This Is Not an After School Special

"If you stare any harder, you're going to burn a hole right through him," Matt's voice teased as he nudged me in the ribs.

I looked back at my friend, trying to fight back the inevitable blush that was creeping into my cheeks. "Shut up."

"What is it with you and the troubled guys? What's wrong with a normal guy like me?"

I snorted. "Well, for starters, the troubled guys have that hot, brooding thing going for them. Second, guys like you just don't treat girls the way they deserve."

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked, sounding extremely offended.

"Don't get me wrong, you're a great guy and I love you, but you only seem to see girls as a piece of ass. With me being the obvious exception."

He shuddered dramatically. "Thinking of you as a piece of ass is like thinking that about Amanda." He stabbed at a noodle on his plate with ferocity. Apparently he didn't enjoy even mentioning his sister in that context. "And I don't see girls as just a piece of ass. Not most of them, anyways," he defended himself.

I smiled to myself. Matt was my best friend. He had been for the past two years. Our relationship had started when he'd hit on me on my very first day of school here. I had laughed it off, not really believing that someone like him would be interested in me in the least. Now that I knew him as well as I did, I couldn't imagine ever thinking of him in that way again. His sister, Amanda, was completely convinced that the two of us would have a When Harry Met Sally kind of ending, but the two of us knew differently. We were the perfect friends, but nothing more. There would never be anything romantic between us.

My gaze shifted back to the boy sitting halfway across the room. He was on the end of a full table, but he seemed incredibly disinterested in what was happening with the people surrounding him. He was staring directly at the tabletop before him. Occasionally, he would mutter something that sent a ripple of laughter echoing through the other kids, but for the most part he was silent. He looked a mess; his brown hair fell in tangles around his long face, and his clothes were wrinkled and hung loosely around his incredibly scrawny figure. His green eyes were distant and tired. His name was Josh.

"Seriously," Matt persisted. "What is it that makes you watch him all the time? I'm just curious," he added, trying not to be too pushy.

I sighed. "I don't know," I admitted, tearing my eyes from the other boy and focusing on Matt. His light brown hair was styled perfectly, and his warm brown eyes were searching. "Maybe it's because I want to know why he acts the way he does."

"How do you even know how he acts?" Matt inquired. "He's a senior. We're sophomores. Have you ever even had a conversation with him?"

"Not in the traditional sense of the word."

"In what sense, then?"

I scowled. "We spoke once."

"And what did you say?" He countered.

"Sorry."

Matt chuckled. "Why did you say sorry?"

I wasn't looking at him anymore, but I could hear the smile in his voice. I was staring at the table in front of me, much in the same way that Josh was halfway across the room.

"I ran into him in the hallway once."

Matt's laughter escalated. "That was your conversation with him? Come on, Becky, you've never been shy. Why don't you just go and talk to him? He's a really nice guy, he wouldn't say anything that would offend you."

I surveyed Matt with wondering eyes. "How do you know he's a nice guy? When have you ever talked to him?"

"He's in the choir. You know, the one that you're always making fun of me for being in," his tone was suddenly smug.

"I stand by what I said," I told him, and I smirked as I watched the smile slide from his lips. "But maybe it's not quite as stupid as I thought. In fact, maybe it's worth trying."

Matt snorted. "Please, Beck, you couldn't carry a tune in a bucket."

"Could you humor me for, like, two minutes? Why do you always have to cut me down? Maybe I really can sing, and I just haven't told you because I didn't want to make you feel insecure about your own voice. Did you ever think of that?"

Matt leveled my gaze. "So sing for me, then."

"In a crowded cafeteria? Are you nuts?"

"If you get stage fright, you can't be performing in a choir."

He knew that he had me. At this point, I either had to admit defeat or accept his ridiculous challenge. And he knew me well enough to know that it would be nearly impossible for me to do the former. I gave Matt a steady glare, set my jaw defiantly, and inhaled deeply. I was really hoping that he would come to his senses and tell me that this little test was unnecessary. I had a feeling that he was hoping that I would do the same. Neither of us ever wanted to let the other win.

"What should I sing?" I tried to keep my voice light and breezy, but that was a bit hard to accomplish when my teeth were clenched together.

"Whatever your heart desires," he grinned.

A small smirk played on my lips as I came up with a quick plan. Matt's eyes widened as he saw that I was no longer distressed. He didn't know what I had in mind, but he knew that it was going to make him regret telling me to sing in the cafeteria. Normally, I wasn't the type of person that would ever make a public spectacle of themselves, but this particular instance called for something out of character. I cleared my throat loudly. Matt opened his mouth to protest, but no sound came out.

