How to Date Alexis Brighten

The smirk was clear on Daniel’s face as I filed into the aquatic centre with the rest of my class. The swim team were stretching beside the pool, their teacher leading the exercises. When we entered, their teacher stopped and greeted us while the swim team continued their exercises. Daniel stared directly at me as our new teacher, who introduced himself as Mr. West, told us to sit down on the benches beside the pool.

We’d be forced to join in the swimming activities the next day, but since none of us had known about the change, and hadn’t brought our swimwear to school, we were excused. I sighed in relief as I sat down next to Emily on the cool bench. Nobody knew that I didn’t know how to swim. I’d always managed to talk myself out of it. Learning was never really necessary, and I avoided swimming at all costs. If Daniel knew, I was sure he’d get a kick out of it.

Mr. West directed the swim team to line up at the blocks and get ready to do laps. We were to pay attention and watch them closely, as Mr. West said we’d be doing the same thing the next day. He wasn’t even going to consider the fact that we were a track and field class. He was literally going to throw us in the deep end and expect us to perform at a top level.

I swallowed nervously as I watched the swim team line up at the blocks. At the sound of Mr. West’s whistle, they all stood up on the blocks and angled their bodies with their arms stretched out, ready to dive in. Mr. West blew his whistle again and they all dived into the pool. The boys disappeared momentarily before their heads popped up out of the water and they started to work their arms. Daniel was the fastest of them all, his arms cutting through the water aggressively at a rapid pace.

When he reached the end of the pool, he flipped over underwater and kicked off, swimming back the way he had come. He was nearly half a pool length in front of the others, and some of the girls in my class started cheering as he tore through the water.

I kept my mouth shut and crossed my arms over my chest. There was no way I was going to give Daniel the satisfaction of joining his cheer squad. I wondered if it was possible for him to smirk underwater. If it was, I could just imagine the look on his face right at that very moment.

I cut off the thought and instead focused on the ground in front of me. I followed the cracks in the cement with my eyes and was so intently glaring at it, that I hadn’t noticed when Mr. West had called on me. Emily nudged me in the shoulder and I glanced up at her. She bobbed her head slightly in the direction of out teacher. I turned my face to look at him and noticed that everyone else was staring at me, apart from the boys in the pool, who were still busy doing laps.

“Alexis? Were you even listening?” Mr. West barked. I hated the sound of his voice. It was extremely raspy, and every word that came out of his mouth sounded like it would be his last.

“Could you repeat the question?” I said stupidly. A few of the girls in my class started laughing. Mr. West shut them up with a glare.

“I asked you what your strongest stroke was,” the teacher said tiredly. I realised that he must have been talking about swimming and scrambled for an answer.

“Freestyle,” Emily whispered in my ear.

“Freestyle,” I repeated, throwing Emily an appreciative look. Did she know that I couldn’t swim?

“I’ll be assessing all of your swimming abilities tomorrow,” he said now, addressing the class. I swallowed nervously. Mr. West was a really tough teacher, and I had no idea how I’d talk myself out of this one.

The girls in my class all suddenly broke out into excited whispers. I followed their line of vision and my eyes landed on the exposed torso of Daniel Harper. He’d peeled the top half of his one-piece swimsuit down to reveal his chest. His body was tanned, and extremely well-toned, his abs prominent on his chest. He lifted his arms above his head and stretched after his long swim, the veins on his arms popping out.

He looked over at our class and his eyes locked with mine. His lips lifted into that all-too familiar smirk as he looked back at me. I hated that he’d caught me staring and mentally slapped myself for the slip-up. I knew he’d be much too satisfied by my momentary lapse of judgement, and would somehow twist it in his mind to mean something, which, of course, it didn’t.

He casually walked over to our class, his swagger annoyingly evident. Mr. West saw him approaching and started to credit his impressive performance in the pool. He told us that Daniel was the best swimmer on the team, and that one day he’d make it to an Olympic level. I rolled my eyes at this, imagining the smug look Daniel would have on his face if he ever won a gold medal.

I looked his way again and noticed that the smug look I’d been imagining was exactly like the one that was now displayed on his features. He looked so completely happy and proud of himself that it almost made me sick. He was so arrogant.

Mr. West dismissed everyone early to change and the girls all crowded around Daniel.

