I Like That About Her

by Aleks Mitchell

  I Like That About Her

  Aleks Mitchell

  © 2017 Aleks Mitchell. All rights reserved.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 1

  It was finally here. The beginning of the end. I couldn’t believe it was my last first day of high school. I don’t know why, but I thought I would be happier about today. All I felt was dread. Maybe it was because I had yet to decide on a major, let alone on a school that I would attend next year. Or maybe because I still had no idea who I was. I thought I would have figured that out by the end of high school. So far all I had ended up with were more questions.

  Slam!

  “Dammit!” I exclaimed as my books and binder fell onto the floor.

  “I am so sorry!”

  “Whatever.” I bent down to start picking up my books, which was a little hard because of how crowded the hallway was. One thing was for sure, we definitely had an overpopulation issue at Burlington Township High School.

  “Here, let me help you,” the girl in front of me said as she bent down in front of me, trying to collect some of my things. “I’m Chandler, by the way.”

  “I’ve got it, Chandler. Just watch where you’re going next time.” I didn’t bother to look at the girl. I knew she was probably taken back by my attitude. I was even a little taken back by my attitude. Yeah, I was naturally bitchier than most girls, but I usually didn’t retract my claws unless it was truly warranted.

  “Hey, I said I was sorry,” the girl replied, still trying to gather some of the papers that had fallen out of my binder.

  “And I said…” I stopped talking as soon as I finally looked at the girl. Hazel eyes were staring right back at me. Or were they light brown? I couldn’t really tell. It didn’t matter. Either way she was absolutely gorgeous. I hadn’t remembered seeing her here before. I would definitely have remembered that face.

  I guess I was staring for too long, because the girl finally felt the need to clear her throat and look away from my intense gaze.

  Stop it Faith! Girls don’t think other girls are gorgeous. At least not in the way that I’m thinking it.

  “Again, I’m sorry,” Chandler said as we both stood up. She handed me the papers she had managed to collect. “I’m new here, so I’m just trying to find my way around. I wasn’t really watching where I was going.”

  In all fairness, neither was I. I was just being a bitch. I was taking out my bad mood on a girl I never even met before. A gorgeous girl I never met before. Stop it!

  “Hey, do you know where the guidance counselor’s office is?” Chandler asked. She moved a stray piece of brown hair out of her face and behind her ear. Her hair was perfectly curled, probably trying to look nice for the first day of school. Everything about this girl was perfect.

  “Yeah. It’s all the way down this hall, on the right.” I wanted to get away from the girl as soon as possible. For some reason she was making me nervous. Why was she making me so nervous?

  “Thanks,” Chandler replied. She smiled at me. It was the most amazing smile I had ever seen. It brought butterflies to my stomach.

  “Yeah, sure. No problem.” I rushed off before she got the chance to say anything else in response.

  What was wrong with me? I didn’t usually get so frazzled when meeting new people. But, this girl was different. There was something about her that made me feel completely out of control.

  “Ready for statistics?” Andy asked as he came from behind me.

  Andy was my twin brother, though we couldn’t be more different. Andy was a lot nicer than I was. He didn’t allow the problems with our parents to change his outlook on life. He was genuinely nice to everyone. Sometimes a little too nice.

  “Not really,” I replied honestly.

  “It won’t be so bad. You’re good at math and I’m good at copying you.”

  “There is no way that is happening,” I smiled. It probably would happen at some point. I couldn’t say no to Andy. He was the only person in my life that I could always count on to have my back.

  “Yeah, keep telling yourself that sis.”

  Statistics was alright. Though, the teacher was the most boring teacher I had ever had. I’m pretty sure he wanted to be there even less than I wanted to be there. The class would be easy enough though. Andy was right. I was really good at math. In fact, so far statistics was the easiest class I had this semester.

  I had constitutional law for second period. Mom was still pressuring me to become a lawyer, so I thought I might as well get a feel for the law. Being a lawyer might be pretty neat. I liked How to Get Away With Murder, so maybe it would be just like that.

  Who am I kidding? It would probably be boring as hell. I didn’t want to be a lawyer. My mom wanted me to be a lawyer. I think because she didn’t get to become a lawyer she wanted me to be her do over. Why can’t I just be me and not mom 2.0?

  There were those eyes again. It was the girl from this morning—Chandler. She looked lost. Like she didn’t know where would be a safe place to sit.

  I looked down at my desk as she caught me staring at her. Well, that wasn’t obvious. She must have thought that I was a total freak. I probably was.

  Chandler settled on a desk two seats ahead of me. Her hair looked even more perfect from the back, if that was even possible.

  As soon as the bell rang, the teacher closed the door and started handing out the syllabus.

  “Alright, this is constitutional law. I’m Mr. Evan. Yes, that is my first name. My last name is too jacked up to pronounce.”

  At least he was funny. Maybe this class wouldn’t be so bad after all.

