"I try not to think about such horrid circumstances." The pair laughed as they entered their first period classroom.
"Quiet down! Hey, you! In the back! Take off your hat! There are no hats allowed in-- HEY, put that down! That's expensive!" Mr. Moore howled to the back of the classroom. 5 minutes after the bell rang, and he still couldn't control his class of wildebeests. Once Jasper opened the door for Charlotte, there was an immediate uproar in chaotic behavior.
"Aw, poor substitute," Charlotte said as she walked to her assigned seat. He trailed behind her and sat in his lab seat behind Charlotte's. He leaned across the table to reach behind her ear to continue their conversation in a not-so-subtle whisper.
"I know right, how long do you think it will take for Moore to finally grow some balls and control his class?" Jasper replied. Charlotte felt Jasper's skeptical smirk behind her dark brown curls and rolled her eyes.
"Jasper, stop. At least he's trying, but between you and me, I give him a week before he cracks and get a new teacher...again."
"Same. We've been through 3 substitutes this past month. There's no way that--"
"OKAY, THAT'S IT!"
Charlotte was instantly startled by the sudden scream and shaked in her seat, while Jasper slowly sat back to his seat.
"Everyone should be in his or her seats right now or else I'll start giving detention!" Mr. Moore screamed as he wagged his finger to the still-standing students in the room. Knowing his lenient reputation, the children scoffed at his somewhat scary request and continued fooling around.
"Okay? You think I'm playing? This whole class has detention. With me. Today. After school."
The entire class let out a loud and long groan as they dragged their feets in a zombie-like motion back to their desks. Charlotte lowered her head into her shoulders and closed her eyes, also letting out a long groan. Jasper crossed his arms in front of his chest and rolled his eyes in the teacher's direction.
"Jasper! Do you want an extra detention?"
"I didn't even--" Jasper began. After realizing how serious Moore had just become, he was worried about how much detention he can earn for just rolling his eyes. Especially when he needed his weekend open for Charlotte. Jasper's attitude could not jeopardize his Saturday if he spends it in school instead. He took a deep breath in and slowly exhaled as he mentally prepared his apology.
"No, sir. I am so very sorry and I will not roll my eyes within your field of vision again. I won't even blink. I'll just stare at the chalkboard, if that's what you want, of course, your Excellency."
Charlotte snickered at Jasper's "apology" while still laying her head down, avoiding any possible contact. Unfortunately, Moore wasn't just born with good eyesight, but good hearing as well.
"Well, Charlotte, you think that's funny? How about you join your little curly-haired friend in Saturday detention? Don't think you can pull one over me. I know that apology was full of bologna,"
Charlotte slowly raised her head up to meet Moore's sudden glare. She felt her heart leap into her throat and tried to swallow it down. She has never EVER had detention...ever. She had to do her best to keep her attitude from acting out and calmly begged Moore with her big brown eyes to not punish her.
"Mr. Moore, I swear, I didn't mean to laugh. Please, you can't give me detention. I'm one of your best students, and so is Jasper! And besides, you wouldn't want to spend your Saturday with us, wouldn't you? I mean, you'd probably rather spend your weekend at home, since you're obviously free."
Charlotte knew the mistake she made as soon as it came out of her mouth. Then, Mr. Moore's glare came back. His patented 'Moore Glare' can put the 'Charlotte Look' to misery. She felt a sudden chill down her spine as Moore wrote her and Jasper's name to pink detention slips and handed it to them. She fought back the urge to snatch it from his hand, crumble it, and throw it at his face. Instead, she accepted the paper with grace and politeness. As Moore turned back to walk to his desk, she slightly turned around to face Jasper, who mouthed the words 'sorry, Char'. She knew it wasn't intentionally, but Jasper needed to learn how to control that mouth of his. Charlotte felt her cheeks become hotter by the minute, and her eyes swell up with tears. With no reply to Jasper's apology, she whipped her head around, slid down her chair, and hid her teary eyes behind her textbook.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"And that is why the elements of the periodic table are arranged this way. Any questions?" Mr. Moore asked while straightening his tie. The class fell into a pit of boredom and, to no surprise, had nothing to ask, not even Charlotte.
