I smile, sighing blissfully. "Is it that obvious?"
" Yeah, and I noticed him too taking a particular interest in you last night."
Dismissively I reply, "I am sure he has a new girlfriend every week."
" You'll be so surprised."
" Why would I be surprised?"
She changes the subject and says seriously, "You shouldn't let Sarah bother you. There is a long story behind her and Jared."
" What story?" I ask urgently, feeling a twinge of envy spindle its way around my heart, but just then, we walk into the main building.
At the end of the long corridor, Jared is standing at his locker, the door open and he is rummaging in it. He is separate from the group of people I now consider my friends. His back is turned away from the entrance and me.
I walk down the corridor, with Jared as my main focus. As with my decade long crush on Jason, I would never ever have considered saying anything first, if not for the sense of fate rushing through me.
Walking past Jared toward my locker, I greet him friendly, "Good Morning, Jared."
He glances over his shoulder at me with a frown, and then after he pushes his locker door shut, he pushes past me with a "Yeah."
What? Should have waited for him to say hello first.
I turn toward Jane with an astonished look on my face. She smiles sympathetically, saying, "Will tell you the whole story at lunch break. You need to know."
" Tell me now," I insist gently.
The bell rings and she replies apologetically, "It is a long story, as I said earlier. I will tell you at break."
I do not want to seem desperate, so I nod my head in agreement and then we walk to our class together while I pretend everything is as it should be. I smile and chatter, yet my heart feels shattered. Not to mention, my feeling of utter humiliated.
In class, I cannot concentrate on any of my subjects. I go over every little detail of the previous evening on the beach and on the drive to my house, looking for something, anything I could have done wrong, that would have offended him so strongly. Maybe, I am so attracted to him I misread him completely, and I imagined he is just as attracted to me, when obviously he is not.
After each class, walking down the corridor to my next class, my eyes search for him. I see him, and I notice that he sees me too. He even returns my gaze, which I quickly avert. I did not want him to think I am pathetic - liking him too much when clearly he used me to make Sarah jealous.