I’ve always been told that boys are trouble, but I just brushed it off my shoulders and said, “Some people learn things the hard way.” I, unfortunately, was one of those people. It had been a week since my dad, and I had moved into our new house in Brigham Heights, Colorado. My dad’s dream had always been to open a gym and train people to box, hence the reason we moved here. Within the first week here, I had already received a quick preview of the kids that I would be going to school with.
“Sailor, can you get the young man at the counter a three - month membership please?” my dad asked quickly as he slid on his gloves for a quick lesson. The guy at the counter had dark brown hair, and a sun-kissed complexion along with the height of an NBA player.
“Hi, what can I get for you?” I inquired nervously.
“Well, I just came in to get a three - month membership and maybe your number,” replied the cute, mysterious stranger.
“What?” I questioned. He looked at me and gave a nervous smile.
“I’m just kidding with you. Are you new here?”
“Yes, we just moved here about a week ago from Laramie, Wyoming,” I replied calmly.
“Interesting. My name is Kent Henderson,’ and yours is?”
“My name is Sailor Hansen,” I said thoughtfully.
“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Sailor. I’m pretty sure I’ll see you around school sometime”.
“Yeah, probably,” I replied. I smiled to myself as I watched his athletic figure disappear out the door. He wasn’t only cute, he was funny too.

The next morning was hectic as I tried to mentally prepare myself for the challenges that come with the territory of a new school. A sudden wave of terror hit me as I entered the front door of my new High School. As I walked tensely down the hall, I got a gut feeling that everyone was watching me. Sure enough, I looked around to see what seemed like the whole school looking at me, like a vulture watching and planning out its attack before it jumped on its innocent prey. I was glad to find the comfort of my locker and it felt as if I couldn’t scroll the combination fast enough. “12-24-09” I whispered to myself as I let my fingers find the numbers.

“Long time no see! So how is the first day of school going so far!” Kent asked caringly.

“It’s going alright, but it’s really different,” I responded casually.

“So are you going to be at the gym tonight?” he questioned.

“Yeah, my dad’s got me training at five and working at seven until nine, so I’ll see you there,” I exclaimed.

He sighed and with a quick smile turned and stalked off to class. The day seemed to drag on. Two o’ clock couldn’t roll around fast enough, but when it did, I found myself in a very awkward and uncomfortable position. Paige was getting into her pink Mustang, and, by the look of it, she was a very spoiled child. She almost looked like a Paris Hilton look alike. She was cute and skinny, with long platinum blonde hair, but her attitude gave a hint of jealousy and trouble. I continued walking confidently when I was abruptly stopped a Barbie doll like voice.

“Um, excuse me,” she chirped in an annoyed voice. “I couldn’t help but notice that you were talking to Kent this morning, and I just wanted to give you the memo”. Kent is none of your concern, and I would highly advise you to leave him alone,” she declared. “By the way, my name is Paige.” And she gave a twisted smile and pulled her Chanel sunglasses to her face and drove off.

How dare her, I thought to myself as I continued my short walk to the gym. I hit the punching bag extremely hard, watching it bob back and forth. I had been there for two hours, feverishly beating the daylights out of a punching bag when I felt a slug to my left shoulder. I defensively turned to find Kent putting on his gloves and giving me a mysterious look.

“Easy killer,” he said thoughtfully. “What’s gotten you so worked up?”

“Her name is Paige,” I murmured angrily.

“Just to let you know, she’s a very jealous ex-girlfriend. She’s just trying to get you mad, and it looks like it worked,” he said laughing.

“Well, I’ve got to get to work in the office, but I’ll see you tomorrow, Kent.”

I quickly found my way toward the office to clock out and put my gloves in my gym bag that smelled of rotten sweat when I noticed that my father had quietly followed me.

“He really likes you. You can tell by the look in his eye,” my dad explained.

“Maybe, Dad, but we’re just friends,” I retorted.
The next morning the halls seemed to glow and buzz with chatter. The walls were lined with prom posters and feeling instantly awkward, I made my way to my locker. It was than that I realized a note was slid into the vents of my locker. I cautiously retrieved it and opened it slowly. The note read,

“Sailor, I know we don’t know each other that well, and prom will give us the opportunity to get to know each other better. Will you be my date to prom?”
I instantly felt excited but at the same time I felt as if I were the most hated person because I had been asked by the most popular figure in school. However, I didn’t seem to care, and my rebellious side was starting to show. I had already decided my answer would be” yes.”
News of my decision had finally gotten around the halls, and Paige was furious.
“I thought I told you to leave Kent alone,” she roared in the bathroom between third and fourth hour. My temper grew fiercely. Not only had she verbally threatened me in the parking lot, but now she was in the bathroom. I had finally had enough. I stepped forward and put my finger in her face.
“Seriously, Paige, how old are you? Twelve?’ Nobody but my Dad tells me what to do, and you’re not going to be an exception,” I said threateningly.
“You’ll regret what you just said,” she muttered in fury.
Paige hadn’t gathered the nerve to bother me the rest of the week. However, she always gave a devious little smile as she passed through the hallways. Prom was quickly arriving and so was my excitement. On Prom night Kent looked handsome in his white tux which accented my silky black dress. I felt tension as Paige passed, and she gave a mysterious smirk.
“Kent, I think she’s up to something.”
“Yeah, but let’s try to make the best of things.”
He quickly grabbed my waist and pulled me in to dance. The night seemed to pass by instantly. It took Kent a while to entice me off the dance floor, but when he did, we grabbed our jackets and headed out for the after party. He grasped my hand tightly and affectionately as we made out way to the doors.
“I told you that you would regret your actions, Sailor Hansen!”
Kent and I had quickly turned to see Paige in the hallway behind us holding a gun. I instantly gave Kent a scared look. It all happened so fast. A few bangs were accompanied by scared screams of classmates. I found myself on the ground in Kent’s arms. I looked in his confused and worried eyes and than everything went black.