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  That memory made me sad. The teamwork was gone, and so was my mom most of the time. Snapping me out of my reverie, Kiley walked in, singing a song from a kid’s movie. I decided to just give Kiley the rest of the cereal and find something else for the rest of us. I placed the almost overflowing bowl in front of Kiley then searched for my breakfast. I was running out of time. Will and Sam still weren’t down yet. I started to feel anxious. What was taking them so long? I fixed Will and Sam bagels with strawberry cream cheese on it to go. If they want to be late then they could eat on the go. For myself, I ate the last of the applesauce.

  “Sam! Will! Let’s go!” I yelled upstairs.

  Will came running down, with Sam right behind him. With their bags already in their arms, I quickly handed them their food, grabbed my pain killer my mom had set out for me, and headed for the car. We all piled in Sam’s car. I popped the pill in my mouth and buckled up. As Sam started to pull out, I noticed my dog chained up outside by his doghouse.

  “Salem! We need to put Salem in the house.” I said, stopping Sam.

  “Will, hurry! Put Salem in the house out in the laundry room, along with Lila.” Sam demanded. Will got out and hustled to follow Sam’s orders.

  Salem and Lila were golden Retrievers and were brother and sister. Lila took turns sleeping with one of us kids every night. She also liked to stay inside and rarely go out. On the other hand, Salem loved to be outdoors, even if it was pouring down rain. Most nights he slept outside. We had to lock them both up when nobody was home because they liked to destroy things in the house. Anything from shoes, purses, and remotes to pillows. They were still young, so they still did those things. I guess you could call it their way of getting back at us for leaving them all by themselves. But payback or not, they were sometimes just a pain in the neck.

  Will hopped back in the car with the clock reading 7:55 a.m. Sam stepped on the gas. We arrived at the school parking lot with ten minutes left until class. Will and Kiley ran over to the elementary school together. Small town with a small school system. All three schools were in walking distance of each other. Sam slammed her door and ran inside. Ten minutes was a long time for me. I walked at a comfortable speed all the way to the inside of the school, with the intentions of walking the same to my class. The school made me cringe. The smell of the older building and the feel of an unwelcoming place made me not want to be there. But, knowing that I had to, I walked down the crowded junior hall towards Miss Thurgood’s Algebra 2 class. I opened the door and only saw about five to seven desks full, all with the looks of students giving off the impression they did not want to be there as well. All of them had that face except for one- Audrey Hamilton, my grades smartest student. She was creepy and annoyingly smart. I could ask her anything, and she would know the answer. I could then, later look it up on the internet and the answer she had told me would be exactly what the internet said. It made me not want to have any classes with her because she made me feel so stupid. I sighed and looked at the clock by the doorway. Five minutes left until first bell. I wanted it to just ring so we could start and get it over with, but I also didn’t want it to ring, because I didn’t want school starting up again to be a reality. I just wanted it to be a dream. A dream to where I could wake up and it would still be summer vacation. But I knew that wasn’t going to happen.

  Taylor and Marlee, my two very best friends, walked through the door and sat down by me. Marlee to the left, and Taylor behind me.

  “What happened to your nose?” Marlee asked.

  “I broke it.” I paused. “Last night Sam hit me with my door on accident.”

  “Are you okay? Why didn’t you text us? I could’ve brought you a get-well gift!” Taylor asked.

  “Just dandy.” I answered with sarcasm in my voice. My shirt really did fit me. “And because it was late. I got home around midnight.”

  “How did she hit you with your door?” Taylor asked.

  “Long story. I’ll tell you later, okay?” But, really, I didn’t want to tell them. It was kind of embarrassing and I just wanted to forget about it. They both nodded their heads okay.

  “Are you going to be able to try out for volleyball next week?” Taylor shot another question.

  Her question caught me off guard. I hadn’t thought about volleyball since I talked with the doctor.

  “I’m sure I’ll be able to.” I said, totally unsure if I even wanted to. The whole summer I had thought about quitting. My nose could be my excuse. There was silence for a few seconds.

