‹ Prequel: Finding Jane
Finding Alex
Chapter Five
Her eyes. They were the first things I noticed when I looked up at her. They caught me off guard; I just sat there staring at them, causing her to smile at me. She smoothed out her skirt and started unwrapping her hot dog. I blushed and looked away, realizing that I was still staring. Then she carefully opened her apple juice. She looked up at me and sighed. “I just wanted to thank you,” she said. “For complimenting me.”
I was silent.
“It really meant a lot to me,” she tried again.
Still nothing.
“I see you’re not one to talk much.”
I looked up at her and slightly smiled.
She smiled back. “That’s okay. I’m not really one, either.”
And for the rest of lunch, it was silent.
---
I felt kind of bad for not trying to communicate with Jane during lunch. I could sense this awkward tension between us, and at the same time I felt this amazing connection. I couldn’t even begin to describe it, but I got the feeling that Jane felt it, too. Why else would she have came over to my table during lunch?
It was all too much for me to think about at the moment, so I erased the thoughts out of my head and concentrated on Mrs. Meyers, who was currently teaching me and the rest of the class how to find the molecular geometry of a solid. I scribbled down notes, and when she let us work on our assignment at the end of class, I put my name at the top of the paper, and then the date.
But that was as far as I got. My mind suddenly wandered back to lunch and thoughts of Jane. I tore off a piece of paper from my notebook and scribbled down the words You’re welcome. It was an out-of-body experience, writing those words on that piece of paper. It didn’t feel like it was me doing the actions. It was quick and over with within seconds. When it was over, I stared down at the piece of paper and blinked. What was I supposed to do with it? Was I supposed to give it to Jane? What would she think of it?
Then the bell rang. I knew I had to make a decision, and fast. There was still one period left, so I decided to give it to her during the passing period. I wasn’t going to say anything. I would just walk up to her, hand it to her, and leave. Quick, easy, and painless.
I saw Jane in the hallway and started walking towards her. When I was five or so feet away, Sara came up to her and started talking to her. I sighed. I had lost my nerve and I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to get it back up by the end of the day. In a last minute decision, I went up to her locker (I knew which one was hers because it was only four down from mine) and shoved the piece of paper in one of the little slits near the top of it.
At the end of the day, I went to my locker to gather my stuff and saw Jane opening her locker. When the note fell out she looked confused, but when she looked at it she smiled. That was all I needed to know that she understood. And as I realized that, I also realized that our amazing connection, however unspoken it may have been, could possibly turn out to be something even more amazing.
I was silent.
“It really meant a lot to me,” she tried again.
Still nothing.
“I see you’re not one to talk much.”
I looked up at her and slightly smiled.
She smiled back. “That’s okay. I’m not really one, either.”
And for the rest of lunch, it was silent.
---
I felt kind of bad for not trying to communicate with Jane during lunch. I could sense this awkward tension between us, and at the same time I felt this amazing connection. I couldn’t even begin to describe it, but I got the feeling that Jane felt it, too. Why else would she have came over to my table during lunch?
It was all too much for me to think about at the moment, so I erased the thoughts out of my head and concentrated on Mrs. Meyers, who was currently teaching me and the rest of the class how to find the molecular geometry of a solid. I scribbled down notes, and when she let us work on our assignment at the end of class, I put my name at the top of the paper, and then the date.
But that was as far as I got. My mind suddenly wandered back to lunch and thoughts of Jane. I tore off a piece of paper from my notebook and scribbled down the words You’re welcome. It was an out-of-body experience, writing those words on that piece of paper. It didn’t feel like it was me doing the actions. It was quick and over with within seconds. When it was over, I stared down at the piece of paper and blinked. What was I supposed to do with it? Was I supposed to give it to Jane? What would she think of it?
Then the bell rang. I knew I had to make a decision, and fast. There was still one period left, so I decided to give it to her during the passing period. I wasn’t going to say anything. I would just walk up to her, hand it to her, and leave. Quick, easy, and painless.
I saw Jane in the hallway and started walking towards her. When I was five or so feet away, Sara came up to her and started talking to her. I sighed. I had lost my nerve and I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to get it back up by the end of the day. In a last minute decision, I went up to her locker (I knew which one was hers because it was only four down from mine) and shoved the piece of paper in one of the little slits near the top of it.
At the end of the day, I went to my locker to gather my stuff and saw Jane opening her locker. When the note fell out she looked confused, but when she looked at it she smiled. That was all I needed to know that she understood. And as I realized that, I also realized that our amazing connection, however unspoken it may have been, could possibly turn out to be something even more amazing.