High School Life

After third hour study hall, Carla was headed to fourth hour parenting. She was very excited about this class.

As she was walking towards room 111, Carla bumped shoulders hard with someone, sending her to the ground since she had her bag and all her notebooks on the opposite shoulder.

“I’m so sorry,” Carla said, as the person bent down to help her pick up her things. “I wasn’t paying attention.” She looked up to see Tyler. “Oh,” she said. “Hey.”

“Hey,” he said not looking at her. He picked up her stuff and they both stood up. “Cara, right?”

“Carla,” she said with a nervous laugh. “It’s Carla.”

“Oh,” Tyler responded. “Right. Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Carla said. They were about to walk off in different directions when Tyler made her stop.

“Listen,” he said. “You’re pretty good in math, right? I mean, you’re the only freshman in our geometry class.”

“Well,” Carla started. “I guess I’m okay. Why do you ask?”

“Well, I was wondering,” Tyler said. “I’m not doing so hot in math. I mean, last year. I almost failed. I was almost going to have to take Algebra I again. So, maybe, sometime, if I don’t understand something, do you think you could maybe, oh, I don’t know, help me?”

Carla stood there.

“Okay, then,” Tyler said. “Nevermind.”

“No, no,” Carla said. “I mean, yes. I mean… oh, you know what I mean. Of course I’ll help you.” All the closer I’ll get to you, Carla thought to herself.

“Well, I guess I’ll see ya around.”

“Yeah. I guess.”

Then, they both took off in the directions they were headed.

As Carla went into the parenting classroom, she saw many girls and very few boys. So, she just sat down somewhere, not knowing anybody in the class.

But, all of a sudden, Scott, the football player that helped her during study hall, came in. And he sat down beside her.

Tyler was walking to fourth hour study hall. He was praying to God that someone he knew would be there.

As he walked in the cafeteria, there he saw her. Rachael Bertacheli. The most gorgeous angel on the face of the planet. Her long, blonde hair. Her amazing body. He’d been crushing on her for almost four years, now. He couldn’t believe how different she was than when he was in sixth grade and she was in seventh. He remembered it like it were yesterday.

Sixth grade Tyler was walking down the hallway with a few of his friends. They were talking about how unattractive Rachael Bertacheli was at the end of last year. When, all of a sudden, there was a new girl walking the halls.

“Hey,” sixth grade Tyler said to one of his friends. “Who’s the new chick.”

“I think it’s Rachael,” said one of his buddies.

“Nah,” Tyler said. It couldn’t be.

Oh but it was. And Tyler remembered the day perfectly. Every little detail. Because that was the day Tyler French believed he fell in love with Rachael Bertacheli. He couldn’t believe it had been this long.

“Hellooooo,” someone sang in front of Tyler. He came out of his daydream and looked to see Rachael Bertacheli waving a hand in front of his face. “Are you gonna let me be or stand there all day?”

“Oh,” Tyler said. “Um… let you by. Sure. Sorry.”

“It was a rhetorical question,” Rachael said. She laughed. Oh how Tyler loved her laugh. “Are you okay, dude? You seem pretty tricked out.”

“No,” Tyler said. “I’m good. I’m okay.”

“Good.” And, with that, Rachael passed him and headed towards the bathroom.

“Stupid,” Tyler whispered to himself. “I am such a moron.”

“That you are,” Tyler’s friend, Dillon, said as he hooked an arm around his shoulder. “What’d you do this time to make Rachael think you were an idiot?”

“Well,” Tyler started. “I was kinda daydreaming and she asked me something. I couldn’t hear her. She kept asking me to move out of the way, and I didn’t.”

“Aw,” Dillon said. “Did you have the dream about the tooth fairy again?”

“Hey!” Tyler exclaimed. “That was supposed to never be brought up again.”

“A lot of things aren’t suppose to happen,” Dillon said. “But they do.”