“You were amazing,” said one.

“You’re so strong,” gushed another, touching his arm. He smiled down at her before shrugging her off.

“If you’d excuse me, ladies, I’ve gotta hit the showers,” he said, humour in his voice.

I hated how self-satisfied he was. He practically reeked of arrogance. He pushed his way pass the girls and his eyes landed on me. I stared back at him, a look of what I hoped was disgust on my face. It mustn’t have worked, because Daniel simply smiled and shook his hair on the way past me like a wet dog. The water droplets in his hair splashed all over my white tank top, leaving stains in their wake.

“Daniel!” I screeched.

He winked at me before swaggering off to the showers. Was his sole purpose in life to ruin my clothes?

______

I was angry, to say the least. I made my way back to the change rooms, absolutely fuming. I slipped off my now-wet gym uniform and put my jeans and green top back on. I slipped on my high heels and shoved my gym uniform into my bag before marching off to the parking lot. I threw my gym uniform into the back seat and slammed the door shut, banging my fist against the window.

I just hated Daniel. There was no other word for it. I knew that people said that ‘hate’ was a strong word. Perhaps that was why I associated Daniel with it in my mind. I meant it. I hated how he always found a way to get under my skin. He always made me feel uncomfortable, but what bothered me the most was that he seemed to enjoy it.

I gritted my teeth and leant against the car door, looking up at the darkening sky. Grey clouds were gathering and rain was inevitable. Winter was fast approaching, and the pleasant heat of summer would soon slip away. I sighed as I looked up at the grey sky, a feeling of loneliness slipping over me.

A solitary raindrop fell on the centre of my forehead with a small splash and I wiped it away with the back of my hand. I decided that I’d better make it back inside the school before I got caught out for being a truant or completely drenched.

As I slung my bag over my shoulder, I noticed only one other person present in the deserted parking lot. He was tall and wore a hooded jacket that concealed most of his face. I could tell the person was male by their masculine build. He stared straight at me in a way that wasn’t exactly friendly. I silently wished for a well-timed gust of wind that would blow the hood of his head, revealing his identity.

Sensing something that didn’t feel quite right, I quickly made my way towards the school gates. Something about the tall stranger wasn’t right and I sensed the danger almost immediately. I wasn’t going to stick around to find out what he’d do next.

As I reached the school gates, I glanced over my shoulder in search of him, but the stranger had disappeared.

The stranger haunted me for the remainder of the day. It couldn’t have been Daniel, as he was back at the aquatic centre, and I couldn’t think of anybody else who would follow me out into the parking lot. The stranger must have followed me, there was no way it was a coincidence. Had they been hoping to get me alone? Chills raced up my spine at the thought.

Daniel picked up on my mood in Spanish, and followed me after class to my locker. As I gathered my things, I saw him examine me curiously out of the corner of my eye.

“What’s wrong with you, Brighten?” He asked, leaning against the line of lockers lazily.

“Not that you care, anyway,” I muttered. I had intended to sound hostile, but my voice just came out sounding meek.

“I should be offended,” he said, leaning forward as I shut my locker.

“Maybe you should be,” I countered.

“Something’s not right,” he mused. “What’s eating you?”

“None of your business,” I said, putting my hand on my hip.

“Why won’t you tell me?”

“Why would I?” I said, incredulous. “I despise you, Daniel Harper.”

Daniel shrugged. “It could be worse.”

I shook my head and left. I could only imagine the smirk that now played on Daniel’s features.

I drove straight to the Special Needs School to pick up Isaac. I was early, and waited in the hallway outside his classroom. I leant against the wall, jingling my keys in my pocket, when I heard footsteps echoing in the hallway. I pushed forward from the wall and saw a boy in a hooded jacket walking up the hallway, his back to me. He must’ve come out of one of the classrooms further down from me.

My breath caught in my throat as I made the connection. The boy that was now walking down the hallway was the same boy that had been watching me in the parking lot. I ducked into a small space between two lockers and held my breath, hoping that he hadn’t noticed my presence. Did he know about Isaac? Had he followed me here?

I sneaked a glance around the lockers and saw that he was opening one. He shrugged off the hooded jacket and threw it into the locker. My heart stopped beating momentarily when I saw who it was.

The guitarist.