7

Arabella Rivera

 

 

There were only two things that made my heart skip a beat. One, spiders and two, my favorite show airing a new episode. But now staring at Haiden, I could not help but question the skipping of my heart.

 

I blamed the anger from earlier, it couldn't be more or less than that. It had to be.

"Arabella." A soft feminine voice called out to get my attention.

 

But strangely my eyes seemed to be glued to the brown-eyed boy a small distance away from me. He and a couple of friends of his were seated at the very back of his truck. They were laughing and chatting loudly. Yet his eyes seemed to not want to stray away from me just like my own was denying me.

 

A gentle smack to his shoulder from a ginger-haired girl has his attention snapping away from me, not before he winks.

 

"What the hell was that?!"

 

One, two, three shakes on the shoulder had my head shifting to the wide-eyed blonde with the expression of wonder altering her once cheerful face. Her over shiny glossy lips parted as she darted her baby-blue eyes from Haiden and I.

 

I shifted on my feet, gripping the strap of the bag a little tighter than necessary. "What?" I turned around and prayed for one of her worshippers to take her attention away from me. I felt like an ant under a microscope and I hated it.

 

Hands grip my shoulders and forced me to whirl around to face her. Her eyes are bulging out so much that I feared it would pop out of its sockets. Gwen shook my shoulder and looked at me in a way that screamed 'have you gone officially nuts?'.

 

"Haiden Cross." She murmurs faintly with the look of being dumbfounded.

 

I shook out of her hold and fixed the bag strap on my shoulder. "What about him?" I asked with a casual shrug. It must have been in my head but I swore the chatter around ceased.

 

Great just what I needed right now.

 

Gwen's hands come to grip my shoulders again and her face drew closer to mine until her nose was but an inch away from my own. Her eyes skip from both my eyes as if searching for answers. "Are you kidding? He had been staring at you and he fucking winked!" She shouts with a slight pitch to her voice.

 

My eyes tear away from hers to look around. Her pitch was loud but not enough to gain more attention than required. I draw out a breath of relief. Everyone was too busy chatting about the approaching party or why Mr. Donald's hair looked like a wet mop on top of his head.

 

What was I supposed to tell her? That Haiden was the one who drove over a dirty puddle of water on purpose with the intention to dirty me. Why? Because he caught me staring at him through my window like a creep? Yeah.....no. Gwen would certainly tell the entire student body and rumors would spread like wildfire. I had enough attention today as it is.

 

Thankfully, before I could probe my brain enough to come up with a not so oafish answer a feminine voice rang out, successfully breaking Gwen's intimidating stare away from me.

 

"Gwen!" The voice I recognized as Samantha yelled again. Both Gwen and I turn to stare at the bubbly copper-haired girl waving at her frantically.

 

With a grin the size of Antarctica, Gwen waved back more enthusiastically. "Samantha."

 

Gwen's not so subtly brought her head down to whisper in my ears. "Don't think you're off the hook just yet." She straightens her spine just as Samantha came bounding over to us in all her bubbly glory.

 

Something told me as soon as those two starts talking, Gwen would forget all about what transpired between Haiden and I.

 

Haiden and I? It was just a stare Arabella. Everyone stares, it's part of our existence in this world.

 

Of course my conscience sets me right back on track before it was too late.

 

Samantha stops just before us and does that thing with her face where she clenches her eyes tightly and widens her smile. A soft gust of wind brushes past us and has her hair fluttering over her shoulder. "Hey guys!"

 

"Hey Sam." Gwen answered.

 

Why were they so cheery so early? Especially on the first day of our senior year?

"Yeah hey, Samantha." I said flatly.

 

Samantha was Gwen's friend I suppose. With her bubbly personality, it would have been a crime if they weren't.

 

Samantha's eyes open, and her shapely brows furrow in confusion. "Uh oh, someone sounds like their cat died."

 

I narrow my eyes down at the pretty copper-haired girl that was few inches shorter than I. "I don't have a cat." I grumble and side-step her to walk towards the school building. "I'll see you inside Gwen." I said over my shoulder.

 

"What's wrong with her?" Samantha asked in a hushed voice.

 

"Don't mind her, she just woke up on the wrong side of the bed today." Gwen spoke in the same hushed tone.

 

I rolled my eyes and continued my way to the intimidating school building. I amble up the stone stairs that lead to the building that filled one with dread by just one glance. Its red-colored bricks glared down at me tauntingly and I squint.

 

A whistle or what one would call a cat-call rang through the air. I halt and turn my head to the black-haired freshman boy who winked at me exposing that he was indeed the one who 'flirtatiously whistled'. He sat on the newly cut grass with his friends beside him, egging him on.

 

I scan my eyes for a second over him and his friends then upon not finding anything interesting, I rolled my eyes. "Word of advice little boy, we left that back in the 90's." I bend my head as if I'm about to let out the biggest secret. "So let's keep it there. No one cat-calls anymore." I whispered.

 

Shock rendered him speechless as a shocking red crawled up his neck to his ears. His 'friends' hoot with laughter, shaking his shoulders as he just stared with embarrassment. I turn back around and made my way to the building.

 

As I made my way through the huge double doors I recall why I hated this school. Well, all schools in particular. The shiny floors that would have all sorts of shoe prints dirtying it up in seconds thickened my irritation. The entire hallway smelled of disinfectant and cheap air freshener.

 

I wiggled my nose as I could not help but think that it would smell of teen sweat by this afternoon. Scratch that, I give it an hour.

 

I side-stepped wandering students as I made my way to my locker, not at all caring that some students were not so decently making out in clear view.

 

I sighed when my locker finally came in sight. "I know you have missed me but I sure didn't miss you." I said under my breath faintly, directing my words to my locker. The scent of the not so well dried dark-blue paint assaults my nose, letting me know that they had certainly repainted the lockers yesterday, last minute like usual.

 

I rolled my eyes, swirling the dial of the lock. Sighing when I heard the clink of the cold metal opening, I began to transfer some books from my bag to the locker. The squeaking of shoes against the once shiny floors grew louder. More and more students came piling in like a herd of elephants.

 

The bell was a few minutes away from ringing so normally, they rushed in last minute.

 

I slammed the locker shut, the loud thud goes unnoticed by the loud laughs and chattering. I fixed my bag and stiffen when a presence looms beside me. I turn around and froze when a pair of brown eyes peered down at me.

 

Haiden.