Suddenly, the doorknob slowly turned and the door open, presenting a boy with dirty blonde hair in a casually tousled way, still appearing attractive. Charlotte's eyes quickly shifted from the board to the boy. She scanned him up, then down, then the middle, then back up. The dirty blonde looked around the classroom in such confusion, meaning he must have been a newbie. And besides, Charlotte knew she could never forget a face like his. His flannel shirt with rolled up sleeves, along with skinny jeans that reached down to his ankles, only to be covered with a pair of white Vans, caught Mr. Moore's eye in the same confusion the blonde had. He held his backpack over one shoulder and pulled it up as it gradually began to slide down. Mr. Moore quickly pulled out his roster and scanned up and down to find a new name matching the new boy.
"Um, I'm sorry, is this..." The blonde quickly took out his schedule from his back pants pocket and unfolded it. "Mr. Moore's chemistry class?"
"Yeah, and who are you?" Mr. Moore asked.
"My name? Henry. Henry Hart."
Henry Hart, Charlotte thought. I can't believe he has the nerve to just interrupt class like that.
Henry slowly walked towards Mr. Moore and brought up his hand for a handshake.
"Well, aren't you a bit formal, Mr. Hart? What brings you to Swellview High?" Mr. Moore asked with a little curiosity in his voice. Charlotte perked up to hear his answer.
"Oh, well, my family moved here from New York."
New York? Why would this Henry kid move from New York TO Swellview?
"Ah, the Big Apple. Well then, it looks like---"
Out of nowhere, Henry's watch began to beep, with lights flashing in the same rhythm. He looked down in shock, and tried to turn it off.
"Um, Henry? Your watch?" Mr. Moore pointed down to Henry's watch with a look that said 'How rude of you.'
"Oh, sorry, that's my...alarm. It tells me when I have to...go...to the bathroom. Yes. Go to the bathroom."
So, there's 2 things: He's from New York, and an extremely bad liar. What an awful combination.
"Oh, that's...interesting. Would you mind turning it off then?"
"Right. Of course." Henry frantically pressed the buttons on the side of the watch's face in an attempt to at least lower the volume. When he realized that there was no use to turn it off, he removed it and stuffed it deep in his backpack, which made the class laugh.
Once Mr. Moore shot them the 'Moore Glare', the kids began to stifle their laughter. Charlotte smiled at the goofiness of Henry while Jasper let out another one of his smirks.
"So, Henry, you can take a seat right next to Charlotte."
Charlotte felt the warmness come back to her cheeks as Henry slowly walked towards her table. Once he sat down beside her, he propped his arms on top of the table, which softly grazed upon Charlotte's arms. This sudden contact made Charlotte slightly jump, and she quickly sat up in her chair. Henry turned to Charlotte with an anxious look and turned back to face the board.
Minutes turned to hours for Charlotte. She felt frozen at Henry's presence, and convinced herself to loosen up. But the same feeling rushed back to her. The same feeling when she first met "him". The same feeling that her heart was stuck in her throat and she couldn't speak, no matter how badly. The same feeling that her head was constantly spinning in circles. The same feeling that butterflies exploded in her stomach. The same feeling that her---
She felt a nudge to her arm and whipped her head in its direction. Henry stared at her and smiled. Charlotte instantly turned back to face the board. Then, the nudge came back again.
"Are you okay, Charlotte?" Henry whispered in the softest voice.
