Page 9 of Reaching Avery
I had biology next, so I walked that way. In the hall, kids gathered by their lockers and talked—killing as much time as they could before the tardy bell rang. We had ten minutes between each class, so it gave some people the much-needed social time they were deprived of in class.
As for me, I went directly to the classroom, wanting to make sure I got a good seat. When I entered the room, I saw Avery sitting in the back row. His head was lowered and his shoulders were slumped.
Every part of him screamedunapproachable, but of course, I did the opposite, and approached him anyway.
“Hey,” I said once beside his desk.
At first, he didn’t react, but after a few seconds, he looked up. His scrunched brow told of his confusion, and the leeriness in his pale blue eyes gave way to his distrust.
“Um. Hi,” he answered before slinking a bit lower in his chair. “Am I in your seat or something? I can move.”
“No, not at all.” I tossed my bag on the floor and plopped down in the desk beside his. Normally, I didn’t sit that far back, but I’d make an exception that day. “I’m Maverick, but my friends call me Mav. Your name is Avery, right?”
He nodded.
“When did you move here?” I asked, pressing for more. He didn’t seem to be the talkative type, and I wasn’t known for being shy. My outgoing personality meant I talked to basically everyone. “I’ve lived here my whole life.”
Avery’s gaze flickered to mine, but he didn’t respond. Instead, he stared, as if trying to figure out the answer to an unspoken question.
“Is something wrong?” I asked, not used to the silent treatment.
“What’s your deal?” he finally said, still with that untrusting gleam in his eyes.
“I’m not sure what you mean.” And I didn’t. He was acting like I’d insulted him when all I’d done was ask a simple question.
“There are plenty of other people you can talk to,” he said, casting a stare throughout the room before returning his eyes to me. “But you’re over here with me, and I know it’s not because you’re interested in me or anything I have to say.”
Wow.
“How do you know I’m not interested?” I asked, baffled that he’d be so rude for no reason.
“Because I know guys like you,” he snapped, pinning me with an icy glare.
The black eyeliner made his pale blue eyes pop, and the intensity of his stare only added to his look. Even through my shock I noticed how attractive he was—which filled me with guilt because I was still technically dating Chris, even if we hadn’t talked in a while.
“You don’t know anything about me,” I said, fighting the hurt in my chest. He was judging me just like everyone else did.
“I don’t have to.” His tone was just as hard as it’d been moments before. “I’ve met enough jocks to know your style.”
Grabbing my backpack from the floor, I stood up. “All I wanted was to introduce myself and maybe get to know you,” I told him, shaking my head. “Sorry for bothering you.”
I moved to my preferred seat in the middle of the room and faced ahead, fighting the urge to look back at him. Maybe I was too sensitive, but my feelings were hurt.
Just what I get for trying to be nice, I guess.
I didn’t like to see people hurting, and Avery had looked so sad that it’d been impossible not to try to reach out to him. He clearly didn’t want anything to do with me.
Lesson learned.
When Mrs. Brown entered the room, I tried to forget about the weirdness with Avery and pay attention as she talked.
She was my favorite teacher, and she’d been encouraging and supportive of my goals after graduation. When I’d expressed my interest of going into a science program in college, she hadn’t laughed or given me that strange look most other people did. She had been excited, and we’d talked about my choices.
That’s when I decided that I might want to be a marine biologist.
“Maverick,” she said. “Do you mind helping me pass out the textbooks?”
“Not at all.” I stood and took a stack of books before going down the aisles and handing them out. They were heavy, but I was able to grab quite a lot so I didn’t have to make as many trips back and forth.
