A and D

A and D (3)

Of course, I was close to her boyfriend. I was the best friend. And if the way I felt for Aaron was noticeable, then Annabelle would surely be jealous because she can't do anything about the fact that I can be close to Aaron whenever. Because – duh, again – I was his best friend, wasn't I? There was no malicious thing about it. However, she was overestimating me. I mean, she was the girlfriend.

My eyes wandered to Annabelle and Aaron's table. They were being sweet, that was for sure. Watching it made me lose my appetite, which didn't make any sense because I was almost finished. But that was even worse because I felt like I was going to barf.

I hated having this feeling. Ugh. Why did I have to fall for my best friend? There were gazillions of other guys to fall for. Why did it have to be him? Was this a curse, for being a cynical person? I didn't think so.

I sighed.

If only things would change this year. If only I get to meet a guy who would notice me as someone to like. If only that guy would look at me past the physical looks. If only I get to feel what it was like to be loved – or even just liked. If only...

"You okay?" asked suddenly by Alyson, making me jump back into reality again.

"Yeah," I said vaguely, not meeting her eyes.

Krrrriiiiiing!

There goes the bell. We better get to class. Our Physics teacher was a very strict one so we had to behave for the next hour.

So you see how bad my first day can get? I wonder how peaceful my day could've been if I just stayed at home.

Oops, I just saw Annabelle quickly walking past me – with a venomous glare, by the way. Awe, man. I hope she didn't make a big deal out of our chit-chat at lunch. I was not myself! She should understand. People say strange things when they were hungry (got that line from Alyson). But why should I be bothered? Wasn't it about time that I stood up to her? Nah. It was not very diplomatic and mature of me to stoop down to her level. Anyways, it was her fault for being such a provocative cheerleader/witch.

Alyson and I got to the Physics Lab in time – thank goodness.

The moment we all took our seat, Mr. Clinton paired us off to do some lab work, on the first day of school! Ugh. Today, we would do a trial assessment about a moving object's momentum. In our case, that moving thing was a golf ball.

I looked around the room and didn't see Aaron. Where was he? He knew perfectly well how strict Mr. Clinton could be.

Suddenly, the door slammed open. Aaron and Luke came in.

"Being late in my class is not tolerated, Mr. Ford and Mr. Wright," grumbled Mr. Clinton, with an expression that can make little kids run away.

Aaron, however, was expressionless. Uh-oh. I know that look.

Luke was the one who replied, "We know, Mr. C. It won't happen again."

Mr. Clinton stared at them for a minute, as though searching for any signs of disobedience.

"Very well," Mr. Clinton finally said. "Miss Wallace, I'd like you to be paired with Mr. Wright," he told Alyson. Then, he turned to me, "And Miss Evans, with Mr. Ford. This," – he faced Aaron and Luke again – "is to make sure that both of you will behave righteously in my laboratory."

After the last word, Mr. Clinton went on to get the golf balls in the cabinet. Alyson stood up from the seat beside me, smiled sheepishly at me, and went to sit beside Luke. Aaron gazed at me as he took his seat at our counter. I tried to look away but he kept on staring at me as Mr. Clinton handed us a golf ball.

"What?" I asked, a bit annoyed but nervous at the same time.

"Did anything happen at lunch today?" Aaron asked casually, but I can guess where he's going.

This was it. This was why he wore that look on his face. He was angry. Annabelle told him what happened at the jet line. And I can tell that Annabelle exaggerated on her story.

"Yeah," I answered indifferently, turning my eyes on the golf ball.

"Really?"

"Yup – I ate a delicious apple pie, remember?" I said, all smiles.

"Dakota," Aaron said my full name, making me face him again. His face was stone hard. "Why did you have to tell Annabelle our ritual every morning?"

"You call it 'ritual'?" I snorted, but stopped immediately when I looked at his eyes. I frowned. "What's the big deal?"

"She misunderstood what you said – that's the big deal," he hissed, trying not to be loud with his angry voice.

"And what did I say that upset your girlfriend so much?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You told her that I'm the reason you didn't eat breakfast this morning," he answered, still trying to keep his voice in whisper. "She jumped to conclusions and got mad at me. We had a fight – that's why I was late."

Oh. So now, he was blaming me for having a fight with Annabelle. Great. Just great. Everything was my fault now?

"First of all, you are the reason. Second, don't blame me for snapping at her at lunch today. Third, it is absolutely not my fault that she freaking jumped to conclusions." This time, I was hissing already, too.

"I'm not blaming you for anything. I just wanted to ask why did you have to say that to her? It ruined our first day together."

I stared at him in disbelief. How dare he say that? I ruined their day??? How about my day – no, how about my entire high school life?

"You selfish jock," I said, gritting my teeth. "You think that I'm having such a swell day? Who do you think forced me to go to school this morning then suddenly blames me for the fight he had with his girlfriend in the afternoon?"

He scowled. "I already told you. I'm not blaming you –"

"Funny. You sure as hell did."

"Dakota –"

"I can't believe this," I said, cutting him off. I shook my head. "You two are making such a big deal over what I said that it even ruined your precious day. Amazing..."

That was it. This day officially sucked. There was no doubt about it.

"You're right, D," Aaron said in a low voice, after a moment of silence. "I –"

"Well, congratulations!" I whispered, interrupting him. And I gotta say, even though it was rude, cutting him off like that made me feel good. "We just had the conversation that completely made this freaking day a disaster."

And with that, I picked up the golf ball and started working.

Aaron opened his mouth to speak but before he could say anything, Mr. Clinton said in a loud voice, "I hate to interrupt but could the both of you please stop murmuring and start on the observation?"