Hannah

Interesting was about the last word anyone would ever use to describe me or my life. I did all my homework, always brought home straight A’s, worked part time both as a secretary at an insurance agency and shelving books at the library and volunteered at the nursing home. I didn’t spend time at the mall or the other cool hang outs. The money I earned went toward car insurance payments or college savings not stylish clothes. I was average height, neither tall nor short. I had mousy brown hair to match the dull dark eyes I . I never went to any of the school dances and I rarely went to the athletic events that not only our school but our entire town built its pride on. I never broke curfew, in fact I rarely stayed out until curfew.

And yet here I was being told, by the captain of a varsity sports team no less, that I seemed like the type of person who would lead a very interesting life. Granted Derek Hart was captain of the boys’ tennis team and not captain of football or basketball or wrestling or something else equally high-profile and glamorous. Still someone thought that I was interesting. Me, Hannah Walsh, Hannah the shy wallflower.

“You seem like a fairly interesting girl.” Derek said reaching into the locker we shared for his trigonometry book before third period one morning. We had shared a locker for the last three years ever since starting at Fairfield High School. A school originally built for 900 students there was now close to 1500. An addition had been built but lockers weren’t priority. The new section of school had new computer labs and technology enhanced rooms with In-Focus machines, scanners, laptops and projectors. The old computer labs were converted to classroom space. There was another cafeteria in the new section of the building, plus a music room, a gymnasium and additional classroom space, but no lockers. As a result everyone shared lockers except the seniors.

“So I was wondering” Derek continued “Would you want to like do something sometime.” I had only been half listening to him. We never talked. It was never anything more than him asking where his Algebra book was or if I had seen his History folder or could I please pass him his science book. I would limit to responses to terse, one word answers or nods out of nervousness. That was when I realized he was actually trying to have a conversation, or at least I thought so but I wasn’t totally listening.

“Sorry, what was that?” I asked him again.

“I was wondering if you wanted to do something sometime, you know with me?” I almost said no. I was shy little Hannah, I didn’t go out on dates with popular male athletes. Well actually I didn’t go on dates - period. ‘What can it hurt Hannah’ I heard a voice say in my head and I hoped I wasn’t speaking out loud.

“Sure.” I said.

“Great.” he said grinning. Then he bounded down the hall in the opposite direction as my next class. I shook my head puzzled and taking my Anatomy book from my locker began walking toward the science labs in the new section of the building. I arrived in the class later than I normally did but still ahead of most of my classmates. I debated whether to tell my friend Anna about Derek but decided it was a bad idea. Eventually I decided I couldn’t keep it to myself I had to tell her. Tearing a piece of paper out of my orange spiral notebook I wrote a quick note to her in blue ink. I waited until the end of class to give it to her, slipping it onto the corner of her desk as the bell was ringing and then darted out the door before she could question. I doubted she would believe me and even if she did I didn’t feel like relaying every second of the brief conversation.