His soft voice sent Charlotte's heart on a rollercoaster ride, but she had to keep cool. She kept staring at the board to prevent any further detention, but nodded her head so Henry can see she was fine. She kept thinking about what prompted Henry to ask such a question, and turned her head to face him. Her eyes met his side profile, and lingered there for a while. From his faded sideburns, that rooted from his blonde hair. He suddenly combed through his hair with his fingers, creating a new messed up style, still making itself look appealing. Her eyes lowered to his sharp jawline and cheekbones. Shifting to his brown eyes, which were slanted down to meet his notebook while taking notes, which is what Charlotte should have been doing. But, she stayed being mesmerized by Henry. His eyes moved from his notebook to the board, then to Charlotte.
Charlotte quickly looked down to her own notebook and picked up her pen to "take notes". Her chest felt tight and her head clouded with nervousness and intimacy. That sudden eye contact the two shared before she turned around felt 'something' to both him and her. From the corner of her eye, she witnessed a smile grow from the blonde's face. She looked back at him and asked her overbearing question:
"Why did you ask if I was okay earlier?"
Henry's eyes stayed at Mr. Moore, to ensure that if he looked at Charlotte, he wouldn't get caught. Then, Henry slowly turned to face and Charlotte, but stayed silent for a while. Charlotte found herself staring at Henry's brown eyes, and the chatter around her started to fade, making them feel like the only 2 people in the world.
"I was worried," He suddenly replied. "I saw you, constantly looking down, shifting your eyes left to right, you looked upset."
It was then that Charlotte felt her heart flutter. He was worried about her, and they had only just met.
"Oh, well, that was just Mr. Moore's doing."
Henry's eyebrows raised up in confusion, wondering how Mr. Moore could possibly make her this upset.
Then, his eyes caught her pink slip.
"Oh, I see. You have detention?"
"Yeah. What a great way to start the week, huh? Monday's are already bad enough, now 'this' definitely takes the cake." Henry glanced at her pink slip and saw the date.
"Today?"
She nodded. "And Saturday."
Henry looked down, then back at Charlotte. "I'm really sorry about it,"
Charlotte shrugged in defeat. "It's fine. There's no way I could get out of it though. It's not fair. Something happened with Jasper, then I---"
"Wait, Jasper?"
"Oh, right. The curly-hair kid behind me. That's Jasper Dunlop, my best friend. Anyways, something happened and now we both have detention."
"It's weird, I would never think you would be the type to get detention."
"Oh really?"
"Yeah. I mean, I know we just met, but I can tell this is probably your first time getting detention."
Charlotte felt a smile grow upon her face, and Henry smiled back.
"Wow, I'm impressed, newbie. I mean, for a kid who shows up here in the middle of class, and can't turn off a watch, you're pretty good at reading people,"
"Wow, okay. That hurts. That wounded me."
Charlotte and Henry laughed at his exaggerated reaction to her sassy comment. Then, Mr. Moore's excellent hearing came back once again, just in time to hear the pair laughing.
"Um, excuse me? Henry? Would you like to join detention with Charlotte and Jasper this Saturday?"
Charlotte immediately became troubled and turned to face Henry's reaction. Emotionless, huh. Henry stood up from his chair, leaning forward on his lab table, and faced sternly at Mr. Moore.
"My apologies, Mr. Moore. I am so sorry for laughing. And besides, I would not be able to make detention."
Confused, but still afraid, Charlotte tugged at Henry's sleeve to quit while he was ahead.
"You see...I'm supposed to be given a tour of Swellview today and Saturday. From...Charlotte..." He subtly leaned over her to read her notebook's heading. "...Bolton, and Jasper Dunlop."
Charlotte stood shocked, but impressed.
"Oh, I see. I'm the one who should be sorry then. I was unaware that Jasper and Charlotte had other plans for you."
"They do," Henry looked down at Charlotte, and she smiled. She turned to Jasper who continued to stare at Henry, dumbfounded.