  “I was a practicing lawyer for about five years and I hated it, not to deter any of you from becoming lawyers. It’s a great profession, it just wasn’t for me.”

  I wondered if it was for me.

  “So, I don’t know any of your names or anything about any of you. Tell me about yourselves. Let’s go down the rows. Give me your name, your year, and anything interesting about yourself. I’ll start. My name is Mr. Evan, I’m probably old enough to be your parent, and I like to listen to Marilyn Manson.”

  That earned a cheer from some of the kids in the class. This teacher was definitely going to make this class fun.

  “Okay, let’s start on this side of the room.”

  At least he started on the opposite side of the room. That gave me some time to come up with something to say. Luckily I knew a lot of the other students in the class, having been in the same district for my entire life. But, I didn’t know her.

  “Craig DeLuca, I’m a senior, and I’m the best quarterback BTHS has ever had.”

  I smiled at Craig’s cockiness. Craig was actually really cool. I didn’t usually like any of the guys on the football team because a lot of them were rowdy jerks, but Craig was different. I’d known him since before I could even remember. We both lived on the same street.

  It was getting closer and closer to my turn. Chandler was up next. I sat up and paid extra close attention to what she had to say.

  “My name is Chandler Reynolds. I’m a senior and I just moved here from California.”

  “That’s a pretty
far move,” Mr. Evan commented. “What part of California did you live in?”

  “LA,” Chandler replied, sitting back down in her seat.

  “What made you move here?” another girl asked, Brittany I think her name was.

  “My dad got transferred here for his job.”

  Chandler was a lot nicer than me. I would have told Brittany it was none of her business. I wish I was nicer like her.

  “Well, welcome to Burlington,” Mr. Evan smiled.

  “Thanks.”

  After the two students in front of me went, I stood up for my turn. “Faith Cahill, I’m a senior. And I play soccer and basketball.” I sat back down, glad to be finished with my turn.

  “Striker!” Craig cheered.

  That was the nickname I acquired while at BTHS. I played striker since I joined the team freshman year. The nickname suited me perfectly, until last year when I blew out my knee. I had to sit half of the fall season and whole spring season out. I was finally returning to the team, but I didn’t know if I would be able to play the way that I did before.

  “I take it that’s your position,” Mr. Evan smiled.

  “Yeah.”

  “So, you play two sports. You must be quite the athlete.”

  “I guess,” I shrugged. I was quite the athlete. But that may have been taken away from me.

  The person in back of me stood up for her turn. I started doodling in my notebook, when I could feel someone’s eyes on me. I looked up and caught those hazel eyes staring back at me. As soon as we made eye contact she turned forward. Maybe she didn’t think I was a freak after all.

  The rest of the day was uneventful. I had lunch after second period and then endured eighty minutes of AP English. My last class of the day was AP chemistry. I had decided to take all of my difficult classes the first semester of senior year. That way I could enjoy my final semester.

  “Hey, girl,” Riley said as she approached my locker. “How was English?”

  Riley was my best friend. We had met in kindergarten and had been inseparable ever since. We both played on the soccer team together.

  “It was okay. Ms. Parker is insane. She already assigned two chapters of The Great Gatsby. We have a quiz Monday.”

  “Is she out of her mind? You’re going to spend your entire weekend reading. Oh wait, you do that practically every weekend.”

  “I do other things,” I smiled. Riley was right. I loved to read so I did spend a lot of my spare time reading. I used books as my escape from my own reality.

  “Oh, yeah. Of course you do. What class do you have now?”

  “AP chemistry.”

  “Why did you take that? It’s not like you want to be a doctor or anything.”

  “It’ll look good on my college applications.” I needed to get into a good college. A good college that was far away from here.

  “I think you’re the one that’s insane. You have straight A’s and you play soccer and basketball. You’re going to get into any college you apply to, Faith.”

  “Better safe than sorry,” I shrugged.

  “Hey, speaking of soccer, are you excited to start again?”

  I closed my locker and turned to face Riley.

  “Excited to play again? Yes. But I’m also nervous. What if I suck now?”

  “You’re not going to suck. Your doctor said your knee was as good as new now right?”

  “Yeah, but I haven’t been able to really play for almost a year. What if I lost my ability to play?”

  “I’m pretty sure that doesn’t happen. Don’t worry so much. You’ll do great, Striker!”

  I smiled at the nickname. Hopefully I could still live up to it.

  Riley and I parted ways after I got to the chemistry lab. A lot of students were already in class so I had limited options of places to sit. Each lab station seated two students.

  As I scanned the room I noticed those eyes again. This girl was officially everywhere I went. I had even caught a glimpse of her in the cafeteria at lunch earlier.

  The seat next to her was open, but so was the seat in front of her, next to Anthony. Anthony was a nice enough guy. I knew he was smart. He was kind of a nerd, but in a good way. He could still hold a conversation. He’d be okay to sit next to. Part of me wanted to sit next to Chandler, but I needed to be able to focus. I didn’t think I could do that with her sitting right next to me.

