Last Round Romance

They walked through the hallways for a little longer, just talking and joking around. Maria was just glad to see that Curtis was starting to get back to his crazy self again. She knew that he probably wasn’t as wild and crazy as he made himself out to be, but when he was joking around and making sarcastic comments, that’s when he seemed the most relaxed. It was like being the comic relief was the bright spot in his day. Even though she didn’t know him all that well, she saw the difference in the way he acted when it was just him walking down the halls versus when he was walking with his guy friends. She just liked seeing him smile is what it really all came down to.
Curtis looked at her as they made their way back to study hall; he noticed that she always had a hint of a smile on her face no matter how serious the conversation was. And that, in turn, made him smile a little bit too for some reason. She always seemed to have something good to say even about the worst of situations, it was almost as if she could make light of anything that was thrown at her. Curtis wished that he could be like that. He watched her as she toyed with her hands as she talked and told him stories about her life before she started going to his school. Her eyes would light up and the smile on her face would grow as she got to the really interesting part of a story. Curtis couldn’t help but to smile and chuckle a little bit when she got really worked up over some things.
They walked back into study hall with just a minute or two to spare before the bell rang. They went back to their table and began to pack up their things so they could go to lunch. But as Maria was grabbing all of her books, her sketchpad escaped her grasp and fell to the floor, spilling all of the loose papers that had been tucked inside of it. Curtis heard her curse under her breath and smiled to himself as he knelt down to help her pick everything up. When he went to grab one sheet though, Maria threw her hand out and grabbed it before he could even lay a finger on it. She quickly tucked it away in the back cover and closed the book. She smiled at him as she stood up, “Thanks.” He smiled and nodded but didn’t say anything. He was curious as to what was on that sheet of paper she so desperately didn’t want him to see.
The bell rang and they both left the room and headed up to Curtis’ locker. Curtis had told Maria that she didn’t have to go with him, but she insisted that it was fine, and that the less time she had to spend at her lunch table, the better. He laughed, “Why don’t you like your lunch table?” Maria shrugged, “I accidentally let it slip that Harrison and Shawn had asked me to hang out before the dance on Friday and now the girls won’t leave me alone about it. And half of them are saying I should, and half of them are saying I shouldn’t. I don’t know which half to believe. I mean, I don’t really know the kids that well so I can’t really have an opinion on them, you know? So I’d rather not talk about it with the girls, but they keep bringing it up.” She rested her head against the locker that was next to Curtis’ with a sigh. He nudged her gently, “Hey, don’t let it bug you that much. Just do whatever you wanna do. Fuck what they think,” he paused, “But if it ever gets really bad, you can always come and sit with me and the guys. They’ll pick on you, but they will definitely leave your relationship life alone haha.” Maria gave him a tired smile, “Thanks man.”
They were walking back downstairs together when Harrison and Shawn walked by. Curtis clenched his jaw and Maria tried her hardest not to make eye contact with him. Neither of them wanted to talk to him, but they both had very different reasons. Harrison must have noticed at least Maria’s aversion to looking at him because he caught her by the arm, “Hey, so do you know if you can hang out with me on Friday?” Maria hesitated and cast a quick sideways glance at Curtis, she could see the anger written on his face and she knew right then and there that Harrison probably wasn’t someone that she wanted to start hanging out with on a regular basis. Shawn saw the look that Curtis was giving Maria so he stepped in front of him and started walking to him. Maria looked Harrison in the eyes and smiled, “I’d love to, but I can’t. I’ve got plans with a couple of my girlfriends before the dance. Sorry, but maybe next time.” The innocent smile on her face made it really hard for anyone to be mad at her, but Harrison could see right through her charade, “Alright, that’s cool. But watch what kinds of promises you make,” he paused and glanced at Curtis who was trying his best to avoid Shawn’s glare, “And what kinds of people you hang out with, I’d hate to see you get in any kind of trouble there, Little Greene.”
When he called her that, a visible wave of fear washed over her. Maria’s face went pale and her eyes widened, but before she could ask how he knew her nickname, he had already started walking off down the hallway. She stood there dumbstruck for a moment before Curtis gently shook her by the shoulder, “Hey, what’s up? You look like you just saw a ghost.” Maria turned to him, still in shock, “He…he knew my nickname.” Curtis raised a questioning eyebrow, “What, you mean Little Greene?” She nodded, “Yea…” Curtis was slightly confused, “Why is that a big deal?” She finally looked him in the eyes, “You don’t understand, you’re the only one here who I’ve told about that. And something tells me that it didn’t casually come up in a conversation between the two of you.”
They didn’t say anything more on the matter; Curtis could see that she wanted to think about it for a little while longer before having a real conversation about it. He gently nudged her towards the stairs that they had to walk down to get to the cafeteria. “Come on,” he said gently, “you’re sitting with me and the guys today.” Maria gave him a nervous smile, “Are you sure? I mean, your table is like…all guys haha.” Curtis chuckled, “Yea I’m sure. You gonna be able to handle it?” She smiled and pretended to flex her muscles, “I think so.”
They walked into lunch together a couple of minutes late and Maria’s table all shot her curious looks as she walked in with Curtis, but their curiosity soon changed to anger once they saw that she was bypassing their table to sit with him and his friends. Curtis’ friends all gave him questioning looks as Maria handed him her bag and turned around to go and buy her lunch.
Curtis pulled up an extra seat next to him and put her bag on it. Elliot asked the question that was on everyone’s minds and, quite frankly, written all over their faces. He nudged Curtis, “Umm…what’s she doing sitting here?” Curtis looked around and sighed, “She hates the girls at her table because they’re bein’ all up her ass about things with her and Harrison. So I told her that she could sit here to get away from them. Is that not okay with you guys or…?” Elliot shook his head, “Nah man, it’s fine. I just got kind of confused as to why you were bringing a chick that wasn’t your girl over here. I didn’t know if she’d be able to handle it here.” Curtis laughed, “First things first, there is no such thing as “my girl” and there probably never will be haha. And secondly, I’m pretty sure she can hold her own over here. I wouldn’t hang with her if she was a prick or whatever.”