Chapter Two

"Guess who that was!"

   We watched the water ripple for a couple more hours. Our legs dangled over the edge of the pier. Leon's legs were practically engulfed in water up to her shins. Me, on the other hand, my feet barely touched. One side of me was my boots and to the other was Leon; my jeans were rolled up to my knees. I was fiddling around with a withered daisy between my two fingers then saw a flash. "This one is so cute!" She exclaimed as her big eyes stared into the screen of the camera. I ripped off the stem of the daisy then threw it into the water, just holding the head in my hands.

  

   "It’s probably not." I kicked my legs trying to touch the water.

   "Typical response from you. You always say stuff like that and I don't understand why." She stood up and smoothed down her blue dress. She broadened her eyes onto the horizon, her silky red hair dancing in the wind down her back. She turned her watch around on her wrist. "It’s getting a little late." The sunset's reflection glowed in her ocean-colored eyes. I wish I was as pretty as her.

   "Yeah, I’ve got an hour walk ahead of me...I guess I should go...” I stood up and slid on my boots, then we started walking down the pier and towards the street. "So...uh...what are you doing tomorrow?"

   "Not sure yet, I was going to—hold on," She took out her cell phone and clicked a button then flung it to her ear. "Hellooo?" She giggled. I could faintly hear the voice on the phone. "Oh, i'd love to!" The phone laughed, or at least that's how it seemed to me since I didn't know who was on the other end. "Who's all going?" She paused, "Oh, cool! Can I bring anybody?" The phone made a static-y noise, distinguished by Leon's reaction as a "yes". "Alright, 3 right? ... Cool! See you there, hehe! Bye!" She giggled and stuck her phone back into her bag. "Guess who that was!"

   "I hate guessing...Leon; you know I’m bad at guessing..." I poked at my fingers as we began walking again. "—but by the way you were giggling, smiling, and by the way you were using you 'flirty voice' I can conclude the subject was a male that you find attractive."

   "Correct you are! It was your lab partner Eli!"

   "Oh, that's cool." I kicked a rock down the dirt trail. My lab partner? The weird part about this is that I kind of thought Eli liked me. Every day we have a lab in Science we're aloud to choose our lab partners and for the last 4 or 5 months he's been choosing me every time. I guess I was wrong again, just like every other guy; he just wants one of my friends.

   "Yeah! He's so cute!" She giggled. "He invited me to go to the movies with him and some friends wanna come? He said I could bring someone."

   "Ha, sure, why not." Oh, yes Leon, I would just looove to watch you make out with my lab partner in a movie theater tomorrow, it sounds like sooo much fun! NOT.

   "Yay!" She smiled widely, "I can't wait!" She squealed.

   "Me either," I smiled and lied straight through my teeth. Tagging along on my friend's dates are not exactly my idea of fun.

   Now that I think about it, I feel stupid. How could I think he liked me? He's only my lab partner...That means like, nothing. IT'S SCHOOL! Oh well, It doesn’t really matter anyway. I guess it would be different if I actually liked him. I was really just hoping that somebody liked me.

   "Well, this is our stop and where I go left, later!" She frolicked off to and turned the corner. She lives right there. I have a journey of a walk to go, as always. Sometimes I really wish we all hung out somewhere near where I lived, but i'd do anything for my friends.