Chapter 3

I walk into the class first, and I see a stern cross on Mr Rogers' face. Theo walks in behind me and stops. At his entrance, the students murmur in the background fades to a hush and everyone's eyes are on us. Well, I suppose he does look…striking. 

Mr Rogers was not amused though. "Do you care to explain why you were late for class, Miss Kinsley?" 

"Yes sir, well..I was called to the principal's office just before I got to class," I answered, offering up the note. 

Mr Rogers takes the note and scans through it. "So who's your friend?"

"We're not friends," Theo and I say at the same time. 

Theo clears his throat before explaining. "I'm Theodore Thorsen and I just transferred here. Cora was sent to the principal's office to fetch me."

Mr Rogers looked confused. "Fetch you..?" 

"Yeah. I was having trouble with my class schedule too, so.."

Mr Rogers looked like he was still confused but decided not to push the matter. "Right. Welcome to Crestview, Theodore. I hope you enjoy it here."

Theo nods back at Mr Rogers and we both go to find a seat. Naturally, I picked my usual seat, almost at the back row by the window, but Theo got there first. I glare at him, silently making it known that this is my spot but he doesn't budge. 

Not wanting to attract any more attention than I already am, I take the last seat in the back row. I settle down, silently fuming. 

To my utmost shock, Theo yawns and rests his head on the table (my table) and. Slept. Right. There. Really, what's the point of coming to class to just sleep anyway? But that's none of my business and I direct my attention back to class. 

Lunch time finally arrives and I make my way over to the cafeteria. After my rollercoaster of a morning, I'm just looking for some peace and quiet. 

I get to my table and bring out my lunch from my bag. I don't do cafeteria food for obvious reasons. I look around and see people meeting with their friends at their tables, talking and laughing. I'm the only one at my table, and I like it that way. 

When Corey was still around, he'd eat with me, and his friends with him. I thought they were my friends too..but I guess I thought wrong. Not like I need friends anyway, I'm perfectly fine alone. 

I munch on my sandwich, sighing contentedly. Peanut butter and jelly really is the best!

Just then, I hear a thud opposite me. I look up to find none other than Theo sitting at my table. 

I put down my sandwich. "What're you doing here?"

"Sitting," he deadpanned. 

I raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you get invited to sit with Xavier Brown and his jock friends?"

Theo shrugged. "There wasn't enough space on the bench for everyone and I didn't want to be a bother."

"I didn't know you were that nice."

"I'm not. That was my excuse to leave."

For someone who has 'trouble taking social cues', he didn't have a problem wriggling out of that situation. 

I narrowed my eyes. "But you have no problem being a bother to me." 

A frown appeared on his usually bored face. "You should be grateful I came here. A lot of people offered their seats for me but I refused. Now you sit here, alone without company and I-"

"I didn't ask for your company, okay? I'm perfectly fine sitting alone. Neither are you obligated to, 'cause like you said..we're not friends."

Theo stood up abruptly. 

"Where are you going?" I blurted. 

"You're not obligated to inquire about where I'm going," he said coolly. 

I could feel my right eye twitch. "Fine. Have it your way then."

"I suppose I will." 

"Fine!"

He stalked off, leaving his food tray untouched. 

I mean, good riddance! I never asked him to eat with me and now he acts as if he's doing me a favor when he comes to my table? Like really, who does that? 

I resume eating my lunch when someone else decides to interrupt my peace and quiet. It's one of my classmates, Hailey, a tall, pretty blonde girl with the nicest smile you'll ever see. We have Honors English class together, and she's fortunately someone I can stand right now. 

"Hey Cora! Can I sit here? Thanks!"

Okay, I'm starting to take back the 'someone I can stand' declaration. 

Hailey looks around. "Oh? I thought I saw Theodore at your table a while ago." 

Ah. So that's what this is about.

"Well, if you came looking for him, you just missed him."

"Oh really? That's a shame. So how're you doing?"

