Caught Beneath the Tide

He is starting to become a distraction.

I'm serious. My mind is always thinking of what he could possibly be doing or what thoughts could be swirling in his head. It's unhealthy, really. I think I'm literally going to make myself sick from the amount of time and energy I put in to coming up with fantasies that I make up about him actually liking me. He's way out of my league.

And yet, my every thought still revolves around him so who's really to blame here other than my hormone-crazy mind?

I still remember the first time I ever saw him.

It was the beginning of sophomore year and I had decided to try something new.

That something new happened to be called: AFJROTC

Air Force Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps.

Now, I had just moved to this town over the summer so I didn’t know anybody. It was the first day and I only knew a bunch of freshman.

I was sitting in the classroom with all the other JROTC members and suddenly a guy walked in.

I inaudibly gasped as he walked down the row next to mine and took his seat. Right next to me.

His hair was light brown and spiked at the front. He had pale skin and he actually looked a lot like Brock Kelly. (At the bottom in case you don’t know who that is.)

His lips were plump and held a smirk. I blushed slightly, thinking about how kissable they were. I didn’t realize I was staring until I looked up and made eye contact with his sparkling creamy chocolate eyes.Who knew chocolate could be sparkly?

I blushed more and looked down. Good lord, what is with me blushing all of a sudden? I’m not the blushing type.

What crushed my heart was when I looked back up at him again, he was looking at me with an appalled expression. I glared at him in return and turned back to the front.

Sergeant Monroe entered the room and everyone stood up while I sat there awkwardly and didn’t know what to do.

The boy eyed me slightly and chuckled with exasperation.

“You’re suppose to stand up when he enters the room for the first time this semester.” He told me and I stood up slowly.

“Hello, class I’m Sergeant Monroe and I’ll be your instructor for the year.” Sgt. Monroe said.

I glanced over at the person on the other side of me and smiled. He was sort of cute but not take-my-breath-away cute. He glanced back at me and gave me a short smile then turned back to the front.

Okay then.

“Cadet...Taylor!” Sgt. Monroe said. I jerked my head up at the sound of my last name.

“What is your first name Cadet Taylor?” He asked me.

“Um..it’s Lily.” I replied.

“Well, why don’t you keep your eyes straight ahead, Lily.” He responded. I nodded firmly once and trained my eyes on the board in front of me.

“Alright, let’s get started will roll call.” Sgt. Monroe said.

He started calling names and I paid extra attention to when the Chocolate-Eyed boy’s name was called.

“Gordon!” Sgt. Monroe boomed and Gordon smiled and said, “Here, sir!”

Gordon...it must be his last name.

I had started to wonder what his first name could be and then abruptly, everyone sat down. I sat with them, not wanting to be embarrassed again.

Gordon turned to me and said, “So, Lily. That’s a nice name.”

I blushed a little and nodded.

When he realized I wasn’t going to respond, he sort of awkwardly turned back to the front. Suddenly, a boy from across the room called his name.

“Daniel! Bro, I didn’t know you were a 1!” Daniel looked up and smiled his heart-stopping grin before nodding.

“Yeah, I’ll be a 2 next semester.” He replied.

The girl in front of me turned around and introduced herself to Daniel and me as, Chloe. I smiled and told her my name was Lily. Daniel glanced at me before looking at Chloe with an appreciative grin. Oh, god. I knew what he was thinking...Chloe was very pretty.

She turned back to me.

“So, are you a freshman?” She asked and I slowly shook my head.

“No, I’m a sophomore.” I told her, noticing that Daniel was listening to Sgt. Monroe instead of me, but I didn’t let it get to me. He probably didn’t care. Besides, we were supposed to be listening to the teacher anyway.

“Oh, but you’re a 1?” She asked and I looked at her quizzically. I didn’t realize until then that I had no idea what it meant.

“What’s a 1?” I asked, suddenly interested in knowing what it was since Daniel said he was currently a 1, but wouldn’t be for long.

“Oh, um, it’s sort of the rank of how long you’ve been in JROTC. Like, someone who has been in the program for 3 years would be a 3 and people who have been in it for 2 years would be called a 2.” She explained.

So Daniel is a 1 ½? Well, that probably means this class is for 1’s. So next semester he won’t be in this class anymore.

I turned to him.

“So, you’ll be in a different class next semester since you’re going to be a 2?” I asked him and he glanced at me but didn’t respond.

“Ok, or don’t answer me.” I said after a few moments. He just scoffed but still didn’t say anything.

That is how I met Daniel Gordon.