You Brighten up the World With Your Eyes

Faith stood still on the spot, staring at the boy. She knew it was rude to stare, but she couldn’t help it. He literally had her mesmerised. She didn’t know whether it was his luminous hair, his well built but still skinny frame, or his flawless face. All she knew was that if she didn’t stop staring soon, he was bound to look at her and think she was some weird freak… Which right now, it was questionable whether she was being. Faith blinked a couple of times, before returning her gaze to her schedule. Without thinking, her eyes scanned the busy corridor again, hoping to catch a glimpse of the boy who had caught her eye only moments ago. Faith’s heart sunk slightly as she realised he had gone. Shaking the thoughts out of her mind, she found the room she was looking for, walking in and talking to the teacher, who assigned her a place next to another student. Faith sat down, taking out her book for this class, setting her mind to work, almost forgetting everything that had just happened only minutes ago… Almost.

Class passed quickly, and Faith quickly made a few friends in English class. Faith had been sat on a table with three other students; two girls and a guy. The first girl who had spoken to her was Emily. She was a tall, skinny brunette, her hair falling way past her shoulders, as straight as a poker. She had a pretty face, which was caked in make-up. Faith could tell that without the make-up, she wouldn’t be half as pretty; her confidence shone through thoroughly, nonetheless. The second girl was Katie, a complete paradox of Emily. She had light, mousy blonde hair that fell just past her shoulders in a wavy, untidy mess. Her face was naturally pretty; her features were all perfectly shaped, but she wore very little make-up. The third and final person, was Mark. His hair was a mix between blonde and brown, Faith couldn’t decide what she wanted to call it. His face was round and he constantly had a smile plastered across his face. He was a happy person, and Faith instantly knew he was someone to befriend at this school.

Dinner time soon sped around, and Faith found herself sitting with Emily, Katie and Mark, since they’d offered and Faith wasn’t yet acquainted with anyone else in the school yet. Faith kept her eyes open for the red haired boy she’d seen earlier, anxious to get a second glimpse of him, and maybe even find out who he was and a little bit about him. Faith wasn’t sure why she was acting like this; back home she’d never really been all that interested in boys or having a boyfriend. She was too focused on her education to let it bother her. Sure, she’d had a few boyfriends back home, but nothing too serious. So her sudden interest in one boy made her question herself constantly. She concluded that he was just interesting to look at, nothing else. Keep telling yourself that, sweetie. As if on cue, the red haired boy walked into the dining area. He smiled at a few people on a table nearby, showing off his perfectly white teeth and adorable smile in the process, making Faith almost gasp aloud. Katie waved her hand in front of Faith’s face, catching her staring. Faith shook her head slightly, looking back at Katie blankly. Katie turned her head, following where Faith’s gaze had previously lead to. She made an ‘o’ shape with her mouth, looking back at Faith and smirking, shaking her head slightly before speaking.

“Nick Santino. School crush. If you have any sense, you won’t go there. Trust me. Emily will back me up on this one.” she said, slowly. Faith looked across at Emily, who was nodding. Mark was also nodding and smirking, making Faith frown and laugh slightly. Faith sighed before Emily spoke up,

“He’s picky. Unless you’re stick thin with bleach blonde hair, super model looks and have huge boobs, you don’t stand a chance in hell with him.” Emily explained, her expression seeming to be almost sad for a second or two, before her normal, happy expression resurfaced. Faith looked back over at the boy who she now knew to be Nick, who was now sat with a group of people who were all laughing loudly and talking amongst themselves. Faith nodded, mentally kicking herself for even thinking he could have been one of the nice people in the school. Katie picked up her tray of finished food, Emily and Mark following suite before Faith looked around at them. Katie smiled,

“You wanna come outside and get some fresh air with us before next period?” she asked. Faith nodded, smiling at her kind gesture, before picking up her tray and bag and walking over to the counter, placing it down atop of a few other trays that had been left there. The group took off outside to a small, unoccupied table and took their places. Faith took out her phone, searching through her contacts until she reached her dad’s mobile. She looked around the table at everyone, smiling slightly.

“Excuse me a minute while I make a phone call…” she said, standing up from the table after everyone muttered an “Okay” in her direction. Faith walked a few metres away from the table, walking up some stairs and past a door that lead to the dining hall, her back facing the door, before pressing the call button, awaiting her father to pick up. After a few rings, he did so.

“Hello, darling. How’s it going?” he asked. Faith smiled to herself,

“Hey, Daddy. It’s going brilliant. Everyone’s so nice here! I’ve made a few friends already… Like you said I would.” she said, knowing her father would only have said it himself if she hadn’t of. She could tell her father was smiling on the other end of the line, happy that his only daughter was settling into her new school well. Her father had been just as anxious as her to send her to a new school on the other side of the continent, not sure how she would take to it, so this news was fabulous to him. Her father chuckled lightly on the other end,

“Well, I’m glad it’s going amazing for you,” he paused, for a second, taking a couple of breaths, “Not meaning to be rude, honey, but I really have to go. First day and all…” he said. Faith nodded, then realised he couldn’t see her, instantly feeling dumb.

“That’s okay, Daddy. I hope your day’s going good, and I’ll see you when I get home. Love you.” she replied.

“Thank you. And I love you, see ya after, sweetie.” he said, before Faith took the phone away from her ear, pressing the button to terminate the call. She turned around quickly, gasping loudly as instead of finding thin air in front of her, she found someone’s chest. She stepped back, apologising quickly, looking up at the person she’d bumped into and instantly her eyes grew wide. The person she’d bumped into happened to be none other than the boy she’d found herself staring at earlier in the day - Nick Santino. A few of his friends stood behind him, watching the scene unfold.

“I, uh… I didn’t see you. I’m sorry…” she managed to mumble out, before Nick shrugged, smiling at her.

“Don’t worry about it, darling… You’re the new kid, right?” he asked. Faith nodded, making eye contact with him for the first time. He looked back at her, the small smirk still playing on his lips. He put out his hand, “I’m Nick.” he said. Faith took his hand, shaking it cautiously,

“Faith.” she replied, simply. Nick chuckled slightly, retracting his extending arm,

“Faith… That’s a pretty name.” he said, the smirk that adorned his face never even threatening to leave. He nodded slightly at Faith, before speaking again. “Well, it was nice talking to you, Faith,” he paused, “See ya around.” he finished, before walking past her, his friends following. Faith stood and stared at the space in front of her. Why did this boy, who she’d spoken to for mere minutes, have such an instant effect on her? She shook her head for the umpteenth time that day, shaking off all previous thoughts of Nick Santino.