  “I heard there’s a new family in town.” Said Taylor.

  “Do you think they will go to school here?” Asked Marlee, finally saying something. She was a very shy and quiet person, but not usually around us. Maybe she was also sad that we were in a classroom instead of getting breakfast at our favorite restaurant called Lizzie’s.

  “Well, duh! Where else would they go?”

  “River Bench High, or maybe they are homeschooled, or not even old enough to go to high school, duh.” Said Marlee with letting herself be sassy back with Taylor.

  I stayed out of the conversation. Whenever Marlee and Taylor “duhed” each other it turned into a friendly, but vicious argument. They always put me in the middle trying to get me to pick sides. The one time I did was the worst mistake ever. So, I just listened and nodded my head. Maybe since I did that, though, they thought I was their mediator.

  “Kallie?” I heard Taylor’s voice.

  “What?”

  “Who’s, right? Me or Marlee?”

  Marlee whispered something under her breath. Taylor playfully slapped her on the arm.

  “You both could be right.” I said, keeping it cool.

  “You’re so lame!” Marlee raised her voice, which shocked me. “I’m smarter and I can argue better than Taylor. I’ve known since I was ten that I’m going to be a lawyer. For once just pick sides because I know you will pick my side.”

  “I’m not picking sides because you guys argue over the most irrelevant things. And besides, how do you really know a new family moved here? This town is so small that we would all know, and I haven’t heard anything about it. Maybe it was somebody just visiting and passing through.” I said.

  “True.” Said Marlee.

  “When I prove you both wrong, you will be sorry for not choosing my side, Kallie.” Said Taylor in a joking way.

  “Or maybe getting hit with her door knocked some sense into her and secretly she’s choosing my side.” Said Marlee.

  “Marlee!” I exclaimed. I was so surprised she had said that. We all laughed about it, though.

  The first bell rung, startling me. Everybody took their seats. There was one seat left, which was right by me.

  “Good morning, class. Welcome to a brand-new school year.” Said the teacher. All the students groaned.

  Principal Ronald’s walked into the room and whispered something to Miss Thurgood. I got a blank piece of paper out and started doodling. The first day of school meant that we were just going to go over the class rules and plan for the year. With that, I didn’t care so I doodled. The principal shortly left. After some odd minutes of making different shapes, letters, and sizes, I heard the majority of the girls in the class whisper under their breath.

  “Oh…my…God.”

  My eyebrows moved to show action that I was confused. I looked up and followed everybody else’s eyes. My eyes moved towards the front of the room. There, leaning against the teacher’s desk, a guy- an unfamiliar guy- stood there talking to the teacher. His side view looked great; I was hoping the front would look even better.

  The teacher cleared her throat. “Excuse me class…”

  “Did you fart or something, Miss Thurgood? I didn’t hear anything.” Derek White yelled out in front of the class, interrupting her.

  Derek pretended to be the class clown. He was rude to all of the teachers, and most of the students. He was not funny at all. He was immature, and the only thing funny about him were his looks.

&nb
sp; “Grow up, Derek!” Audrey said. I agreed with her.

  Miss Thurgood always let the students walk all over her and let them tease her. She never stood up for herself. It was sad. I felt bad for her. I could tell she was embarrassed.

  “As I was saying…” She continued. “We have a new student in our school this year. Let’s all give him a warm welcome, and his siblings, too, when you see them.”

  Taylor whispered to Marlee and me, “I told you.”

  He faced the class. My jaw, and almost every other girl’s in the room, dropped. He was the most beautiful, inhumanly, perfect guy I had ever seen. Looking at him was like feeding candy to my eyes. His hair was dirty blonde, almost close enough to a light brown. He had perfect olive skin, with perfect cheek structure. He was wearing a tight, black shirt that defined his muscles. Everything about him was absolutely perfect. His skin was flawless, his hair wasn’t too light or too dark. It was also the perfect length. A little shaggy, but he kept it up nice. His pants and shirt weren’t too tight. He didn’t look like he was suffocating in them. His muscles didn’t make him look like he was on steroids, either. He was absolutely amazing, and breath taking.

