Hollywood Horrors

New Crush

“You’ll do fine, sweetie,” my mom whispered to me. I glanced nervously towards all the students filing in to his or her classes.

“Um…okay. Bye, Mom.” I hesitantly let go of her hand. Screw the fact that I was a sophomore in high school, and should not be holding hands with my mom. I was new to this city and school. God should cut me a little slack.

“Remember to ask the questions about AP classes and advanced levels,” she reminded me. I nodded.

“Have a nice day,” she concluded, before walking away to her car.

The first period, in my case, A period, was PE. It was easy-all I had to do was listen to the teacher talk about the curriculum and get the hand out. I felt the ache as I saw students happily chatting to one another about summer vacations.

The teacher, Coach Reid, started taking attendance. “Um, Madeline Dubois?”

“Present,” I said, timidly raising my hand. “You can just call me Maddie.”

Coach Reid nodded at me, and then continued. I felt stares on my back, and was too scared to look up. My cheeks heated up, and I nervously listened to Coach Reid talk about how we would first do the soccer unit. I felt a bit better. Before, I’d always practiced soccer on the beach every day. Hopefully this would be an easy unit.

I breathed a sigh of relief when the bell rang. Next was Spanish. I was hopeful about this. I’d never taken foreign language courses at my old school, and I was eager to learn. My teacher, Mrs. Reyes, was perky and endearing, and her room was decorated with Spanish words and phrases, along with sombreros and a large bienvenidos sign. It was the class where I felt comfortable, but yet again, I felt the familiar ache when I saw a black-haired girl dressed in cheer outfit gesture excitedly to the seat next to her when a pretty blonde girl arrived.

As Mrs. Reyes talked quickly about the exams and usual welcome back to school information, I noticed a boy sitting in one of the far corners of the room. He had dark brown, wavy hair, and was listening to a friend who looked Spanish talking quietly. He was certainly attractive, and a gym bag was on the floor at his feet. His face was content, and he frequently laughed as his friend talked. Not wanting to be caught staring, I averted my gaze and saw that someone else was staring at the attractive boy. The blonde friend of the cheerleader was smiling with a somewhat off expression. She was probably daydreaming. I shuddered at what her thoughts could be.

Soon, the fifty minute period ended, and I headed off to Music. I was in one of the lower bands, and I was determined to make it into Advanced Band, though I knew it would be difficult, seeing the sheer amount of flutes in the group.

Our teacher immediately got to work. I felt like I was in a foreign country; he seemed to know his students so well, constantly saying, “Oh, looks like you survived the summer. I hope your brain isn’t missing.” Many boys went, “Yo, Mr. C!”

When he reached my name, he looked up. “Hmm, I don’t recall seeing you before.” He had a pretty good memory for someone with gray hair, but his glasses and uptight expression showed me he’d be a serious instructor. Many people glanced at me.

“I’m new here.”

“From where?” he inquired.

“Los Angeles.” The answer was automatic; I’d said it so many times already.

He looked respectful at my answer. “Your last name is French,” he mused.

“My parents came from France. I was actually born there, and then moved to California.” I had no idea why I was spilling so much information. Too many people were staring at me already.

“Well then, welcome to Lakefield High School. You play flute?”

“How did you know?” There was a small chorus of titters. Mr. Cordolla glared at the group of preppy girls huddled in a corner, and they immediately shut up. Obviously Mr. C was feared.

“I have my sources.” He winked and moved on to the next person, Lara Finnegan. He playfully bantered with her about the fact that she visited Iceland. After class, I cautiously walked to him.

“Yes?” He was shuffling papers.

“I’d like to know when you’ll be holding auditions for chairs?”

“That would be next Wednesday. Interested?”

“Yes, because I’d like to get into a higher level band.”

“This one isn’t good enough for you?”

“It is good. I just like to have higher expectations of myself.”

“Nicely phrased. I’m afraid you’ll have to do exceptionally well, though. I already have twelve flutes in my other band; you’ll have to play better than the last chair, at least. It won’t be easy, since it was hard last year to place the flutes; they were all too good.”

