Dirty Little Secret

I stood and scanned the tables around me, trying to find another name card with an "K" surname on it in the hopes of switching it and hoping Mrs. McCarthy didn't notice. There were no more K's. I briefly considered trying to use a name card with an L last name on it but there were none. I looked around the room to find Mrs. McCarthy, thinking maybe if I asked she'd switch my seat but when I found her there he was, Drew Kim, in all his letterman wearing glory. Maybe I could just 'accidentally' knock his name card on the ground, I thought, that could work.

I was probably overreacting. I didn't really know Drew Kim. Other than the fact that he was the beloved starting quarterback and captain of the football team my knowledge of him was pretty minimal. But based on the few run ins I'd had with him and the football team, which mostly consisted of one of them oinking as they passed me in the hall and the others laughing, I didn't feel confident that sitting next to him would really be a positive experience. I watched as Mrs. McCarthy laughed at something he said then pointed him in my direction. My seat felt less comfortable than it had before as I sat back down. My eyes stayed trained on my sketch book as he approached the table and took his seat. There were only a few seconds of silence before Mrs. McCarthy made her way to the front of the room and started speaking. She started with the obligatory 'welcome back' speech. Something about how exciting it was to be back and how it was our senior year and we should make it count. She spent a good chunk of time going over expectations. Then she began explaining our first assignment.

"As I'm sure you're all aware I usually start the year off with a simple project. Something to ease you in. But I thought I'd change it up this year. Have you guys jump right in, no dipping your toes. So, with that, your first project is going to be a portrait." She paused for a second, hoping for a reaction maybe, but when no one pumped their fist into the air with excitement she continued. "Not just any portrait. No offense, but I have no interest in seeing the faces of your family and friends. I want you all to do portraits of people you're not so familiar with. So, for that reason, you will be doing a portrait of the person you're sitting next to." I cocked my head to the side like a confused puppy, hoping i'd heard her wrong. How was my luck that shitty. I considered myself a good person, I couldn't think of anything I'd done to deserve such a crappy first day. Mrs. McCarthy was smiling as she continued, clearly proud of her idea. "I want you guys to capture each others personalities in these pieces. Show us who your partner is, show us their essence. Get creative with it. I'm giving you two weeks to finish this project. You can use class time and you are more than welcome to come into the class room during your study halls and after school. If you want to bring some paint and some brushes home you can do that too, just come talk to me and I'll take an inventory. Now, get to know each other and let the art begin." With that she walked back to her desk and sat down.

I sat still, looking forward, and wondered how long I could get away without actually talking to Drew Kim. The answer was not long.

"So," He cleared his throat. "I guess that makes us partners."

"uh huh." I nodded, still avoiding looking at him.

"I'm Drew."

"I know." I pointed at his name card with my thumb.

"Right." He reached over and grabbed the card with my name on it. "Lena. That's a pretty name."

"Thanks, it was a birthday present." I was trying to be snarky but he just laughed. I peaked over at him out of the corner of my eye. He was looking down at my name card with what looked like a smirk on his face.

"So, Lena, how are we going to do this?" He took his eyes off the name card and looked over at me. I caved and turned to face him. I'd never really gotten a good look at him before. I kept my head down most of the time I passed him in the hall and on the rare occasion that I went to a football game I'd only ever seen him with his helmet on. He was attractive. I'd give him that. He had this thick black hair, styled into a quiff that looked purposely messy, and his eyes were this dark molasses brown. I could see why girls were always talking about him in class.

"You could just give me a picture or something. Then we don't have to actually, like, hang out or anything."

"I don't think that'll work." He said "We've got to be able to translate each others personalities into these things. We don't know each other. How are we going to be able to do that if we don't get together at least once?" I was surprised by how seriously he was taking the whole thing. "How about after school today? I have practice until six, but maybe we can meet up after that?"

"I guess." The thought of spending time with someone whose friends had been known to pretend they were in an earthquake when I walked by didn't exactly sound like a good time but I did want to get this project over with and it wasn't like I had anything else going on.

"Great. Could you meet me by the tennis courts at like 6:30?"

"Sure."

"We could work at my house, or yours. Whichever works best for you." As he finished his sentence the bell rang. We both started collecting our things and as he got up to leave he turned to me again. "I'll see you later. We can hash out the details then."

I nodded, grabbing my bag off the floor and leaving without saying anything in return. I was fucked.