  “Please introduce yourself.” The teacher demanded in a nice tone.

  “Hello, my name is Masin Baines.” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. He was British. Guys with accents are a hundred times cuter. Masin had the whole package. He looked at me, then continued. “My family moved here from Seattle.”

  “We’re happy you are here, Masin.” Miss Thurgood said, speaking for the whole class.

  Masin smiled at her then headed down the aisle and sat down in the only open seat, which was right by me. Butterflies filled my stomach. I didn’t know what to say or do. I wanted to say hi and smile. I wanted to be friendly but I couldn’t find my words and I forgot how to smile and be a normal human. He was staring at me. I was able to figure out how to smile again. Ouch! It hurt my nose to smile. Oh no! My nose! I had totally forgotten about my nose. That was probably why he was staring- because of my disformed looking face.

  “Hello.” He said in a quiet tone. His voice was amazing to listen to. I could’ve listened to it all day long. It was one of those sounds- like birds chirping or a waterfall- that was so peaceful and fun to listen to.

  “Hi.” I answered back, finally finding some words.

  “May I ask your name?”

  “Kallie. Kallie Wells.”

  “Pleasure to meet you.” He said. I smiled at his words, ignoring the pain from my nose.

  “You, too.” I said.

  He returned my smile with one of his own. It was dreamy. It made me smile uncontrollably. It was contagious. It wasn’t until our eyes met that I felt something was different about him. They were bright, crystal blue. Looking into them made it seem like my body was paralyzed. My eyes were locked to his. I had no idea how long we stayed like that, but as soon as he looked away, I could breathe normally again. He was smiling. Why was he smiling?

  “Your shirt, it’s funny. I’ve never seen one like it before.” He said.

  I looked down at my shirt to remind myself of what I was wearing. I laughed a little. “Thanks. My friends and I all got the same shirt.”

  “You and your friends are quite funny.” He said. I looked at him in confusion. “I heard you guys talking before class started. I’m guessing I’m the new family. One of your friends’ remarks, I believe Marlee, was a tad bit discourteous, but hilarious.” He said. I never really liked big words, like “discourteous” but when he said it, I loved it.

  “H-how did you hear us? You weren’t even in the classroom.”

  “I was sitting outside the room waiting for Principal Ronald’s. I have great hearing.” He said smiling. “I’ve never really liked doors. They always seem to get in the way.” He said. At first, I didn’t understand what he was talking about, but then the light bulb went off in my head. He was talking about my nose.

  “You heard about that too?” I asked not as a question, but more of a remark of embarrassment.

  “Marlee’s last comment really kicked you in the ass.” He said. I also never thought I would like the word “ass”, but when he said it with his accent, I couldn’t help but smile. “I am sorry about your nose, though.”

  “Thanks.” I said. And in that moment, I wasn’t so cautious about my nose anymore for some reason. Maybe it was because he didn’t make fun of it. I don’t know. But I instantly felt better about it. “You moved here from Seattle, but your accent is British, right?”

  “Uh…yes. I was born in London, but I haven’t been there in a while.” He answered. A sad look swept across his face. I guess it wasn’t a good subject to talk about. I wondered why. I didn’t say anything back. There was silence between us for the rest of the class hour, and still, my butterflies never went away.