I nodded, continuing on my way to Advanced Life Science. It was my favorite subject, so I listened attentively to the teacher, Mrs. Silvers, describe everything we would be doing. She looked nice, and patiently answered questions. Advanced Science was exciting for me; I hoped to become a doctor, so I worked particularly hard in this category. Yet again, I saw the good-looking boy from my Spanish class in this class, this time gazing pensively at the ceiling. His Spanish friend had been replaced with a boy with dirty blond hair and a basketball gym bag.

I zoomed through all my classes; they were all too boring to catch my attention, especially math. I convinced my teacher to let me take the AP test the next day so I could have the chance to switch into AP Geometry.

English and history were fine; both with fun female teachers that I was sure would be interesting instructors through the semesters. They both agreed to allow me take tests for advanced level classes.

It was lunch that was difficult, but I’d already developed a tactic. I was strangely lucky; I had a stomachache, and couldn’t eat anything, so I combed through the blue tables for one where only one person was sitting. I saw one with an Asian girl sitting, serenely eating a bowl of pasta.

“Hey,” I greeted.

“Oh, hi.” Her voice sounded like a chorus of bells.

“Do you mind if I sit here?”
“Not at all.” She moved her backpack so I could sit in the shade.

“You’re new here, huh?”

“Yeah, I am.”

“Aren’t you hungry?” She nodded at the empty table under my hands.

“I kind of am too nervous to eat,” I confessed sheepishly.

“Don’t be. I’m new too.” She smiled comfortingly. “I was in your Spanish and science class.”

“Oh, yeah,” I realized.

We chatted for a while, and I realized this girl was brave. She had sat at a lunch table alone, something that I wouldn’t have wanted to do. I would’ve hid in the library instead. I discovered that we had Leadership together next period. It made me feel much more comfortable. Her name was Tina Lu, and she’d come here from Fremont. She was petite, her face was framed by slightly curled black hair, and her skin was tanned. Her eyes were soft chocolate brown behind glasses. She was smart, too.

In Leadership, I noticed that the pretty blond girl and her apparent love interest were there. The attractive boy’s dirty blond friend was also there, along with another boy with light brown hair.

“Who is that?” I wondered aloud.

“The dark brown haired one is Cole Tassit, his blond friend is Jonathan Sterling, and the other guy is Kevin Bryce. His other buddy from Spanish was Enrique Rodriguez,” Tina answered.

“Wow that was fast. How’d you know?”

“Let’s just say I love listening to gossip.” Her face was a little flushed now.
“Huh. Okay.” I tugged my brown hair anxiously. Mrs. Conrad, the pretty Leadership teacher, backed into the room, tugging a piece of poster paper with “Welcome Back Coyotes” written in colorful paints on the paper. She grunted and smacked it down onto the floor before turning to the thirty seven students watching anxiously.

“You guys will be put into different commissions. Some will involve decorating dances, others putting up posters, and some will consist of embarrassing yourself in public. Are you up for the challenge?” She crossed her arms. “Because if you aren’t, I suggest you leave now.” Nobody moved.

“Good. I’ll split you guys up, and we can get to business. Dubois, Finnegan, Tassit, Lu, Bryce, and the two Sterlings, you guys are in the Spirit commission. You will control the scoreboard at basketball games, come up with spirit days, and host the games every Friday.” It sounded exciting, and I was glad I’d signed up for this class. I needed fun in my schedule.

“Hey, what’s up?” Cole greeted Tina and me. “You girls are new, right?”

I nodded. He introduced us to Kevin and Jonathan. “Hi, Kathie, Lara,” he added. That was when I realized the blond haired girl was in our commission. Kathie Gordon.

“Yo, lil sis,” Jonathan laughed. “Guess we’re stuck together again.”

“Don’t call me that!” Kathie snapped. “And hey, Cole.” Did I imagine it, or did she just flutter her eyelashes like one of those sappy romantic movies?

“Hi, Cole. How was your vacation?” Lara looked really nice, complete with auburn hair and freckles.

“Terrific. I still haven’t gotten tired of going to the Bahamas.”

“How about you guys?” Lara looked at Tina and me.

“Enough of the introductions,” Kathie cut in, “It’s time to start planning!”

