Oh, I Never Meant to Cause You Trouble

“There has got to be a more dignified mode of transportation,” I grimaced, taking a seat next to my best friend, Lilly.

Her dainty face turned into a frown, “It seems ridiculous that as seniors, we ride the bus.”

Yes, it was pretty sad, but neither of us had a car, and since carpooling seemed so lame nowadays, here we were. Turning to the window, the familiar brick building came into view. St. Ann’s Private School- which really is a school for the freakishly smart in a semi-normal, ‘laid back’ system. We wore our own clothes, and were spared of embarrassing acne problems and braces, yet had the toughest curriculum.

“Gem, Gemma!” Lilly waved a manicured hand in front of my face. I looked back at her and she blinked a few times, “did you hear what I just said?”

“I don’t know.. What?” I was almost scared to ask.

“Oh don’t give me that look,” Smiling widely, a satisfied look splayed on her face, and she went on, “well Juliet told Sarah who told Will who told me-”

“This sounds riveting.”

Lilly rolled her eyes, “It is! Apparently we have a new English teacher. He’s supposed to be a real dreamboat.” I laughed at my friends enthusiasm. We’ve been friends for the longest time, but couldn’t be more different. Her ginger colored hair and Ralph Lauren sweaters were a definite contrast to my dramatically dark brunette tresses and vintage-but-chic clothes. Yet I loved her unconditionally, and in a way, we’re a perfect balance.

I squinted my eyes as the sun shone through the window, “A real dreamboat, huh?”

“I can tell your mocking me Gem, just you wait.” And she crossed her arms, faking a pout that I knew all too well. The bus came to a screeching halt as we realized we were right in front of the school. Filing out of the doors, we stood and looked up at the building.

“Not as scary as it looked four years ago.” I murmured. Lilly nodded before we were attacked with a hug.

“OH I missed, missed, missed you!” Val squealed. Following Val came Sadie, Will and Grant. The six of us became friends from late night cram sessions and the unfortunate placement in the hardest class of Freshman year- Physics.

Will grabbed Lilly’s waist and kissed her cheek, “Hi beautiful.” He smiled sweetly. The two have been going out since Sophomore year- referred to as the cutest and most preppy couple in school.

“Gem, you look so different!” Sadie observed, squeezing my hands. She turned over my wrist and frowned. “What in the world-?”

“A tattoo. It’s a tattoo,” I answered.

She held up my arm, “You know your going to have this for the rest of your life.”

“Really? I thought it would just rub off in a matter of days..”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Sadie clicked her tongue motherly. Grant sauntered over and slouched an arm around my shoulders.

“I’ve missed your sarcasm, Dr. Jekyll.”

“Same too you, Mr. Hyde.” I smiled up at him. Transferring from London, England to Hartford, Connecticut, we have been friends since 7th grade, when we fought over the last copy of ‘A Strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ in the school’s library.

“Now, lets see this tattoo of yours,” Val pushed her way through as they crowded around, focused on the small space below my palm.

Will marveled at it, “Wicked tat, Gem.”

“Omnie.. Vincket Amor? Val pronounced slowly.

“Omnia Vincit Amor.” I smiled, “It means, ‘love conquers all’?”

Val blushed, “I know what it means, I’ve taken three years of French.”

“It’s Latin,” Will corrected.

“Right, Latin.” We all stifled a laugh, the only reason she was accepted into St. Ann’s was because her Father was the Dean. But, despite how thick she could be, we still loved Val and all her not-so-well thought out comments.

“How about we go inside, possibly learn something?” Sadie mumbled impatiently. She was definitely the brainiac of the group, always acting as a role model for the rest of us.

We all made our way inside, taking in the scene of bustling students and long hallways of the school we haven’t been in all summer.

“You smell that, Gem?” Grant asked, as the two of us stood in the center of everyone’s way. Before I could answer, he turned to me and smiled, “that’s the smell of shattered dreams and sleep deprivation.” I laughed, “Take it in Gemma. Just take it in.”

Linking arms with him, we walked to my locker, “So did you hear about the new English teacher?” I looked up, his black layered hair falling in his face ever so slightly.

“No. Oh god, is she a total witch?”

I pondered this tangent, “Nope, he is actually supposed to be quite good looking, and pretty young.”

“Oh, delight!” Grant faked his enthusiasm, his accent shining through. “Honestly, when will the Lilly’s of the world refrain from gossiping?”

“How’d you know Lilly told me?”

“Trust me, that sounds so Lilly.” We stopped at locker number 1447 and he dialed in the number.

Leaning against the wall, I eyed him suspiciously, “You know, I think it’s kind of stalker-like that you know my combination.”

“How else would I read your diary,” Grant shrugged. My locker was just as I had left it. A family picture from the Young’s vacation to California from two years ago, some stickers that refused to come off, and a group photo of the six of us at the fair our town holds every year. It’s nice to know some things never change, I guess almost never do.

