Fake

I'm not the kind of girl that would ride a motorcycle or wear a leather jacket to school, but how I act and what I don't say suggests otherwise. Of course, at the high school that I attend, there is always that one group of Barbie dolls that seem to have a mob of guys stalking them. Actually, I really hate Barbies. This brings me to the next topic on my hate list. Stephie. I think she is worse than the devil himself, and I’m sure that if it was possible to compare, she might actually beat him. And yet, she's the smartest in all of her classes here in Santa Fe High School. She swears that one day, I’ll have two motorcycles and a Harley Davidson collector’s jacket. Too bad she's wrong.

Stephie's high scream breaks me away from my thoughts and snaps me back to where I am. The teacher, Mr. Miller, is trying to calm her down. As I look over my shoulder, I can't help but notice the new brightly colored posters with dissected frogs and diagrams of flowers were planted all over the walls. I also happen to notice that possibly the creepiest boy in the whole school, Alek, was staring at me. I stare back, wondering what he's thinking about.

"Stephie calm down! It was only a muscular reaction from the frog's joints! No need to scream." Mr. Miller ended his serious statement with amused laughter.

The other students were laughing, but I was the first one to break the stare from Alek as I look over to see the dead frog that Stephie was cutting into, was thrashing about from the toothpick she stabbed into it. The look on her face, priceless.

"Ha-ha, are you scared of frog's Stephie?" One of the other boys calls out. That was the brunette, bowl-hair-cut, Bret. He's normally the class clown and makes fun of everyone. Everyone but me.

I turned back to what I was working on, and out of the corner of my eye I could see Alek watching me from across the room again. I would have gotten up and asked him what his problem was but there are two things wrong with that. Number one, There are about five rows of desks blocking the way. Second, I have never spoken a word in school ever since I could remember. That spans back until I was about eight.

I took the pencil in my hand and started to work on my doodle of a shadow following a woman down an alley on the blank space of my finished lab report. It was titled 'Frog Fun' which was one of Mr. Miller's many highlights. He kept the class entertaining.

I could practically hear the crack of a smile above the rest of the class, making jokes about the dead frog. I didn't dare to look over, but I could see the same black converse and torn jeans that Alek was wearing. I flipped the black bangs out of my eyes and tossed my hair over to my left shoulder, as if to shield myself from him. It didn't work. As he brushes my straight, jet black hair away from my ear, he leans over.

"Meet me behind the Cafeteria after school. I want to talk with you." He whispers. He was almost breathing down my neck, and I could have sworn that he smelled my hair for a second.

"Mr. Alek, please don't torture the poor girl. You know all too well that Angel won't answer you." Mr. Miller said above all of the commotion in the lab-half of the class room. Alek cracked a smile and walked back over to his desk. Now that I think about it, I never heard him approach me.

About an hour later, school had ended and Mr. Miller, the biology teacher for the freshman, was saying his good byes. I hurried out of the room as fast as I could, trying to loose Alek in the crowd. It worked somehow for a while. I think that he even had Stephie on his side, becuase she tried to 'talk' with me in the hall. Her way of talking is always asking why I have pitch black hair that's always straight and soft and why my eyes are so icey, they seems to be see through. After I escaped her, I reached the school yard, and right out side of the gate were the buses that took the students home. I was just about to start walking toward the gate to leave the school grounds, but he grabbed my wrist and pulled me away. Alek kept a tight grip on my arm as he walked back toward the small forest that was on the campus. So close! I thought to myself. As he practically dragged me around the school to the now abandoned parking lot, the crickets were chirping and the birds were singing. Great, it's like the whole world wants to set the mood for Alek to ask for my hand in marriage. Even the sun was playing its part and taking shelter behind the clouds, making the sky seem to glow a soft blue-orange.