“Kathie,” Cole chided. “They’re going to think we’re a bunch of insensitive monsters.”

“No, of course not!” Tina chimed in. “I quite like this school. It’s definitely a lot newer and cleaner than my previous one.”

“And so are the people,” Jonathan joked. Tina smiled at him.

“You haven’t talked at all…um….” Cole struggled.

“It’s Maddie.”

“Maddie. Well, what do you think we should do for spirit?”

“We could do a pep rally…” I was fishing for ideas from my previous schools.

“I guess we could try that,” Kevin allowed. “Maybe….”

And I let them debate over possible ideas, yet again feeling out of place.

“Uh, you okay?” Cole tapped me on the arm. He looked sympathetic. “I know it’s hard adjusting to a new school.”

I smiled. “I’m fine. You can talk with everyone else. I’m still thinking of ideas.” He shrugged and started conversing with Kathie, who was obviously trying to flirt with him again. Soon, the bell rang, and I gladly breathed a sigh of relief. The school day was over, and I could leave. My mom was picking me up, and I was glad I didn’t have to deal with my fear of riding the bus yet.

The next day was pretty much the same, but I took advanced tests for history, English, and math. My math teacher quickly corrected my test with a grin, informing me that I could get a new schedule on Friday to move into AP Geometry. English was a bit more difficult, but still easy. My teacher told me she was sure I did very well, but would correct my test on Wednesday. It was the same with U.S. History.

The week whizzed by. I had lunch with Tina, and Lara joined us with two of her friends, Adrianna and Brianna. Mr. C was pleasantly surprised of my skill at the flute, and told me he would see to it that my schedule was changed to accommodate Advanced Band. My mother was ecstatic when I told her of my passing of both history and English tests. By Friday, I had an entirely new schedule. I also had Cole Tassit in every single class. I sat next to him in English, and I realized he was hilarious but nice. He was also enormously popular. In every period, too many people, guys and girls, crowded around his desk, chatting and asking questions. I knew he noticed me also. He would make conversation with me and inquire what I got on my tests. He was definitely smart; he was in all advanced classes like me. I hated competition, especially competition in the form of a boy. Sure, I sometimes had to do better than naturally smart blondes or brunettes, but never had I dealt with a boy who was in the same academic section as me. It irritated me, especially when I got an answer wrong and he got it right.

Though Friday was fun, because of my new friends, I felt detached. I had to ride the bus today, and Tina, Adrianna, and Brianna didn’t take it.

It was easy enough to find the 812 to Forest Valley. I slid into a seat in the front, where other freshmen were chatting happily, while more people filed inside. I realized that seniors went to the back, freshmen to the front, and sophomores and juniors were stuck in the middle. It was a nice social system.

“Hi.” I turned around in surprise and saw Jonathan sitting behind me with Enrique. His elbows were propped onto the steel bars of the seat.

“Hey.” It was the only thing I could think of to say. Why would two probably very popular boys be talking to me, the new girl? I knew I was still counted as new. Nobody knew me except for them, my lunch buddies, and maybe Cole.

“It’s funny, isn’t it, that Kathie’s been trying to get Cole’s attention for two years, and you come and immediately swipe it away?” Jonathan raised an eyebrow.

“Huh?” I was confused.

“What he means is,” Enrique interrupted with a heavy Spanish accent, “that it’s very strange that Cole decided to talk to you when he didn’t even know you.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“We’re just suspecting that someone has finally caught Cole Tassit’s interest.” Jonathan grinned.

“Uh, where’s Kathie?” I knew Jonathan and Kathie were siblings, so she had to be in here somewhere.

“Back there,” Jonathan pointed to the back of the bus, where Kathie and a bunch of cheerleaders were texting on cell phones. She looked up briefly to glare at her brother.

“Wait…she’s a senior?” I asked, confused.

“Junior. She’s in your Spanish and Leadership class because it’s a mixed group, sophomores and juniors. She’s always had a massive crush on Cole.” Jonathan and Enrique laughed loudly.

“Okay?”

Jonathan let out a frustrated sigh. “Word’s been spreading about you being in every single class Cole’s in. To Kathie, that’s freakin’ lucky. To Cole, that means there’s someone out there as smart as him who’s not Asian.”

