Secret
Chapter 2
-Chapter 2-
Could first period go by any slower? I could hardly wait until second period. We didn’t have a class together but I’d probably see him in the storage room. Actually, now that I thought about it, I probably wouldn’t because the first few days of school no one goes into the storage room. Effing crap! Now I have to wait until AP Eng Lit, which was third period, to see him. I felt like I was going to pass out from boredom. I just needed to talk to him.
“Get a hold of yourself,” I mumbled under my breath. “You just met him. It’s not like you’re in love.” Or was I? I couldn’t be. It’s just a very, very strong crush. “You can wait. Don’t piss your pants.” I sighed and listened to my own advice.
Time dragged on like a half dead turtle. I began to shake my leg and bite the skin around my nails. Both are bad habits I do when I’m nervous.
Finally! The bell rang and I was free from my new, crappy history teacher. Off to orchestra I went. I was hoping to see Ryan but I was also excited to see my friends. All of my closest buddies had that class.
I walked in prepared to attack or be attacked. Attacked I was.
“YAY! My Jess is here!” my friend Jackie yelled as she tackled me. “I’m so happy!” She was pinning me down when Mr. J walked in the room.
“I’m not even going to ask,” he said before he took stand on the podium.
“Jackie… I miss you too. Now please get off of me ‘cause I can’t feel my toes.”
“Oh, sorry about that.” She got up and helped me up. We sat next to each other and we intermingled with some of our other pals, Chris, Ana, Roy, Shawn, and Lee, before Mr. J cleared his throat. Everyone got quiet with the exception of a few extra whispers.
“Welcome back guys.”
“Hi Mr. J!” everyone yelled in unison.
“Well as you see, we have some new faces.” Everyone looked around, spotting the new kids. “I’d like you guys to spend today and tomorrow getting to know each other. We’ll talk about our summers tomorrow when the new faces introduce themselves. I’ll also hand out the annual paperwork and fees. On Monday we’ll begin with rehearsing and sight-reading.”
Everyone sighed.
“HA! You know you love me.”
The room filled with responses like, “Of course”, “You know it”, and some sarcasm like “In what parallel universe?”
“Ha, ha, ha… Very funny.” He looked at Chris, who had made then comment, then said, “What are you waiting for? GO MINGLE!”
There were five new kids. I introduced myself to all of them but only one seemed like the kind of person I’d chill out with. The name of the kid I’d hang with was Tae. She was a sophomore and was very similar to me. She liked all music like me and played viola. That meant I’d be seeing a lot of her.
Orchestra was over before I knew it because I was having fun and it was shortened because homeroom was lengthened.
The bell rang and I practically ran to my next class. I entered panting when I spotted my friend Mauricio. He was a real Columbian/Peruvian beauty. His skin was pale white but he had jet black hair. His eyes were hazel and hypnotizing but… you guessed it… he was gay. I always seemed to fall for the gay ones. Then it struck me. What if Ryan was gay? That would be just my luck.
“Hey, babe,” Mauricio called pulling me out of La La Land.
“Hey, hun.” We always used pet names for each other. People said it was because he was gay but not all gay guys do that. He pulled me into a hug when over his shoulder I saw Ryan come into the room. He saw me and came over.
Mauricio and I released our hold on one another. I was just about to introduce them when Mauricio goes, “Jess, this is Ryan. Ryan meet Jess.”
We looked at each other a little shocked. “We’ve already met,” I said. “How do you know him?” I knew it! He is gay! I bet he’s his boyfriend, I thought.
He laughed. “This is my cousin. The question is when did you two meet?”
“We have the same homeroom,” Ryan replied.
“Oh, that’s right. Your last names both begin with the same letter. Poor Jess. You probably thought the worst didn’t you?” I nodded, a little embarrassed. “Well, don’t worry sweetie,” he leaned in and whispered, “He’s straight.”
Wow. What a big burden lifted off my shoulders. I sighed, showing off my relief a little more than planned. Ryan grinned. Mauricio told us about a back to school party he was throwing (he always threw the best parties, or so I heard) on Saturday and invited us both. We both said we’d think about it.
“Okay kids… Let’s have a seat,” the teacher voiced and everyone got quiet.
Great. Just what I need. A strict, tightwad, AP teacher. And English, no less. My worst subject. That class was over and Mauricio, Ryan, and I headed to lunch. Ryan and I weren’t hungry but Mauricio was so he went in the line, leaving Ryan and I alone. He heaved a heavy sigh and asked, “So you gonna go to his party?”
“I dunno. Me and him don’t hang with the same group of friends so I’d probably be an outcast. I don’t wanna stick next to him the entire time and seem like a leech.”
“Same here.” We sat in hush for awhile before he said, “Maybe we should go together.”
I looked at him and could see he was turning red. “Sure,” I said nonchalantly, not revealing my utter excitement. “Sounds good.”
“So I’ll pick you up?”
“Well, if you do that you’ll have to meet my mom.”
“That’s cool.”
“Fine. But she can be brutal and you’ll need my number.” I took the pen from behind my ear. “Where can I write it?”
He scrambled through his backpack for a moment before taking out a journal with doodles and stickers on the cover. He flipped to a blank page. “I write in here everyday so I’ll remember if you put it in here.” So cool! He writes in a journal. I wrote my cell number down just as Mauricio came back.
“Didja miss me?”
“Of course we did,” I said. I saw his eyes attach to the paper right as Ryan closed the book. He sat next to Ryan and I caught him nudge Ryan in his side.