  I pulled the stool out next to Anthony. “Is this seat taken?”

  “Now it is,” Anthony smiled.

  I sat down and took my notebook out of my bag. I could feel her eyes on the back of my head. Maybe I should have sat somewhere on the other side of the classroom. But I couldn’t. I was drawn to her for some reason. She probably thought I was a total bitch for how I treated her this morning. I was a total bitch and she was so nice. I should probably just stay away from her. I didn’t want my terrible attitude to affect her in some way.

  “Hey, do you guys have an extra pencil by any chance?” Chandler asked.

  “Yeah, of course,” Anthony smiled.

  Maybe I should stay away from Anthony too. He was another one that was too nice. I might taint their niceness with my bitterness.

  Anthony turned around and handed Chandler a pencil.

  “Thanks.” I could hear the smile on Chandler’s mouth. I wish I had the guts to turn around and see it for myself.

  “I’m Anthony by the way.”

  “Chandler.” Chandler and Anthony shook hands. “It’s nice to meet you.”

  “Likewise.” Anthony turned back around.

  For the rest of the class I went out of my way to not glance behind me. What was it about this girl that made me a nervous wreck? No person had ever done this to me before. I would imagine this is what it would be like to have a crush on someone. But she was a girl. I wasn’t supposed to have crushes on girls.

  After class ended I rushed out before there would be a chance to bump into Chandler again. As soon as I left the classroom I ran into Andy.

  “Hey, Faith; how was the rest of your day?”

  “It was okay. Yours?”

  “Boring,” Andy shrugged. “Listen dad invited us over for dinner tonight. He figured we could spend the night if we want. Interested?”

  I gave Andy a pointed look.

  “You know I’m not interested, Andy.”

  I hadn’t spoken to or seen my dad since he moved out last year. He walked out on his family. Why should I go out of my way to go see him?

  “I just figured I’d ask. You know, he’s still our dad. Eventually you’ll have to see him.”

  “Well, not today.”

  “Okay, your choice. I respect it. He’s going to pick me up so you can just take the car home with you.”

  Andy and I had to choose between getting two old used cars or one brand new car for our seventeenth birthdays. We figured we were better off sharing a new car than having two old beat down cars. We settled on a white Honda Civic.

  “Okay, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Bye, sis.” Andy started walking away but turned back to yell something at me. “Text me if you change your mind.”

  “I won’t!”

  I turned around just in time to see Chandler exiting the chemistry lab. She smiled at me and I couldn’t help but smile back. I didn’t want to. But it was like I couldn’t control my face.

  “Have a good weekend Faith,” Chandler said as she walked by me.

  “You too,” I managed to choke out.

  What was wrong with me?

  As soon as I got home it became abundantly clear that I would not be having a good weekend. I could already smell alcohol as soon as I opened the front door. Mom must have had a bad day at work. She was a realtor. She was good at selling houses, but the unpredictability of the market put a lot of stress on her.

  “Mom?” I called out.

  When I got past the foyer I found my mother, fast asleep on the couch in the living room. There were two empty wine bottles on the coffee table.<
br />
  It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. Usually she didn’t pass out until she at least had three bottles and a six pack or two. For such a petite woman, my mom sure could drink.

  I tiptoed past the living room and up the staircase. As soon as I got into my room and closed the door behind me I sighed in relief.

  How did this become my life? We used to be a family. How did we become this?

  Oh, I know how. Dad cheated on mom with a twenty-five year old. He could come up with as many excuses as he wanted. I would never understand how he could do that. Sure, mom drank sometimes. But did that really mean you had to destroy your marriage? Destroy your family? What about Andy and me? Didn’t we matter?

  I guess I could thank Ms. Parker now. I would probably have the whole book done by Monday.

  Chapter 2

  After a couple of hours of reading I decided to go out to get something for dinner. Mom definitely wasn’t going to be cooking tonight. Maybe I should pick something up for her too.

  Pizza sounded really good right now. Then again, it was my favorite food so it always sounded good to me.

  I snuck past mom, who was still knocked out on the couch. Great, she’d probably be up all night. What a waste of her time. Doesn’t she know that she could be out socializing, maybe even moving on from dad?

  As soon as I got outside, I saw Craig jogging by.

  “Hey, Faith,” Craig smiled.

  “Hey, Craig. Getting in your daily jog?”

  “You know it! Where you headed? Got a hot date?”

  I laughed at the question. “I’m just going to get some pizza. No date for me.”

  “Pizza sounds amazing right now.”

  “I’ll save you a couple of slices.”

  “Thanks, you’re the best. Is Andy home?”

  “No, he’s at our dad’s tonight.”

  “Oh, I got you. Well, if you want to hang later, stop by.”

  “Thanks.” I smiled as I got into my car to drive away.

  Craig knew the situation with my parents. I was pretty sure the whole town knew the situation with my parents, which was completely humiliating. Why did people have to be such gossips?