Forgotten Faces

The past week had gone by relatively fast for me, considering that I tagged along with my parents. My dad had a business trip in Paris, and my mom couldn't skip out on it.

She said it would be good bonding time with me. She shopped the whole time, and I couldn't stand it all. My mom went from store to store, and she talked to all the ladies inside. She was fluent in French.

My parents made me take Spanish since we lived in California. They said I would need it more in life than French, German, or Chinese. Those were the other language classes my school offered.

I barely saw my dad the whole trip, and my mom had fun dressing herself and myself up. She also had fun spending an enormous amount of money.

I couldn't wait to be back in California. It just felt better there. Maybe it wasn't even the place, city, or school. Maybe it was just that boy back there. He was still there, going to my school. He still had an interest in me, and that's why I wanted to be in California.

I looked over at my parents, who were zoned out. My dad was on the phone talking to someone about yet another business trip. My mom was on her phone as well, talking to her hair stylist about new hair dos she wanted to try out.

I looked down at my feet. I felt so awkward with my family. We didn't communicate. When we did talk, it felt like my parents were just talking to me. I didn't get to say anything back. It was like I was five. They got to decide everything, and I just went with it.

I spaced out as we boarded the plane. When we were in our seats, I fell asleep quickly. I didn't need any more uncomfortable moments with my own parents.

I woke up to my mom shaking me. I quickly got up, knowing she'd get irritated otherwise. My mom was never patient, and it's probably why the rest of the family wasn't as well.

We got home, and we all slept off the jet lag. I didn't bother unpacking. I knew I would be useless for the next twenty-four hours. I needed sleep as much as the next teen aged girl did.

The next day was Monday, meaning I had the great joys of school in the morning. I was dropped off by my mom, and she gave me a quick lecture on how to behave. I took it without any attitude as she would put it.

I walked to the usual bench, and I decided to just wait for the bell to ring.

I felt so bland. I didn't know how to explain it. I felt like I was so insanely bored in every moment I lived. I couldn't explain it. I couldn't think of anything that would interest me. I felt like I was missing out on something everyone else had.

I wanted to do something. I wanted to say something. I wanted to even be able to think of something original at this point. I was just so bored. Nothing was coming to mind on what to do, say, or think. Everything was so pointless.

"Hey, I haven't seen you in forever, Adriana!"

I looked up slightly to see Josie smiling at me. I forced a smile on my face, and she sat down next to me, making me feel slightly uncomfortable.

"So where were you?" she asked. "Paris. My dad had a business trip," I mumbled.

Her expression was priceless.

"Oh my gosh! Seriously? I'm so jealous. I'm gonna be a famous fashion designer, when I grow up! Well you know in like a year or whatever, but fashion's amazing. Did you absolutely love it?" she asked.

I shrugged, not knowing what to say.

"Next time you must take pictures of everything for me. I love that place. Of course I've never been, but I know I'll love it beyond words. It'll be fantastic."

This girl was relatively quiet, when I first met her. I guess fashion was the ticket to open up her mouth. I almost wished I hadn't found it.

I let her gush about how much she loved everything about fashion. I even let her show me her drawings of things she wanted to design one day. She told me about tops, skirts, and outfits she had made for people.

I was almost silently begging that the bell would ring. I almost wanted gym to just start right then and there.

What I got instead was Brian running over, excited that I was back. He gave me a hug that I didn't really return. I told him where I had been, and then Josie and him started talking about her fashion obsession.

I saw Matt get out of his car, and I automatically started to freak out on the inside. I hadn't seen him for a week, but he still caused me to feel absolutely nuts in an instant.

I got up from the table without thinking, causing Brian and Josie to stare at me.

"Um, I'm not sure what I'm doing," I muttered. "Well sit right down, girl. We have another fifteen minutes before school starts," Josie said, pulling on my jacket.

I sat back down, unsure of why I was complying. I wanted to leave. I knew Matt would see us. I knew he'd come sit down with us. He would try talking to me. I didn't even know if I was up to talking to him today.

My eyes never stopped looking at Matt. He hadn't noticed us yet, and he was rummaging through his backpack. When he was done looking through it, he started to scan the area.

Then it happened. He looked right at me and smiled. He waved at me, causing me to look down. I bit down on my lip, not knowing what to do now. He saw me, and he would probably follow me, if I decided to walk away.

I decided to do something else. I decided to be proactive in the conversation that Brian and Josie were already having without me.

"What are your plans for the weekend?" I asked, unsure of what they were already talking about.

Brian and Josie stared at me a bit, before Brian decided to answer me.

"I think we're playing a show," he said. "Oh yeah, that's right. The guys are playing at some place downtown. You should hecka come watch it with the rest of us girls. It'll be really fun," Josie said.

I shrugged. I'm sure that my mom would've hated that. I'm sure that my dad would've hated it even more though.

"You definitely need to go," Matt said, sitting down to my left.

I could already feel my heart to beat faster. My palms were getting sweaty, and I couldn't speak all over again. I didn't know why, but this boy had some powers over me. He made me a complete idiot.

I looked over at Matt, and I knew it was a mistake. I felt my cheeks go red, and I quickly looked away from him. I decided to stare directly above Brian's head.

I could still feel that Matt was looking at me, causing my nerves to stay right where they were. It was such an annoying thing.

I wanted to behave normally around Matt. I wanted to be able to be my normal self, which I guess wasn't so normal. I just wanted to be able to look at the guy without having to look away right after. I wanted to be a somewhat normal introvert teen aged girl.

"I think today's a great day for our hang out," Matt said.

I ignored what he said, hoping he was talking to either of the two people at the table. I fiddled with my own hands and cursed them for being so warm.

"Adriana, I'm talking to you. Look at me," Matt said.

I could tell he was maybe not so much in the mood to deal with me, making even more nervous. It's like what he had hoped his tone would do was exactly the opposite of what happened.

I bit down on my lip even harder, and I felt Matt's finger on my chin. He moved my face to look at his.

"Today we're going back to my house. It'll be fun. We can make that pizza I promised you." he said.

I was at a loss for words. Before I knew it, he was already dragging me to his car.

I wasn't sure why this boy had such a strong influence on me, but I was definitely intrigued enough to figure it all out.