"Well, Jasper, Charlotte, looks like you 2 are excused from detention,"
And immediately, a heavy weight lifted from her shoulders. Charlotte's face began to beam in excitement and joy, but not so much that Mr. Moore, but just enough for Henry to catch it. The dreadful thought of detention gave Charlotte nightmares. Now, this mysterious blonde newbie saved her and her best friend from the most horrifying time of their lives, and she was extremely grateful for it. She felt liked she could do one million jumping jacks and never get tired from them. The new kid isn't that bad, she thought.
"Thanks, Mr. Moore," Henry said as he grabbed a hold of the table's edge and sat down slowly. Charlotte tore off a piece of her notebook paper, and wrote the words 'thank you' in her neatest and cleanest handwriting. She slid the paper close to Henry's arm until the moving white blur in the corner of his eye caught his attention. After scanning it, he mouthed the words 'you're welcome' and winked in her direction. Charlotte began to smile, but stopped, turned around, and continued to take notes.
Once the bell rang, Charlotte quickly got up and packed her books. She couldn't help but sneak another look at Henry, but resumed to packing her things. Hesitating to pick up her bag and leave, she decided to approach Henry, even after her somewhat cold shoulder.
"Hey," Charlotte said softly.
"Hey, Bolton."
What? Are we on a last name basis now?
"So, I just wanted to, personally, say thank you. That was really sweet."
"Well, I just figured you'd need my help to get out of trouble."
Charlotte laughed at the idea of him rescuing her, like a damsel in distress. "Kind of like a superhero, huh?"
Henry grew silent, then made an awkward smile. "Yeah...sure."
Charlotte shifted her eyes to her right and spotted Jasper waiting out in the hallway. Instead of his classic smirking, he had a worried look on his face, his eyebrows scrunched in confusion as to why she's staying back to talk to some mysterious blonde. Charlotte reassured him by slightly shaking her head and sending a soft smile to his direction.
"Anyways, I really wanted to show how thankful I am for what you did. So, maybe, after school, I can buy you some lunch or something?"
"Wow. Lunch? I must be making quite a good impression on you if you're offering to buy me lunch," Henry leaned one arm on the desk and raise his eyebrows in surprise.
"Don't flatter yourself, Hart. I'm just saying thanks."
"And you did. And that's more than enough, Bolton. I swear."
"Are you sure? Because my offer is good until 3 o'clock today. Otherwise--"
BEEP-BEEP-BEEP, BEEP-BEEP-BEEP.
Henry's face switched from 'cool guy' to 'nervous for a test' in less than a second. Charlotte heard the muffled beeps from his watch submerged into his backpack. Henry stuck his arm deep inside to pull it out. Once he did, he caught its flashing lights and immediately began to pack.
"Um, is that your bathroom alarm?"
"What bathroom alarm?"
Charlotte raise one eyebrow and Henry suddenly remembered his little white lie from the beginning of class.
"I mean, yes. This is my bathroom alarm. Usually. But I just said that so Mr. Moore could get off my case."
"So, what is it?"
"This is just a call from work. I really have to go!"
Henry threw backpack over his shoulder and before he can fly out of the room, he felt a hand on his arm.
"Is everything okay, Henry?" Charlotte stared deep into his brown eyes with an uneasy expression that made Henry sick to his stomach. Even if it was their first time meeting, he felt awful for lying to her. But if her or anyone knew what he was hiding, he could put them in serious danger. And the last thing he wanted to do was hurt Charlotte, even if it meant not telling her the whole truth.
"Yeah, I just really have to go. It was great meeting you, Bolt. See you tomorrow!" And with no reply, he already left the room in such a hurry.
Charlotte walked towards her best bud still waiting, impatiently, for her out in the hallway.
"Um, what was that about, Char?"
"What was what?"
Jasper gave her a narrow glare, as if she knew exactly what he was talking about.
"Ugh, it was nothing, Jasp. Let's just drop it."
"Who was that guy?"
"Honestly, I don't know." Jasper walked ahead of her to their next period class.
Yet. I don't know yet...