  Three

  The next few classes went by really fast. So far, Masin and I had every class together. It was nice because I got to see him. But I wondered how I was going to stay focused when something so great was sitting right by me. Me, Taylor, and Marlee all had the same schedule, too, which helped to keep me from having a panic attack. I’d always had extreme anxiety and it only got worse when I lost my dad. Sometimes little things, like stressful lessons and getting called on in class and not knowing the answer, caused me to have mini panic attacks. Marlee and Taylor always seemed to help prevent them, and if I by chance did have a panic attack, they knew how to calm me down. One of my mom’s friends, Wendy, was in charge of everybody’s schedules. For a favor, she made it so I had my best friends with me at all times. With my dad gone, I wouldn’t be able to make it through without them. We were like sisters. We were all sassy and liked to tease each other. The only thing that made it seem like we were not sisters were our looks. Taylor had long, light brown hair. Marlee had short, matt black hair, and I had medium length blonde hair.

  For lunch, the three of us went to Marlee’s house. Marlee’s mom, Amberley, was a stay-at-home mom, so she could fix us lunch whenever. My house wasn’t an option anymore. Freshman and sophomore year, my mom hardly had to work so she sometimes fixed us lunch. But after dad died, she was never home. Amberley fixed us chicken sandwiches with pop. Our school always let us have hour lunches, so once we finished, we sat there and talked for a while.

  “How are you doing, Kal? Besides your nose, how are you doing about your dad?” Asked Marlee. I didn’t know how to respond. I always thought of an answer in my head, but when I actually tried to say it out loud, I couldn’t. Probably because it wasn’t the truth.

  “Each day is different. Some days I’m fine, and others I feel like I’m drowning in constant sadness. It makes it hard to breathe. But today, I’m fine.” I said, deciding to go with the half-truth.

  As I was talking, I hadn’t realized tears had formed in my eyes. I blinked, and a few streamed down. They both hugged me, and the tears stopped. We then headed back to the school. On our way in, Taylor got a phone call. She walked away to answer it. With five minutes until class, Marlee and I headed for our next class- history.

  “What were you and Masin talking about in first hour?” Marlee asked.

  “He just asked my name.” I said, leaving a lot out.

  “There had to be more than that. You guys were talking and giggling.” She said.

  “He said he likes my shirt. He, also, heard our conversation before class started. He said he has great hearing.”

  “He really does if he heard us. We weren’t even talking loud.” She said. “But I think he thinks you’re cute. He never stopped smiling.”

  “My nose is broken, and I have bruising all over my face, Mar. He doesn’t even know what I really look like. And besides, we just barely met. We hardly know each other. He doesn’t like me, and I don’t like him.” I said emphatically.

  “Yet. He doesn’t like you yet.” She said. I rolled my eyes at her.

  “Mr. Walker is going to kill me. I already dislike history, and I’ve heard he’s a
horrible teacher. Sam had him last year. She wants him fired.”

  Marlee made a pouty face and then she randomly froze. My eyes followed the direction she was looking at. Masin walked between us and sat down behind me. The butterflies flew right back into my stomach.

  He looked at me and then at Marlee. “You must be Marlee. I’m Masin.” He said holding out his hand.

  She shook his hand. “Glad you finally introduced yourself.” She said with sass in her voice and a smile on her face. “Nice to meet you.”

  “I apologize for not introducing myself earlier. I was a bit distracted.” He then looked at me and gave me a half smile.

  I could feel my face go red. He was so incredibly cute and charming. I couldn’t stop staring at him. Masin turned towards the doorway. A girl with an unfamiliar face had popped her head in. She waved at Masin motioning him to leave. I thought it must have been his sister for they looked a lot alike. He got up and left and didn’t come back to class. That was the first class that dragged on.

  I didn’t see him in any other classes or even in the hallway the rest of the day. It was then seventh hour- P.E. Me, Marlee, and Taylor stood in the locker room changing into our P.E clothes the school provided for us. We walked out into the gym wearing the ugly oversized red shorts and black t-shirts with the name of our school on the front. In the corner, Masin was leaning against the wall, talking to a guy. Another person with an unfamiliar face. I looked down at my hideous outfit. Why did Masin have to be in that class? It just gave me a greater chance of embarrassing myself. But at least for that day, I didn’t have to participate in the activity because of my nose.

  “Kallie, are you okay? You look worried or upset.” Asked Taylor.