Page 141 of One More Kiss

Phoenix

I DIDN’T HAVETHE PERFECT life, not by any means, but I enjoyed every moment of my existence. I absorbed everything I could at Gale High. This was my final year, and pretty soon, I would be starting my adulthood. Months ago, I realized I didn’t know what my next steps would be. I was interested in a few things, but nothing that screamed loud enough for me to be a part of. So, I chose to enlist in the military.

I still didn’t know what I wanted to be, but at least I had a job and some sort of future ahead of me. I wasn’t going to be tied down, and I was determined and ambitious. I knew I would succeed in everything I put my mind to. That’s not me being egotistical, that’s me being real with you. I’ve always known I could handle anything that came my way. I knew I could handle the military, even though I had absolutely no clue what I was getting myself into.

Honestly, I wasn’t sure how I managed to become the person I grew to be. I lived mostly with my mom. She struggled to make ends meet until she met my stepdad. He stepped up to raise me, which made me proud of him, but he really wasn’t the greatest when it came to father-figures. It seemed like he tried hard but ended up failing in most aspects of our lives. For instance, yelling while assisting with homework, or belittling me because he ‘thought’ I should know how to do certain things the first time around. I mean, half the time, a person had to learn to get better at things. At least he tried, whereas my real dad chose to be a ghost.

While my mother struggled to make ends meet, I was pretty much raised by my grandmother. She was a difficult woman to be around, a hard ass and disciplinary, but she loved us beyond anything we could comprehend. She was the one who pushed me to be part of ‘Acting Club’ in school. To this day, I didn’t regret joining. It brought out another part of me, opening my eyes to more of what the world had to offer. I spent so much time in the club that I thought I wanted to be an actor. That was false dreams, because eventually, I figured out acting wasn’t my path.

I spent another majority of my time working on computers for Gale High. It was a small part-time gig, and one I was grateful for. I had the chance to get out of my classes just to fix a computer in another class. It was nice because I had excuses not to finish some of my work. It was during English when I was called to another classroom.

“Go ahead and pack your bag because I doubt, you’d be back to finish the in-class assignment,” Mrs. Lilah said. She continued teaching the class as I nodded in response.

I threw my books into my backpack before heading out the door. My steps were slow because I didn’t want to go to my next class. School was boring, but a necessity if I was ever going to make something of myself. I finally made it to Room 304.

I stood outside the door and stared into the small window. It was a science class and the class seemed to be in a few small groups focusing on what the teacher had them doing.

I knocked once and then walked into the room.

“Are you here to fix the computer?” the teacher asked.

I knew his name was Mr. Jory because I’d fixed his computer last year. I’m surprised it held up this long. The machine was considered to be much older than the new ones on the market.

“Sure am,” I said, “Can you point me in the right direction?”

“It’s over there,” he said, pointing to the computer. His lips were set in a grimace as if he couldn’t stand to look at the broken equipment.

It was a small screen, but the overall monitor was large. The screen was on, showing the blue screen of death, which meant something was seriously wrong with the thing. I shuffled to put my backpack on the other shoulder so I could fit through the tables where the students were working. As I shuffled in between the back two tables, I locked eyes or should I say locked eye with a girl with long, brown hair.

The length of her hair covered half her face, showing me only one large, round blue eye. I skipped a step, looked back, and checked to see if anyone else was looking my way. It felt weird being observed. I didn’t know why I felt that way considering I was the face of the crowd. Anytime, anything went on, I was there, part of the group. I looked back, and her head was down. It was almost like she never even looked my way.

I didn’t know if I was dreaming or not. Her hair seemed to cover her entire face, just like the creepy person on the movie Grudge. I wanted her to look up because I wanted to make sure what I felt for a split second was real. Did my heart skip a beat just as my feet skipped steps? Was I imagining the most beautiful face in the entire world? But she never looked up again, even when I tried my best to make noises.

The entire time I spent in the classroom, I couldn’t get her attention. She wasn’t asleep or ignoring the lecture. She was focusing on her work but refused to give me the time of day. I ached to know who she was, to learn more about the girl with the big, blue eyes. Unfortunately, time was running out and I couldn’t stay in the class. I had my own studies to tend to, but damnit, I wanted to skip them and stay here just to get another glimpse of her face.

“Are you done yet?” Mr. Jory asked, staring at me with his hands clasped in front of him.

I nodded, gripped my schoolbag, and said, “Yep. It’s all fixed. If you have any other issues, just let me know.”

He grinned and replied, “I appreciate it. It was a pleasure working with you. I’ll let you know if there are any issues in the future.”

I looked toward the girl, but she continued looking down. I prayed she’d at least give me the time of day, to be just a tad curious about me too, but my prayers had gone unanswered. So, I gripped my bag and left the room. It felt wrong, like I was walking away from my fate. I had no choice because my job was complete. I had other obligations, but I knew deep down I would seek her out again.

“Hey, we need assistance in the teacher’s lounge,” Principal Gardner said right as I passed the cafeteria.

I had no clue what he was doing roaming the hallway, but it wasn’t my job to figure it out. I was just happy I didn’t have to go to the next period. As long as the head of the school requested my services, I was safe.

“I’m on it,” I replied, “Do you need me to go to my next class afterward?”

“If you can make it. I know you get off earlier than usual since you’re a senior, so I’ll let it slide today if you want to head home right after,” Principal Gardner said.

His right eyebrow raised as if waiting for my reply, but he didn’t really ask a question. I nodded anyway just to get out of the awkward situation. Thankfully, the computers in the teachers’ lounge weren’t a lost cause. Somebody seemed to have signed out of the main login and the guest page was on display. It was a simple fix, then I was done and out of the school building.

“And where do you think you’re going?” an older man asked.

His face was scrunched up in a way that made him seem angry. He wore brown khakis with an orange collared shirt. I assumed the orange was worn to match the colors of the school. I figured since he was on school grounds that he worked in the building.

“I’m heading home,” I said, “I was cleared by Principal Gardner.”

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