They're Playing Our Song

I sighed as I pulled my paper bag out of my locker. I was desperately trying not to show my nervousness about going to Mr. Way's room for lunch. I had no reason to be nervous, and I wasn't sure why my heart was racing like it was. Mr. Way was nothing special to me, he was just a teacher. At least, that's what I was telling myself. My knuckles were white as I grasped my lunch bag and made my way to room 233. The door was closed when I arrived, so I took a steady breath and timidly knocked on the door. I didn't have to wait very long; after about 10 seconds of awkward silence in the hallway the door was opened. Mr. Way was smiling at me from the doorway.

"Hey Louie." he said cheerily. "I've been expecting you."

"Oh." I smiled awkwardly. "Well, here I am."

"Come on in." he said, turning around and strolling back into the room, leaving the door open for me to follow. He sat at his desk and folded his hands, and I sat at the table closest to him. It was sort of awkward, and I cringed when my paper bag made a loud crinkling noise as I unrolled the top. It was the only sound in the room. Mr. Way sat at the desk, staring at something above my head. I assumed he was lost in his own thoughts. I pulled out an apple, and was just about to bite into it when he spoke. It startled me, and I jumped a little bit.

"It must suck being you." he muttered. I gave a dry laugh. That was definitely something I hadn't expected to hear.

"Excuse me?" I said incredulously. "And exactly what do you mean by that?"

"Sorry. I didn't mean it that way." he apologized with a wry smile. "I just mean that it must suck being the new girl. Especially here."

"Oh." I sighed. I wasn't sure yet, but I was pretty certain he was spot on. "Yeah. Pretty suckish."

"Mhm." he nodded, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms. "I know how you feel."

"Really?" I said skeptically, narrowing my eyes. "Seems like you know an awful lot about how I'm feeling, for a teacher and all."

"Come on, don't look at me like that." he smiled. "All I'm saying is that I know how you're feeling because I've been in similar situations." He stood and moved closer, bringing his cushy rolling chair around to sit on the other side of my table.

"Similar situations?" I said interestedly. "Like....?" He sighed, bit his lip, and looked me in the eyes as if he was deciding whether or not to tell me.

"Like when I moved to a new school when I was a kid. I thought of it as a way to start over. Unfortunately, I wasn't exactly accepted either." he smiled and shook his head, laughing without humor.

"I see."

"Yep. So don't think you're all alone here. You've got that cute little Mary girl."

"Yeah, she's pretty cool isn't she." I smiled, thinking of how quickly she had accepted me as her own.

"She is." he smiled, leaning over the table to look closer at me. "And she's not all you have."

"She's not?" I had a feeling where this was going, and a cool sense of contentment washed over me.

"Nope. You've got me too, if you'd like." he smiled, reassuringly.

"Yeah, I would." I grinned back, leaning over the table to look him in the eyes. "Thanks. That's one less person who hates me." He just smiled at me. It was quiet in the room again, but it was a nice silence. It was so quiet in the room, that Mr. Way and I both jumped when we heard the faint sound of someone clearing their throat in the doorway. We whipped our heads around to see Mary standing in the doorway. Her eyebrows were raised and her lips were a thin white line.

"Um...I just came to see if Louie wanted me to walk with her back to class, the bell's about to ring." she said quietly. I groaned inwardly. This probably looked like something completely different to Mary, who hadn't heard the full conversation. Hell, even if she had it would still look incriminating.

"Okay Mary." I said awkwardly, my cheeks burning. I picked up my untouched lunch and stood. I looked over at Mr. Way, and he straightened up in his seat.

"See you later Louie." he said.

"Yeah. Um, bye Mr. Way." I muttered. I quickly walked out the door, and shut it behind me. Mary and I walked up the hallway in silence, and I refused to make eye contact.

"Why did you lie to me?" she asked quietly.

"What? No! About what?" I said urgently.

"About nothing going on between you and Mr. Way."

"There isn't anything going on!"

"Then why did I just walk in to see you two leaned over the table about to kiss?"

"We were not!" I gasped. "We were just...I dunno...talking."

"Okay." she sighed. "I'll see you later then." she muttered, walking off in another direction without any further word. My heart sank. Did she really think I'd ever lie to her? I sighed and shook my head dejectedly. I'd have to explain everything to her on the way home from school. If she'd even listen.