What You Don't Know

"Gracie, honey! Shelley is here!" my dad yells from the bottom of the staircase, "I think she has Liesa with her in the car!"
"Okay, I'll be right down, Dad!" I yell back.
I can't wait to see Shelley and Liesa, my best friends since preschool. I haven't seen either of them since July at the beach. It took three hours to get there, but it was so much fun once we arrived. I get my jewelry on quickly, grab my back pack, and race down the stairs. Once I get to the bottom step, I realize that I forgot my cell phone which is now blasting "Uptown Girl," probably Shelley calling to tell me to get me ass out there. I do like my oldies music sometimes. When I come back down the stairs after almost flying down them, I make sure I have everything I need. I go into the parlor (living room), give my parents a kiss goodbye, and almost kick down the door when I can't get it open. I realized it was locked, I blushed and unlocked it, and headed out trying to contain the crimson in my cheeks.
When I walk down the stairs of the front porch, I see that Liesa is in the back seat, and Shelley is pointing to the backseat for me. I slip onto the backseat and throw my backpack over the seat into the trunk. "Why are we sitting in the back, Shell?" I ask. "She has a cake to bring to her dad. He's giving it out in class today, but he forgot it this morning when he left," Liesa answers. We both give a "huff." "It's not my fault that my dad is generous!" Shelley screeches out. Liesa and I snicker in the background. "So, you look quite beautiful today, Gracie," Shelley says to me over the radio, "You trying to catch the eyes of a certain boy?" she speculates.
"Nope. I just wanted to look nice on the first day," I answer.
"Well, you do, look nice," she encourages.
"You two look great today yourselves."
I get a thanks from both of them. Well, I got the first compliments of the school year out of the way. I'm sure insults will overtake them shortly. I won't lie. I really want to catch the eyes of a few boys, including Ty. I don't think he'll care about me though. Shelley is about to drive by his street right now. Him and I live relatively close to each, but he's been involving in hockey his whole life. I only see him every so often at the local hangouts, but I have been to all of his games because my cousin Brettly has played hockey with Ty since they were in preschool. Brettly is a year older than them but is pretty close to Ty. I think they have a bromance even if Brettly denies it. Well, whatever it is, it might just be my 'in' to get with Ty, or maybe that will happen because of my own actions. When we pull into the school driveway, I push all thoughts of future relationships out of my head, but Ty nudges himself into a crevice of my mind and stays there. Boy, this is going to be a long year.
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"Welcome to Calculus, juniors and seniors!" a cheerful voice saunters into room 303, "I'm Mrs. Jacobs, and I will be assigning seats in just a sec-" the room is filled with painful groans.
A boy's voice from the back of the room groans out, "You're the only teacher that does this to us."
"Well," Mrs. Jacobs looks down at her class list that's filled with names and pictures of her students, "Jeremy Michaels, this is the way things are in my room. If you have a problem with it bring it up with principal of Cassidy Falls High School, Mr. Holstrom." Another groan escapes a few mouths. "Everybody up!" she says perkily. We all lazily stand up and move to the sides of the room. She starts calling names, and that's when I notice Ty. Standing against ledge in front of the windows. He looks up and catches me looking. He gives a small smile, and I blush slightly and give him the best secret smile that I can perform. Then, I look away. I hate blushing, that stupid crimson red crawling up my cheeks and neck again.
"Grace Johnson!" I hear my name. I startle very easily, so I jump a bit, eliciting a group giggle from the class. "Right here," she points to the seat near the back. Then, she starts with the next row from the back. "Ty Laurington! Right next to Grace please," she points at the seat next to me. I think my heart tore from chest cavity. "Hi, Gracie," he smiles warmly at me. "Hi," I mumble incoherently and smile dumbly at him. When the seating assignment is finished, Mrs. Jacobs begins to announce our assignment for the year. It's some sort of partnering project. Great, I need to find a partner now. Then, I hear, "I will be assigning partners."
"Why are you doing this to us?" a student inquires.
"It's my job...Marcus Lilljstrand. I teach, and you will learn how to not only do calculus but to work with others in my class."
She starts assigning partners by what row we're in and who's sitting next to each other. Since there are four rows, Each two rows are rows of partners. It doesn't hit me until Mrs. Jacobs says it, "Grace, Ty, I will assign you two to...." That's all I hear. The next thing I comprehend is Ty leaning over and saying, "Great, we have to come up with a poster of some formula and how it came about. This teacher is such a joke." I nod in agreement with realizing it. I think I might fly home.