It is august of my second year of high school. The new school year was just about to begin. I adjusted my collar and tried to fix my crocked tie, but no matter how many times I tried tieying the stupid tie it wouldn't look right.
As I focused at the situation at hand and disregarded the world around me, I was ambushed from the front.
"Chop"
"Ow! Why did you do that for?"
"The light is red you dope."
My next door neighbor Carla was waiting at the crosswalk when she happened to see me walking around without paying attention to my surroundings.
"Let me help." She said as she grabbed my tie.
I felt my cheeks burn. Having her face so close to mine made me nervous. I looked up so she could get a better view of my tie and I could focus on the clouds.
I cleared my throat, "Aren't you running a bit late?"
"Yeah, mom took a bit longer to make breakfast. How about you?"
"I overslept a bit."
Carla is in our school's tennis club. Her practices usually begin early in the morning. It's odd, she's always on time for her practice. This was the first time I actually see her late for it.
"There, it's done." She said as she flipped it to hit my face.
"Hey!"
She giggled, "You seem tense. I thought it would help you snap out of it."
I wryly smiled, "You were able to notice."
"Are you that nervous? You're used to doing this all the time."
"That doesn't mean it's ever easy. Look, it turned green."
As we cross the street, I realized this would be the first time we both walk to school together. We've never gone to the same school until we reached high school. I was in an all boys school since elementary. We only knew each other outside of our academic life until a year ago.
When we reached the other side of the street, I noticed Carla seemed chipper than usual.
"Are you excited for the new students that are coming in today?"
She seemed lost in thought about it, "Hmm, something like that. Although the recruitment is going to be a hassle."
"Good thing I don't have to worry about clubs."
"You should join one. It would be fun for you."
"Maybe I'll join the tennis club."
Carla laughed, "I can't picture you holding a racket."
I shrugged my shoulders, "A guy can try."
"I think you will be too busy soon. I heard from the grapevine that you picked a certain someone's interest."
I sighed, "I can only imagine who it could be..."
"Hey, be nice to him. He's our upperclassmen after all."
"It's not that. I just wonder why he's so fixated with me."
"Well, isn't it obvious mr. Representative for the second year in a row?" She sarcastically said with a smile.
"Ah, you found about that too."
"It's no surprise really, you were the top of our class throught last year."
"I guess I was..."
I'm sorta lucky when it comes to grades. It's not that I study hard, it's just that I happen to have a good memory. I get praised for getting the top spot on every exam. Being in that position caught the attention of a troublesome upperclassmen.
"What do you think about it? About our upperclassmen I mean."
"I think you shouldn't shy away from new experiences."
"That's a very vague answer."
"Hey, from the time that I've known you, you've never tried something out of your comfort zone. I think this could be good for you."
"Sure thing mom--ow!"
She had bumped into me on purpose and said, "Don't call me that."
As the front gates of the school came into view, I held my tie tightly. I knew that no matter what, a desicion must be made today.