“Mate, lets go. We’ll be late to French, tick tock!”

I fell into his fast pace, “don’t you mean Latin?”

---------

By lunchtime, I was already tired of school. First day is always the most exciting because you see old faces, and catch up on what you did over summer break. But now, I currently had a four page paper to write, a lengthy packet to highlight and a test to study for. All before lunch.

Will set down his lunch tray in a huff, “That’s it. I officially hate Math.”

“Why? It’s great!” Sadie shook her head in disdain.

“No-no it is not. Homework on the first day? I mean C’MON!”

A moment of silence went by, before Sadie felt the need to say, “I love math, it’s so-”

“Look, we all know your like a genius. But please shut it?” Val hissed. There has always been some unspeakable tension between the two girls, but we never knew why. Drawing in a deep breath, Sadie quietly excused herself, rushing out of the cafeteria.

“Way to go VAL.” Lilly scolded.

“Not my fault she’s lost her marbles. Not everyone is as smart as her.” Without speaking, I rose from the table and followed the direction she sped off to. The hallways were empty, so I fast walked through the main hall before I collided against a wall- a wall with arms and legs. Papers flew every which way, floating to the ground. I quickly knelt down and helped whoever I ran into to collect their things.

“I’m so sorry-” looking up, I was at a loss for words. It was him. Before he could see my face, I covered it up with my hair and handed him his papers.

“Oh don’t worry about it.” I could see that he was trying to identify the idiot who so clumsily bumped into him, but I was already halfway down the hall. Once I rounded the corner I leaned against the wall and closed my eyes.

The Smiths played through the speakers that night. It was a slow go at the Bulldog bar, a few people playing pool, some having dinner. I sat alone at the bar, sipping on my rum and coke- fake ID’s are so realistic now. A few seats down, a tall guy sat, reading a paperback book, taking a drink of beer every now and then.

Trying to get a glimpse of the title, he looked over at me. Embarrassed, I pretended to be looking at something in that general direction. He didn’t buy it and held up the book so I could see the cover.

“Portrait of Dorian Gray,” I read out loud, “Great book.”

He smiled, his eyes twinkling, “You’ve read it before?”

“I read it every year.” I responded, nodding eagerly. Closing his book, he moved to the seat beside me.

He held out a hand, “I’m Asher.”

“Gemma,” I smiled flirtatiously, shaking his hand, “nice to meet you.”

“Same to you,” Asher grinned, “do you go to school around here?”

I thought for a second, I couldn’t tell him I was in high school, how embarrassing would that be? “Uh, not really.” I pointed an arm in different directions, “Its.. around.” Real smooth Gemma. “What about you?”

He found that funny, “I actually just graduated from Yale.” A second of comfortable silence swept through, “so what’s your major?”

“Well I’m leaning towards English- you know, literature.”

He took a drink of his beer, widening his eyes, “That’s so funny you say that, I just landed a job teaching English.”

I tilted my head and smiled, “what are the chances.”

Then we shared this- I don’t even know how to describe it- this, moment. His gray eyes penetrated through my dark blue ones and in an instant I felt a gravitational pull between the two of us.

And for a second, I lost my train of thought- which almost never happens. We talked and flirted some more and then we- uh, hooked up in the bathroom. Not my finest hour but it was definitely worth it. He was something, and I think he felt the same way.

Back to reality, Gem. I cannot believe this is happening to me. Some horrible twist of fate occurred that made my school life and my outside life merge together. After that day in July, we’ve never seen each other since. Until now of course. And now, he’s in my school. Trying to brush it off, a startling thought hit me and I froze.

Oh god- is he the new English teach Lilly raved about? Please, pray that he’s some student teacher for freshman.

“Gemma?” I looked to see Sadie, her perfect curls a mess and her mascara running. Oh right, I was looking for her.

“Sadie!” she jumped, wow I really need to get it together. “Are you okay?” she shrugged her shoulders, biting her lip- which has always been a habit of hers.

“I think so,” she whispered.

I gave her a tight hug, “Don’t worry about Val, she’s just jealous.” she sniffed, then silence. I sighed and added, “I love math too.” I could feel her shoulders shake with her high pitched laughter and I pulled away. “So you’ll be okay?”

Sadie nodded, “I think I’ll be more than okay. Thanks Gem.” Just as she said that, the lunchroom door’s opened, pouring out with students who were frantically trying to locate their afternoon classes. Taking my schedule from my back pocket, it read;

French-1 (HR)

Art Graphics- 1

French-2

AP Pysch-3

AP Bio-4

Lunch-5

AP Literature-6

Accounting-7

AP English-8

I breathed a sigh of relief. At least I won’t have to die of embarrassment until 8th period.