Alek finally slowed his pace down and stopped under the willow tree that has been growing here for hundreds of years. It's so massive, there is actually a little hide out that you could slip into and sit up perfectly straight without having to worry about hitting your head against the tree's roots. Of course, he drags me under the tree with him, but to my surprise it's not just dirt and grass under there. A blanket and a small basket are sitting in the shade, as if they were waiting for us to come get them.

"Please, sit." Alek gestures to the blanket that has a black and white plaid pattern running up and down the cloth. I did as I was told and sat, but the feeling in the air wasn't comfortable at all. It was relaxed and calm, which is what bothered me. Alek never seemed like the type of guy to be relaxed, but always on the move.

"So, your name is Angel right?" He asks, looking over at me while he rests his arm on a propped up knee. I simply nod my head and play with the small blades of grass in between my fingers.

"Why don't you ever talk? I know you have a voice; I’ve heard you cough in class." His eyes almost feel like daggers, stabbing themselves into the side of my head as if they want to carve out any information they can cut into. I don't give him a gesture for an answer though.

"Are you seeing someone?" He said, fear and worry ribboning through his words. This shocked me beyond belief. He has never spoken to me before today, and he suddenly thinks that he can just ask about my personal life? Right, not gonna happen. I was about to stand up to leave but he caught my wrist in a flash and gently pulled my back down to the blanket.

"Sorry. I just wanted to know if you would like to go to Prom tomorrow with me." The words that came from his mouth shocked me even more than the previous did. Prom?! Why is he asking me?! He could probably see the shocked look on my face, a grin was spreading smoothly from cheek to cheek on Alek's tanned face.

"So what's your answer?" Alek said in a low voice, as if he was about to tell me something secretive and important.

For a minute, I contemplated on whether I should actually answer with a voice or just a gesture. I had been years since I’ve said a word. Being 15 now, 16 on Saturday, I’m going to have to speak my mind. Since when did I consider even wanting a boyfriend? Let alone, having Alek as one. Even though he seemed as mysterious as I do, I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. Rule number three, always listen to your heart.

"Yes." My voice came out so softly that it almost matched my nick name. Angel. The look on Alek's face was so priceless. I couldn't help but laugh, which made the look on his face even brighter, with a grin slowly being carved into his features. I only laughed harder.

"You spoke! I never thought I would see the day when you would actually speak, Angel!" His smile was growing wider with each passing second.

"Only because my birthday is the same day as Prom." It had been so long since I spoke, that I had forgotten my voice was riddled with a slight English accent. The smile on his face turned into what I thought was a cynical grin.

"Even more special of an occasion then!" Alek stood up and helped me off the ground also. I decided that moment that maybe he wasn't so bad after all.

We left the old willow tree, hand-in-hand, and walked to the forest half of Santa Fe's campus. The warm spring air was filled with the scent of flowers and water from the small creek nearby. I don't know why exactly we started to act like we were dating, but it just turned out that way. The sun was setting as if to greet us before the day ended. I'm not sure why, but that one question would be burned into my memory. That one question is what made me speak again. That one question is what brought some of the color back to my world.

When we got to a small clearing in the forest, without a sound or warning, he pulled me close to him and he pressed his lips against mine. I didn't try to pull away from his warm and caring embrace, let alone pull back either. I answered him, slowly tilting my head and playfully biting his upper lip. Alek softly pulled himself away, I still wanted more of his lips, which were only inches from mine now.

"Wow. Have you ever kissed anyone before?" Alek said, the look of surprise was easy to see.

"No." I answered, very softly and quietly. "Was it bad?" I asked him, feeling insecure. I knew that he could see the look in my eyes.

"No, babe. It was better than any other girl I’ve kissed." Despite myself, I could feel my cheeks heat up at his words. I think I might like Alek more then I really should. My mind was reeling in and out of reality, confusing all of this with fantasy.

"Don't sleep. Stay awake." His soft words echoed into my ears, reality was fading away into darkness. What was happening to me? I felt my body being lifted up, and carried before I blacked out.

The color from my world, faded into grey again.