The Big Picture:
I don’t have boys calling and asking for me every night, and if they did, I don’t have anywhere exciting to be to tell them I’m not home. My Fridays and Saturdays aren’t any more thrilling than Mondays and Tuesdays. No one leaves flowers at my door or notes in my locker, and I rarely get asked for my number. When I do, though, it’s usually to arrange when they can come over to pick up their homework. Don’t get me wrong, I have my share of friends, but I definitely have my share of enemies. Or bullies…whichever you prefer. There’s nothing that special about me. My skin is pale and my face is plain. The eyes in my head are the plainest of all blues and my nose isn’t anything to be jealous of. My eyebrows don’t need waxing, and my hair is dirty blonde. I am tall and have a strong build; for a girl, that is. I am broad, not fat; just broad. My lips aren’t “plump,” they’re just lips; they couldn’t get any more simple. Just like me. I couldn’t be any more simple.

I pushed my way through the heavy, double doors and it felt like all of the butterflies in my stomach had babies. Pulling the folded paper out of my pocket, I walked down the hall to where I knew the general area of my locker was. Once the paper was unfolded, I checked to make sure I had the right locker. I vowed to start my freshman year with no embarrassing mishaps. As a spun the dial, the noise of hundreds of high schoolers filled the air once again in welcoming of the new school year. To my surprise, it only took me two tries to get my locker open, but once I did, I knelt down onto the hard, tile floor to put away what I didn’t need. I cautiously stood up so I didn’t get knocked over by the crowd. I took a deep breath, and set off to my first day of high school.

I’d say I’m pretty smart, so I am in all the honors classes. Being in such surroundings made me nervous, because it meant I was the youngest; on top of being a “freshy.” I entered the classroom and took a seat in the back corner where it was a little darker and hopefully a lot more invisible. There were two other people in the room already. Mr. Burns, the teacher, was greeting his students at the doorway. However, he wasn’t there when I walked in, or at least I hoped he wasn’t. If he was, I must’ve blown right past him. What a great first impression…how embarrassing.

The other person in the room was a boy. I’d never seen him before, so he must have been older. By appearance, I’d guess he was a sophomore. He had black, curly hair. It wasn’t too long, but it wasn’t too short. His luscious curls were the first things I noticed, actually. Without making it too absurd, I tried to see the color of his eyes. From what I could tell, they looked sort of blue, but I could be wrong; he was across the room in the very first seat. His skin had just the right amount of color to it, and his lips had perfect measures. He had broad, muscular shoulders and long legs. He wore faded blue jeans and a Mount Union t-shirt. Everything about him looked so strong, but so inviting all at the same time.

While I had spent several minutes taking in details of the mystery boy, other older kids were piling into the room and choosing their seats. They were all calling to their friends to come sit by them. No one called me over. Suddenly, the bell rang and all of the desks were filled. Mr. Burns strode into the room, shutting the door behind him. He was young for a teacher, and he had looked like he could be one of the football coaches. He wore a red and white striped polo with khakis. As he grabbed the remote to turn on the projector, he greeted us to the beginning of a new school season. His voice was smooth and calm. When the display finally appeared on the board, it was a picture of him with a beautiful girl in his arms. There was as second picture, too. That one was of two young children; one boy and one girl, along with a golden retriever. The kids looked no older than five years old. Burns walked over to the door and turned off the lights. He spoke for about ten minutes on what a beautiful family he has with his wife and kids.

When the lights came back on, my eyes reluctantly readjusted. I had looked up to see Black Curls staring right at me. I’m not sure whether I think it’s strange or if it’s cute, but since I’d never had such an experience, I hoped high and told myself it was cute. What I did know was that his eyes were definitely blue. Boy, were they blue. I panicked and offered a half smile. He smiled back and turned to face the front of the room again when he heard Mr. Burns taking role call.

“Nathan Wells,” From the front corner of the room, I saw a familiar, strong arm raise and a deep voice calmly respond, “Here.”

As the teacher continued to call names, I repeated Nathan’s name over and over in my mind. I was so deep in thought that I almost didn’t realize that my name had been called. I hoped I hadn’t sounded too impulsive when I sputtered out that I was present. Not long after he finished attendance, he started going over basic rules and expectations. No doing this…no doing that…real original.

Then, after he laid down a law or two, we had a few minutes to spare until the bell rang, so he insisted that we each stand and say a couple interesting or exciting facts about ourselves. I had no idea what to say…how do you put in words what isn’t there? But since Nathan was the first seat in the room, he had gotten to go first. Little did he know, I was all ears.

He rose up out of his seat and began talking. “My name is Nathan, and I play football baseball, and track. I’m 15 years old and I have two dogs, Lilly and Grace. My favorite color is red and I like roller coasters.” He flashed a beauteous smile, nodded to no one in specific, and then sat back down in his chair.
One by one, the rest of the students eventually all stood and gave a little speech. I didn’t hear any of it, though. All I had thought about was Nathan. I wondered what positions he played, and what types of dogs he had, and if he’d ever rode on the Millennium Force. When I came back to reality, the girl right in front of me was half way through her speech, which had meant I was next. She sat down and Mr. Burns looked at me. I felt all 29 pairs of eyes staring at me; including Nathan’s blue ones.
“Hi, uh, my name is Hailee,” I had told myself to maintain eye contact, but it was useless, “my favorite color is purple, and I am a pretty good writer. Uhmm, I have one cat and one dog, and I’m 14: the youngest of three kids.” I sat back down, just like that.
I had taken and glance over at Nathan, and he was staring right at me…not even trying to make it less noticeable. Just staring. He acted like he didn’t know I knew he was looking and turned back around. However, I knew he knew it. Was there something on my face?
When the bell rang, it had reminded me that I was in a classroom full of other people. Unfortunately, it wasn’t just me and Nathan in an empty school. I stood up and swung my backpack over my shoulders, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Nathan stand up too. When I was making my way to the door, it was then that it had hit me that I needed to walk past him to exit the room, so I gathered some air in my lungs and kept walking. When I had just made it to the door, he had started walking towards the door, too. I had felt him so close behind me. It was a moment where I wished I had enough confidence to turn around and just start talking, but confidence was definitely not my middle name. It didn’t matter though because it was as if he had read my mind. His long legs caught up to mine and fell right into the same rhythm.
“Hailee, right?” He was so cute.
“Yep, that’s me,” stay calm…
“I’m Nathan. I’m in your homeroom, and I noticed you looked a little younger. Are a freshman? You must be really smart to be in a sophomore class.” Great…now he won’t want to date me because I’m not just a freshman; he’s gonna think I am a nerdy freshman.
“Yeah, I’m pretty smart, I’d say,” I had tried to nonchalantly brush off my knowledge. I really hoped he wasn’t going to insult me.
“Well, I think that’s pretty cool.” Just then I looked into to his eyes to see if he truly meant that or if he was just being sarcastic. The sincerity in his eyes couldn’t have been so real.
“Thanks. Most think it’s weird or nerdy, but okay.” I flashed a surprisingly calm smile.