Aubrey's Boy Radar

Time quickly flows and before I realize it, the bell has already rung marking the end of the first class. I breathe a sigh of relief and begin packing my stuff into the bag, draping it on my shoulder. I need to change class for History. When I get up from my seat, I indirectly look at the new student. He’s not moving.

‘Should I wake him up?’ I think to myself. But then again, I don’t want to be a busy body. The girls were already glaring at me when I got paired up with him. If I get all touchy now, they will surely bury me six feet underground.

I shake my head, muttering to myself, “Ignore him, ignore him” as I head towards the door.

However, just as I’m about to walk, Cain suddenly gets up from his seat scaring me to a jolt. His shoulder brushes mine as he casually makes his way towards the hallway. Meanwhile, I stand there looking like a fool watching him walking out of the room unblinkingly. Snapping out of my trance, I shake my head and hastily rush towards the next class.

“Rosie! Over here!” Aubrey waves at me. I freeze, momentarily taken aback. I forget that she’s in History class too. Great, I have to deal with her chattering again. I squeeze out a smile as I stroll to the seat beside her. After I settle down, for no reason, my eyes scout the room for his presence. It’s not that I’m expecting him but, I just wonder if we can possibly be in the same class again.

“Hey,” Aubrey nudges my arm. “I heard there’s a new student in your class.”

My eyes immediately fix on Aubrey like a laser beam. News sure travels fast with the girls talking or should I say, gossip? I merely give her a nod before flinching. Oh…I shouldn’t have done that. Indeed, her eyes are sparkling now. She’s going to attack me with dozens of questions throughout this class. I silently grief.

“Quick, tell me! How is he? Our class kind of saw him when he passed by this morning. But he had his hood up so I couldn’t check out his face. Though his figure screams hot guy,” she excitedly whispers to me in order to avoid Ms. Iris’s warning. This killer miss doesn’t tolerate tardiness or talking in her class. That’s why I’m a bit hesitant to answer Aubrey. I always behave myself in her class but the topic is of my interests so I can’t help but talk.

“I don’t see his face either. He keeps his hood up throughout the class,” I whisper back. Aubrey's face turns sour but, it doesn’t stop her from gossiping further.

“Aw…that’s a pity. He sits next to you, right? As I recall, the only empty seat in your class is the one next to yours.” I nod and she continues, “You should’ve been able to catch a glimpse.”

“I told you, he’s all covered up and it’s not like I’m going to watch him like a hawk. What would happen if he noticed me then? I don’t want to be label as a stalker!”

Aubrey doesn’t seem to be satisfied with my answer. After all, she’s pretty aggressive when it comes to boys. The word shy does not exist in her dictionary and that’s why she has many guy friends. Well, lots of exes too. I don’t really get how she did it sometimes. Doesn’t she feel tired of all those relationships? She’s giving up all her time to other people and none to herself.

I can’t even begin to imagine if it were me and I would have to interact every single day. I would go mad. Besides, her boyfriends don’t even last that long. It takes only three months for her to be bored and switch to a new one.

“Well, since you two are desk mates now, call out to him next time. I’m sure he’ll turn and you can catch a glimpse of his face.” I blink my eyes. It’s really annoying when she’s being so pushy. I try not to reject her harshly by smiling and shifting my attention to the front, indicating that I want to focus on the lesson. I need to focus. But this girl doesn’t seem to catch the implication and keeps chirping like a bird.

“Rosie, don’t ignore me,” she starts nudging. I frown discontentedly but didn’t relent because I can see Ms. Iris staring in our direction right now. I don’t want to be mean but I also don’t want to get myself in trouble so, I remain stony-faced while Aubrey keeps trying to garner my response. It’s going to be any second now.

“Aubrey!!” That’s it, the call from hell. Sorry, Aubrey. Everybody in class stares at her. Ms. Iris glares at her fiercely as if she’s going to swallow her whole. I feel guilty somehow.

“The exit is right there.” She points at the door. Her voice cold. I gulp under her scrutiny. Thank God, she didn’t call me. The only teacher who immediately kicks a student out of class if they displease her is Ms. Iris. At least she has eyes and wise enough despite her short temper. Aubrey has no choice but to oblige. I bit my lower lip when I catch her irritated scowl. I hope she’s not mad at me.

“Let’s continue – eyes to the front.” The class goes on while the air grows tenser. I hope I survive this class. I’m okay with History, just not the teacher.

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After walking out of the class, Aubrey directly makes her way towards the locker. She tosses the History book in without a care before slamming it shut. The lid crashes with a loud thud. Her face burns with anger and her eyes redden in contempt. She huffs and intends to walk away when she notices another presence not too far away from the corner of her eyes.

She turns to check out but gasps in return when she sees a guy standing in front of the locker on the other side. He seems to notice her gaze and shifts slightly but before he even looks at Aubrey, he opens his locker. The lid covering his head. Aubrey stood dumbfounded as her eyes linger on the tall figure.

It’s him, she thinks to herself. When the realization hits her, her heart skips a beat and her breath was caught in her throat.

She can see that he still has his hood up when he closes the locker. He holds the strap of his bag with his right hand while the other one in his jacket pocket. His move and figure alone stump Aubrey speechless. Her mind starts guessing his height that seems to be at least six feet tall. Though she neither knows his appearance nor the guy’s name, she already finds him alluringly attractive like a magnet drawing her in. Something about him sends her desire into a flare and she does not hesitate to follow him.

On the other hand, Cain notices right away that someone is stalking him. Yet, he remains unperturbed as he calmly strolls down the hallway. It’s probably that girl, he guesses. Another silly human.

But, Cain doesn’t bother to turn around and asks her to stop. He just keeps striding along with ease towards the staircase. Aubrey continues to follow him discreetly. However, when Aubrey reaches the end of the stairs, she loses him. She looks around but, Cain is nowhere to be found. Aubrey frowns. She might be keeping a distance but, she’s a hundred percent sure he was still in front of her just now.

Meanwhile, behind one of the cornices, Cain could see Aubrey looking around for his presence. His lips curl mockingly at her before turning around towards the library. After that, the bell rings before Aubrey could spot him. She sighs in disappointment. So, the next thing she has to do is to quickly goes downstairs to stop Rosie from escaping.