Rachael Bertacheli was headed to use the restroom. She had to use it even more now since that weird guy wouldn’t move out of her way. She walked into one of the stalls.

When she was through, she went to washing her hands. All of a sudden, she heard something. There was a sniffle. Like someone was crying.

“Hello?” Rachael said.

Another sniffle, then silence.

“Is someone there?” asked Rachael. She looked under all the stall doors. And there, in the very last one, someone was sitting on the floor.

“Who is it?” asked the stranger.

“Rachael Bertacheli,” Rachael said. “And who am I talking to?”

“Shauna Brown,” said the crier.

“Hi Shauna,” Rachael said. “Are you okay?”

“What do you care?”

“Well, if you want me to leave, I will.”

There was silence.

“You mean,” Shaune started, “that you’re not trying to find out what’s wrong with me so you can gossip about it to all your little friends?”

“No,” Rachael said. “I would never do that.” And she wouldn’t. And everyone that knew her knew that she wouldn’t. “Do you want me to leave?”

“No.”

“Do you want me to help.”

“You can’t help me.”

“Why not?”

“Because you can’t.”

It was silent for a few moments.

“Do you want to come out?” Rachael asked Shauna.

“Can you come in?” Shauna said. There was a click as the door unlocked. Rachael opened the door, and walked in.

It was the middle of fourth hour and Scott was still sitting in parenting next to Carla. Turns out, whoever you’re sitting next to is your partner for the semester. Score! Scott thought. I get to be with Carla!

“Okay, everyone,” Mrs. Murdock said. “Starting next week, we start learning things about child care. And at the end of every month, we’ll have a test on what you’ve learned.”

There were groans from some of the students.

“Oh, come now,” the parenting teacher said. “At least we don’t spend a whole week on a chapter and have to take a test after those. That would just be repulsive.”

Scott really liked this teacher.

“You can the rest of the hour as a free period,” Mrs. Murdock said. “But please be quiet.”

“Hey,” Scott said to Carla.

“Hi,” Carla said.

“You feeling better?”

“Yeah. And thank, by the way. For the shirt I mean. It was really nice of you to do that.”

“Sure thing. I mean, it’s pretty messed up for jerks like that to pick on girls as pretty as you. Even if you are a freshman.”

Scott looked at Carla and saw a blush a little.

“You,” Carla started. “You think I’m pretty?”

“Gorgeous,” Scott responded. “Listen, would you want to hang out sometime? I know it’s the first day of school and I don’t know you that well, but we could go to the movies or something?”

“I don’t know…”

“Oh come on. Why not?”

“I’m not allowed to date.”

Scott looked at Carla. He could tell she was serious.

“What do you mean you’re not allowed to date?”

“Just what I said. I’m not allowed to date.”

“Why not?”

“It’s kind of personal.”

“Oh,” Scott said. “Okay. That’s totally fine.” And it was. He didn’t want her to tell him something if she didn’t want to tell him.

Scot and Carla talked a little more until the bell rang, signaling the end of fourth hour and the beginning of lunch.

“Well,” Scott said as they stood up. “If you can’t date, then how about we eat lunch together? On me.”

“I couldn’t…”

“Of course you could.” Scott grabbed her bag from her and carried it. “Come on.”

“We’re not going to eat with those jerks, are we?”

“Not if you don’t want to.” Scott smiled. “Where would you like to sit?”

“You pick. As long as it’s not with them.”

“Okay then. How about with your friends?”

“I don’t know,” Carla responded uneasily. “I have really seen them all day. I mean, I’ve seen Chris once, but…”

Suddenly, a boy ran up to us, interrupting her.

“Carla!” he screamed. “I’m glad I got you! Listen. Something happened to Shauna.”

“What?” Carla asked. “What’s wrong?”

“You might want to come,” the boy said.

Carla turned to me. “I’m sorry,” she said, taking her bag. “I have to go.”

And with that, she turned around and ran off in the direction her friend had gone. Oh yeah, Scott thought, sarcastically. This is going great.