“Everyone, please welcome Alexis…” 

“Alex” the girl interrupted. 

“ALEX Stale.” “She’s comes from Talick Colorado.” Mr. Roberts finished. 

Colorado? Unexpected, Erica thought but she liked it.

Chapter 2

For the whole first week after Alex showed up, she was all Erica could think about. She couldn’t wait to get to physics every day, and she despised that class. Alex also had her lunch period and Erica was yet to get enough nerve to go sit with her. Instead, she just sat there and stared at her across the cafeteria sitting alone. Erica was usually the life of the conversations at lunch but she had been quiet all week and her best friend Shanna had noticed. 

“What’s going on with you lately?” Shanna asked. 

“Nothing, why?” Erica said lying. 

“You just haven’t been yourself lately.” “You barely spoken two words and you just sit there and stare off into space.” “If I didn’t know any better I’d say you were checking out the new girl.” Shanna said laughing. 

“Sorry, just had a lot on my mind this week.” Erica said lying, again.

 Erica wondered to herself what Shanna might really think if she knew how she really felt. She knew Shanna wouldn’t understand and it wasn’t something she wanted to risk they’re friendship over. Erica could never be honest with anyone about who she really was. She was the pretty blonde cheerleader that all the guys drooled over and all the girls envied. She was nice, not bitchy like most of the other girls, and yeah she went on a lot of dates with guys but she knew, and only SHE knew, that a guy is not what she wanted. Ever. She would be ripped apart if anyone ever found out and she knew that her high school reputation would be shattered. She didn’t really care about that though, well not as much as the other girls, but yet she was still too afraid to tell the truth. Sure, she had thought about it and was even going to tell Shanna once but she chickened out. They had been best friends since the 3rd grade and she didn’t want to risk losing that. As she sat there contemplating the situation in her mind, she kept her eyes on Alex and wondered what her life was like and who she really was. She was jolted out of her deep thought when she realized that Alex was staring back at her and smiling.  Erica immediately felt a nervous rush come over her body, and for the first time in her life, she had butterflies in her stomach and actually knew why. All Erica could think was, “Should I go over or just smile?” But before she could think about getting up, to go join this gorgeous girl, Alex stood up and walked out but not without shooting once last friendly, yet seductive glance in Erica’s direction. The next thoughts through her frazzled mind were, “did I just see that?” She couldn’t believe that such a beautiful girl could be looking at her like that. The next day all Erica could concentrate on was getting to physics but she kept telling herself that she couldn’t make what had happened the day before so obvious. She took her seat and fixated her eyes on the door. A couple minutes later Alex walked in as usual. Erica couldn’t help it, she watched her from the moment she walked in the door. She started at her feet and worked her way up Alex’s long legs, then up to the girl’s perfect stomach. She had to admit, she was enjoying the view. Just as she was about to continue her “checkout session”, her eyes quickly shot to meet Alex’s when she noticed she was watching her. Alex shot her a hot smile and sat down. Erica was slightly embarrassed but yet happy at the returned smile from the girl. Mr. Roberts was rambling on about something Erica was sure she wouldn’t understand even if she was paying attention, so she kept her eyes on Alex and began to drift off into thoughts and hopes.  When Mr. Roberts announced that it was time for their 10 minute class break, Erica decided to remain in her seat because the thought of moving out of the sight of Alex was NOT something she wanted to do. She had just begun to drift off again when Alex turned around. Just as she started to speak, the booming voice of Mr. Robert was heard once again. 

“Ms. Stale!”’ “Break is over, talk on your own time. 

Alex shot Erica a pissed off look and turned back to face the front of the classroom. Even though she was just as mad at Roberts as Alex was, she couldn’t help but think how hot Alex looked even when she was pissed off. After lunch, Erica walked to her locker as she usually did before English. When she opened the locker, she noticed a folded piece of paper fall to the ground. She picked it up and unfolded it to read what it said. Erica couldn’t comprehend what it said. She read it over and over again. 

“Meet me behind the science wing after school.” “XOXO” “Alex” 

Erica blinked heavily. She read the words one last time, stuck the note in her pocket, and headed to gym class.