Could first period go by any slower? I could hardly wait until second period. We didn’t have a class together but I’d probably see him in the storage room. Actually, now that I thought about it, I probably wouldn’t because the first few days of school no one goes into the storage room. Effing crap! Now I have to wait until AP Eng Lit, which was third period, to see him. I felt like I was going to pass out from boredom. I just needed to talk to him.
“Get a hold of yourself,” I mumbled under my breath. “You just met him. It’s not like you’re in love.” Or was I? I couldn’t be. It’s just a very, very strong crush. “You can wait. Don’t piss your pants.” I sighed and listened to my own advice.
Time dragged on like a half dead turtle. I began to shake my leg and bite the skin around my nails. Both are bad habits I do when I’m nervous.
Finally! The bell rang and I was free from my new, crappy history teacher. Off to orchestra I went. I was hoping to see Ryan but I was also excited to see my friends. All of my closest buddies had that class.
I walked in prepared to attack or be attacked. Attacked I was.
“YAY! My Jess is here!” my friend Jackie yelled as she tackled me. “I’m so happy!” She was pinning me down when Mr. J walked in the room.
“I’m not even going to ask,” he said before he took stand on the podium.
“Jackie… I miss you too. Now please get off of me ‘cause I can’t feel my toes.”
“Oh, sorry about that.” She got up and helped me up. We sat next to each other and we intermingled with some of our other pals, Chris, Ana, Roy, Shawn, and Lee, before Mr. J cleared his throat. Everyone got quiet with the exception of a few extra whispers.
“Welcome back guys.”
“Hi Mr. J!” everyone yelled in unison.
“Well as you see, we have some new faces.” Everyone looked around, spotting the new kids. “I’d like you guys to spend today and tomorrow getting to know each other. We’ll talk about our summers tomorrow when the new faces introduce themselves. I’ll also hand out the annual paperwork and fees. On Monday we’ll begin with rehearsing and sight-reading.”
Everyone sighed.
“HA! You know you love me.”
The room filled with responses like, “Of course”, “You know it”, and some sarcasm like “In what parallel universe?”
“Ha, ha, ha… Very funny.” He looked at Chris, who had made then comment, then said, “What are you waiting for? GO MINGLE!”
There were five new kids. I introduced myself to all of them but only one seemed like the kind of person I’d chill out with. The name of the kid I’d hang with was Tae. She was a sophomore and was very similar to me. She liked all music like me and played viola. That meant I’d be seeing a lot of her.
Orchestra was over before I knew it because I was having fun and it was shortened because homeroom was lengthened.
The bell rang and I practically ran to my next class. I entered panting when I spotted my friend Mauricio. He was a real Columbian/Peruvian beauty. His skin was pale white but he had jet black hair. His eyes were hazel and hypnotizing but… you guessed it… he was gay. I always seemed to fall for the gay ones. Then it struck me. What if Ryan was gay? That would be just my luck.
“Hey, babe,” Mauricio called pulling me out of La La Land.
“Hey, hun.” We always used pet names for each other. People said it was because he was gay but not all gay guys do that. He pulled me into a hug when over his shoulder I saw Ryan come into the room. He saw me and came over.
Mauricio and I released our hold on one another. I was just about to introduce them when Mauricio goes, “Jess, this is Ryan. Ryan meet Jess.”
We looked at each other a little shocked. “We’ve already met,” I said. “How do you know him?” I knew it! He is gay! I bet he’s his boyfriend, I thought.
He laughed. “This is my cousin. The question is when did you two meet?”
“We have the same homeroom,” Ryan replied.
“Oh, that’s right. Your last names both begin with the same letter. Poor Jess. You probably thought the worst didn’t you?” I nodded, a little embarrassed. “Well, don’t worry sweetie,” he leaned in and whispered, “He’s straight.”
Wow. What a big burden lifted off my shoulders. I sighed, showing off my relief a little more than planned. Ryan grinned. Mauricio told us about a back to school party he was throwing (he always threw the best parties, or so I heard) on Saturday and invited us both. We both said we’d think about it.
“Okay kids… Let’s have a seat,” the teacher voiced and everyone got quiet.
Great. Just what I need. A strict, tightwad, AP teacher. And English, no less. My worst subject. That class was over and Mauricio, Ryan, and I headed to lunch. Ryan and I weren’t hungry but Mauricio was so he went in the line, leaving Ryan and I alone. He heaved a heavy sigh and asked, “So you gonna go to his party?”
“I dunno. Me and him don’t hang with the same group of friends so I’d probably be an outcast. I don’t wanna stick next to him the entire time and seem like a leech.”
“Same here.” We sat in hush for awhile before he said, “Maybe we should go together.”
I looked at him and could see he was turning red. “Sure,” I said nonchalantly, not revealing my utter excitement. “Sounds good.”
“So I’ll pick you up?”
“Well, if you do that you’ll have to meet my mom.”
“That’s cool.”
“Fine. But she can be brutal and you’ll need my number.” I took the pen from behind my ear. “Where can I write it?”
He scrambled through his backpack for a moment before taking out a journal with doodles and stickers on the cover. He flipped to a blank page. “I write in here everyday so I’ll remember if you put it in here.” So cool! He writes in a journal. I wrote my cell number down just as Mauricio came back.
“Didja miss me?”
“Of course we did,” I said. I saw his eyes attach to the paper right as Ryan closed the book. He sat next to Ryan and I caught him nudge Ryan in his side.