My smirk widened as I watched his mouth open and close repeatedly. Paired with his bulging eyes, it caused him to resemble a fish out of water, trying to breathe but only getting air. My stomach tightened as I considered what I was about to do, but I pushed all thoughts from my head, stood up on my chair, and faced Matt. I reached a hand toward him, just to ensure that everyone knew I was serenading him.

"At first I was afraid, I was petrified," I began, purposely singing painfully off-key. Matt's cheeks flushed, but he couldn't seem to look away. "Kept thinking I could never live without you by my side," I continued. I could feel every pair of eyes in the room on me, but I soon found that I was actually having fun. When he saw that I was having such a blast, Matt smiled. He knew that it was still just to embarass him, but somehow it was easier for both of us to take now that I had forgotten my anxiousness. I was just about to break into the chorus when a deep, commanding voice rang out in the room.

"Sit down, Miss Jordan."

I fell silent, looking over to see the vice principal standing in the doorway, frowning at me. I jumped down off of my chair and took my seat once more.

"Busted," Matt whispered, causing both of us to crack up.

It didn't take long for the rest of the student body to return to their conversations, though I was certain that most of them were now talking about me. I had never been the center of attention before. The only reason people paid me any attention normally was because they wanted to talk to Matt. And wherever Matt was, I was usually by his side. Except when he went to choir practice. But maybe that would change now that I'd completed his idiotic task.

"Satisfied?" I asked Matt once we'd both calmed down.

"I'm impressed. You win this round, Becky."

"It's about damn time you admit that I win." I laughed, tossing a crumpled napkin onto my tray of half-eaten food.

"I'll be glad to admit it whenever you actually win. It just means that, usually, I win. And when I win, there's absolutely no reason for me to tell you that you win, now is there?"

"If you don't shut up, I'm going to hit you."

"Aw, come on. You know you could never hit a face this pretty."

I laughed again. Matt did have an attractive face, but in reality, he would be the last person in the world to admit it, let alone be vain about it.

"See you after class?" He asked, standing up and grabbing his empty tray.

I nodded, getting to my feet as well. "Yeah, of course. Later, gator."

"What are you, five?" He chuckled, dumping his tray and continuing down the hall.

"Five and a half, actually."

He smiled at me. "See you later."

"Bye."

We went our seperate ways at the nearest bank of lockers. They were organised by grade and then alphabetically, so Matt and I were a short distance away when we reached our respective lockers. I spun the dial on my lock, focusing intently on the digits. When the lock popped open, I quickly pulled open the door and dug through the mess for my books. I felt that cleaning my locker was a waste of time, so I had to dig through various torn-out pages and empty candy wrappers in order to retrieve my textbook.

I pulled out an armload of books and slammed the locker shut, snapping the lock back into place. Matt was already gone for his next class, and I headed off to mine solo. I hated when I didn't have him around. Classes always seemed to drag on and on when he wasn't there to make jokes with. I didn't even like to consider what would happen after high school, when we wouldn't spend six hours a day in the same building. Luckily, I still had a couple of years until that happened.

"You're Becky, right?"

I paused in the middle of the hallway, confused. The voice wasn't totally unfamiliar, but it obviously wasn't someone that I'd spoken to before since he didn't even know my name. I slowly revolved on the spot, and felt my chest constrict a bit. Josh was smiling softly at me.

"Yeah," I replied, my mouth suddenly very dry. "You're Josh Ramsay." Unlike when he had spoken, I was stating a fact instead of asking a question.

His smile widened. "I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed your little show in the cafeteria. It's a shame you couldn't finish it. I would have even asked for an encore."

I felt the heat of a blush flooding my cheeks. "I'm not actually that bad. I was singing off-key on purpose, I swear."

"Even so," he brushed off my explanation as though it was unnecessary. "That Matt is a lucky guy. It's not everyday that you find a girl who will sing a Gloria Gaynor song to you in a crowded cafeteria."

"It's not like that," I was speaking in a rush now, and my words came out in a hurried jumble. "Matt and I are definitely just friends. I don't think his sister believes that, but it's the truth. That whole thing in there, that was just me trying to prove a point."

"And what point would that be? That you're capable of being the talk of the entire high school?"

"Something like that," I said, feeling incredibly self-conscious about the real reason that I had been standing on the chair.

"Well then you sure showed him," Josh smiled again, and his eyes sparkled. In that moment, he didn't look exhausted anymore. He didn't look troubled. He looked happy. I liked it on him; it was fitting.

I smiled back, then waved my hand in farewell and turned to continue on my way to my next class.

"Hey Becky?" Josh called.

I looked back at him. "Yeah?"

"I'll be waiting for that encore."

And with that, he spun around and walked away. I didn't know what to make of the conversation, but at least now I had actually had a discussion with him. Matt couldn't make fun of me for that one anymore.