rapidly to clear my blurry vision. Well, he was still standing there, and even Courtney was checking him out with a hungry look in her eyes, so putting him down as being a figment of my imagination was out of the question. It was definitely him, in the flesh. He was standing just inside the door with his arms folded over his chest. Dressed in ripped jeans and a white t-shirt, he hadn’t changed a bit since I’d last seen him. Same tawny skin. Same dark hair swept back in a loose ponytail, only now it was about an inch longer
“So you’re Tyson I take it?” Mr. Symonds asked.
Tyson nodded.
“Great. Would you like to introduce yourself to your classmates, maybe tell us a little something about you?”
“No.”
Mr. Symonds stalled at his fast refusal, clearly not expecting it. Judging by the open mouths of some students, including my own, we weren’t either. We’d had enough new kids to know that normally he or she would come into the room, mumble their name and a few unimportant details and then scurry to an empty seat, head down in embarrassment. Mind you, having already spent a couple of hours with the enigmatic and brooding Tyson, I should have been somewhat prepared for his blunt response.
“Well,” our teacher said, recovering fast. “Why don’t you go and have a seat.”
Head up, Tyson walked down the row towards me. My heart rate spiked involuntarily, and I wondered if he’d acknowledge me. I held my breath as his eyes swept over me but they didn’t linger. Instead he kept walking and took a seat at the back of the room.
“Alrighty then,” Mr. Symonds clapped his hands to regain our attention. “Before the bell goes I have a few notices.”
I snuck a glance over my shoulder. Tyson had plugged earphones into his ears and was staring absently out the window. When I turned back to face the front Courtney was giving me a not so discreet thumbs up, waggling her eyebrows encouragingly. I sighed heavily. Of course she didn’t notice how aloof the newest member of our class was. And why would she? It’s not like she’d just been given the cold shoulder by a guy who‘d not so long ago helped her out when she had no one else to turn to. No, that was me.

Reviews

[life*of*equiluxe]

Love her reaction to his entrance!