Enrique smacked Jonathan on the arm. “Dude, don’t be so racist.”

“It’s true. Cole factors in three things; sense of humor, looks, and brains. He doesn’t want a dumb blonde for a girlfriend.”

“Um, you just dissed yourself,” I pointed out. Enrique snickered.

“Looks like she knows sarcasm too. I officially like you, chica,” Enrique laughed.

“Well, I should be on my sister’s side, but I think I can make an exception.” Jonathan smirked.

“This is my stop,” I announced, pulling the string. I couldn’t digest this information. How could Cole Tassit be interested in me when I was new? He did have beautiful, light blue eyes and the way he smiled was adorable….Oh, great. It looked like I was starting to develop a crush.

I focused on my studying, refusing to be distracted by Cole. My determination got me through six chapters in my science textbook and two hours of flute practice. I had to be better than Cole. It was the first time in my life when someone was possibly smarter than me, and it pissed me to no end.

In geometry the next day, I was cornered with a pounding headache. I couldn’t even see my math test the right way. I groaned when Tina handed me my C+ quiz with a sympathetic smile.

“What’d you get?” Cole asked, peering over my shoulder. I quickly stuffed the quiz into the confines of my binder. “Bad grade?”

The headache now felt like a thousand hammers pounding on my brain, and I felt cold in the warm heat of the room. “None of your business,” I snapped. I laid my head onto the desk and closed my eyes at the coolness of the wood. Then I felt a warm hand on my forehead. My eyes snapped open. Cole was staring anxiously at me.

“Red eyes, hot skin. You’ve got a fever.” He raised his hand.

“Hey, hey!” I hissed.

“Mrs. Maxim? Maddie has fever. Can I take her to the office?”

“No, no, I protested weakly. “I still have an AP Science test to get to.”

Cole rolled his eyes. “You can take a make-up. It’s not a big deal. C’mon, stand up.” He tugged me.

“Argh, no!”

“If you don’t, I’ll pick you up and carry you. In front of the whole class,” he threatened. I quickly stood up, wobbling slightly.

“What’re you waiting for? Let’s go!” I walked briskly to the door.

“Um, okay.” He followed me. I waited until we were outside, in the expansion of the school parking lot, before spinning and shouting, “What the hell is wrong with you?”

“What? You’re sick, and I’m making sure you get treated.” He folded his arms. “Is that so wrong?”

“You know, Jonathan told me.”

“Told you what?” He looked cutely confused.

“About how you never talk to new students and how it’s strange that you’re talking to me.”

“So? I decided to change the tradition.”

“Why’d you choose me?”

“It was nice to find that there was someone out there who could possibly be brighter than me in academic categories. I haven’t had competition in years.”

“And you like it?”

“Yeah, don’t you?”

“No. Frankly, I hate being wrong when you’re right,” I admitted, embarrassed.

“Then I’m glad to see I have the same effect on you like you do on me.” His baby blues twinkled.

“I thought we were on our way to the office?” I was blushing; I hoped he took it as a side effect of the fever. Surprisingly, my head wasn’t pounding anymore. Was it just me, or was his face getting closer and closer?

Without a second thought, I leaned in, and our lips met. It was sweet and nice, but it didn’t last long.

“Tassit! Dubois! No PDA on school grounds! My first flute and clarinet! And why aren’t you in class? You’d better not be ditching so you can have some sort of romance fest. I must say, I’m really disappointed in you.”

Cole and I spun around. Mr. C was smirking at us.

“Both of you go back to class. I’m letting you off easy. Next time I catch you, you’re dead.” Mr. C winked and sauntered back to the music room.

“Whoa, that was lucky,” I said.

“Yeah, lucky that it was Cordolla and not someone else,” Cole breathed.

“But did you mean that?”

“Mean that what?”

“The kiss! Did you mean to do that?”

“Duh, of course I did. I like you, Maddie. And no amount of Kathies or the fact that you’re new will change that.”

I was glad. Glad that I’d found friends. Glad that I’d met Cole. Glad that I had the best teachers in the world. And glad that I’d finally found a place to fit in.