Freshman Year 11

"Pretzel bites!" I said, my voice full of happiness unlike it had been last night. I skipped over into the line, grinning at Iggy and Fang who were rolling their eyes. I pulled out my wallet, stepping up to tell the lady I wanted a cup of the pretzel bites.

She smiled at me, "That'll be $2.50 dear." I pulled out three dollars, telling her to keep the change, and grabbed the bites. "Thank-you!" I said, grinning ear to ear. I skipped back over to Fang and Iggy.

Fang took one and popped it into his mouth, then nodded, "They are good." He sounded surprised. I rolled my eyes, popping one into my mouth. We started walking again.

"We have until four before my mom is coming to pick us up. Whatcha wanna do?" Iggy asked, his eyes flickering to the Wakkoo takkoo Gifts shop and us.

"Anything but Wakkoo takkoo Gifts." I said trying to keep a straight face.. I knew he wanted to go in there badly for a new leather bracelet and hat.

Fang grinned, playing along, "Yeah. That place is too weird for me."

Iggy groaned, "You two suck."

Fang and I laughed. I slung my arm around Iggy's shoulder, popping another pretzel bite into my mouth. After I swallowed I said, "Fine. We can go into the loser shop."

Fang grabbed me around the waist, giving me a nuggey. I laughed, trying to dodge away from it as we walked over to the shop.

The spray painted sign that held the name of the store looked real against the 'brick'. Inside, t-shirts of famous people (Justin Bieber, Simple Plan, Rihanna, the Kardashians, Snookie, ect.) hung on the racks, along with sunglasses, buttons, necklaces, bracelets, and much more. Iggy went straight for the hats to check out the new supplies. Fang and I headed to the t-shirts. As I looked through the Hunger Games t-shirts (May the odds be ever in your favor!), two girls and a guy walked up to me.

"LA Arts?" The blonde girl asked, raising her eyebrow at me. She was dressed in way too short shorts, a low cut tank-top, and flip flops.

"Yeah?" I asked, motioning to my sweatshirt. "That's what my sweatshirt says, right?"

She rolled her eyes, "All I have to say is that you go to a horrible school. I hear a lot of girls get pregnant there."

I looked at her, amused. "Oh really? And where do you go? Clown school?"

The guy grunted, "Franklin School of the Arts."

I'd heard of FSA. It was a school on the other end of LA, just off the highway. It was big, but not as big as LA Arts. They did have a good music and drama program though.

"Gotcha." I rolled my eyes, turning back to the shirts. Fang came up, looking at them with me.

I noticed the blonde girl looking at him, her eyes bright and a smile playing on her lips. She pushed past me, tapping him on the shoulder, "Hey there. I think I saw you at FSA before right? I'm Tia."

Fang looked at her, amusement sparkling in his eyes, "No. I go to. LA Arts. The loser school you were telling my friend about."

I smirked, looking at Tia. She looked like she had lost interest and stalked away, her friend and the guy following behind her.

Iggy came up, holding a bag full of stuff. He grinned like a fool. "They had science stuff to."

***

On Monday, the school was buzzing with excitement. Everyone couldn't wait for Vertical Jam on Friday. As I walked to my writing class with Miss Nora, all I heard was talk of Vertical Jam or, from the girls, Fang and the football team.

I yawned as I sat down at the table I shared with a guy named Clark. Clark was one of those classic nerdy looking boys with red hair, pimples and zits all over his face, and glasses that had to be held together with scotch tape. But he was nice, and welcomed her with a smile (showing braces).

Dylan Cross walked in. I didn't look at him, as usual, just focusing on my notebook as I wrote down what was on my mind.

Then he stood right next to me, "Is that seat taken?" He asked, flashing a smile. I looked up at him from where I sat, and closed my notebook so he couldn't read what I wrote. I didn't know if he was that type of guy or not, but I didn't want to take a chance. "Yeah, sorry. A kid named Clark sits here." Right on cue, Clark walked in. He smiled at me warily, then looked at Dylan.

Dylan tilted his head, "Could I sit there for today Clark? I need to talk to Max about the Drama production."

Clark's eyes flitted to mine and I shrugged barely, saying it was up to him. He nodded to Dylan, moving a seat back. Dylan smiled his dazzling smile and sat next to me. "So Max-" the bell rang and Miss Nora called for attention.

I smiled apologetically, watching Miss Nora and listening about the writing contest. A note slid under my hand. I looked down barely and opened it.

It read:

"Hang out tomorrow after school, 4:00 @ Summerville Icecream and Nutty fruits? Check ( ) yes or ( ) no -Dylan"

Mutely I marked an answer and passed it back to him, my focus now back on miss Nora.

But, my mind kept running into different things. The most popular guy in school had asked me to hang out with him tomorrow.

And I had said yes.