I was caught off guard by the question. "Me? Oh, uh..I'm alive I guess."

Hailey chuckled. "That's such a you answer!"

Gosh, she seems so energetic. I don't understand how you can have this much enthusiasm on a Monday. 

Hailey leaned forward. "Anyways..I also wanted to invite you to a party this weekend if you're interested. My boyfriend, Josh's birthday is on Saturday and I'd like you to come," she held up a hand to stop my protest, "I know you don't really do parties, but if you change your mind, give me a call," Hailey slid a card across the table with her number on it. 

I took the card. "Okay, I'll think about it."

Okay, that's another lie. It was nice of her to consider inviting me, but hard pass. 

The bell rings signifying the end of lunch. 

Hailey perks up. "Oh, that's the bell. We should probably head to class."

I didn't feel like going to class just yet. "Yeah, I think I need to use the bathroom." 

"Okay I'll come with." 

"There's no need for that." 

She waved me off. "Nonsense. Everyone knows girls go to the bathroom together." 

Damn, I don't think I can get out of this. "I'll be fine. Besides, I have a hall pass."

"Me too. I understand if you're uncomfortable with me being with you in there, I can just wait outside."

There's no reason to refuse her now. "Okay."

I didn't end up using the toilet. I just splashed some water on my face (after I removed my glasses of course) and looked at myself in the mirror for a while. A slender girl stared back at me, with round rimmed glasses, a sharp nose and dark, glossy hair tied back in a ponytail. Nothing special really. 

I took in a deep breath and left the bathroom. I know Hailey said she'd wait for me, but I was surprised to see that she actually kept her word. 

"You're all done then?" She asked. 

I nodded. "Yeah."

"Okay. Let's head back to class then."

"Mm, let's. And Hailey?"

 

Hailey turned around. "Yeah?"

"Thanks for waiting." 

She smiled at me. "You're welcome." 

The class we have currently is one of my favorites; math class. Where we'll spend the next forty-five minutes looking for x and y, solving problems with a triangle in a square in a parallelogram and other things we're not gonna need in real life. 

After entering, I almost regretted not spending more time in the bathroom. 

Twenty minutes went by and I noticed something was missing, and it was not attention (that was lost the moment I stepped in). Actually, not a 'something' but a 'someone'. 

I couldn't find Theo in class. Is he skipping class because of the little spat we had? If so then he's more immature than I thought, even though the bar was pretty low. 

Four classes pass, and no Theo. Then I start to get worried. Maybe he's having trouble getting to class? Crestview is a big school in its own right, consisting of two main blocks on opposite sides, connected by a central courtyard, each housing classrooms, labs, and administrative offices..it's no wonder new students end up getting lost.

Even if he got lost, Theo doesn't look like the type to ask for help, though I'm one to talk. I'm sure he'll meet some staff or maybe even the janitors to point him the right way. 

We're in the last class of the day and Theo still doesn't show up. By now I'm tapping my feet against the floor, something I do when I'm nervous. Theo was placed in my care to avoid things like this happening, and I'm starting to regret what I said to him in the cafeteria. 

It wouldn't have hurt if I let him stay, even though he annoys the hell out of me. Maybe he left Xavier Brown's table because he doesn't fare well in social situations. Maybe he just came to my table because it was the most quiet and seated the least amount of people. 

I shake my head, trying to dispel my thoughts. After school, I'll look for him. I repeat it like a mantra till the final bell rings. 

I don't think I've ever gotten out of class so fast. I looked around the courtyard but there was no sign of him. Plus it was really hard to move through the influx of students who were exiting school. I searched through our previous classrooms but the only people there were the freshmen students who had detention..and he wasn't there. I search around the lockers in the hallway before going back outside to the courtyard. 

I climb the base of one of the pillars to see if I'll spot him in the crowd. So far I've had no such luck. 

Yeah..I really am in trouble, aren't I?