Arcadia's Gift(4)

“No. Lony just never leaves the house without wearing at least a three-inch heel. She’s kind of a slave to fashion.”
I looked down at my worn jeans and gray hoodie. And I’m obviously not.
The halls were beginning to empty out as students made their way into their classrooms.
“We also have a brother who’s a senior here, Aaron. Do you have brothers or sisters?”
“No.” He shook his head, “It’s just me.”
We stepped into class as the final bell rang. I slid into my desk, but glanced over my shoulder to see where Bryan sat. He gave me a melancholy grin as he rooted in his bag for a pen.
Ms. Crowell paced a circuit around the room while lecturing about the religious beliefs of ancient Greece. We were reading the Sophocles play Antigone.
I couldn’t focus on Antigone and her family problems; I had enough of my own. I rested my chin on my fist and pretended to pay attention. I didn’t want to dwell on my home life so my thoughts drifted to Bryan Sullivan. I tried to ignore the fact that he was sitting behind me, one row over, with me in his direct line of sight. I’ve always been a tad bit paranoid of being watched and knowing he was back there had me on edge. Instead, I tried to figure out why he seemed so distressed. Those shadows beneath his eyes were a clear indicator of lack of sleep. Maybe he hated living in Dubuque. I could certainly understand depression at moving to Iowa after living in a big city like Portland. Maybe he got in a fight with his parents and didn’t sleep well the night before. Maybe he got in a fight with his girlfriend…or maybe he had to break up with his girlfriend because of the distance, and now his heart was shattered into a million pieces.
My day dreaming followed this line of thought. Bryan was an attractive guy. Well, okay, he was hot. He didn’t have the traditional super-jock good looks that Cane had, and he didn’t dress like a GQ model like Shawn, but there was definitely a magnetic quality in Bryan that made it hard to look away. If he smiled a little more and got some rest, he could easily be one of the best looking guys in school. It made total sense that a guy like him would have a girlfriend. What would she be like? I couldn’t see him with a popular fashionista like my sister. Bryan had a sense of mystery about him, or maybe it was intelligence. He’d want a girl with those same qualities. An artist maybe?
Ms. Crowell’s voice wrenched me out of my head suddenly by asking me something. I sat up straight and tried to recall the question. I opened my mouth to speak, but honestly, I had nothing.
When it became clear to everyone I hadn’t been paying attention, Ms. Crowell scolded, “I’m not sure where you were just now, Miss Day, but I’d appreciate it if you re-joined the class.”
A few snickers crackled around the room. The teacher strolled down the aisle and called on someone else. I sat up straighter and began taking notes to keep my mind on the lecture.
By the time the bell rang, I’d successfully put Bryan Sullivan out of my mind. I closed my notebook and gathered my things slowly. My last class of the day was French, located in the classroom just across the hall. I didn’t need to go to my locker, so I waited for everyone else to file out before getting up to leave.
“Cady,” Bryan’s voice called from behind me. He stood with his backpack slung over his shoulder. “Where are you off to now?”
“French. Right across the hall. What about you?”
“Photography,” he answered. Yeah, I figured him for the artsy type. I could totally picture him holed up in a dark room poring over black and white stills of decaying buildings.
We both stood there awkwardly for a moment. A couple of students for the next class entered the room and sat down. “Well, I guess we better get going then,” I said.
When we stepped into the hallway, Bryan stopped me again. “Thank you. For talking to me, I mean.”
I shrugged. “No problem. It must be hard going to a new school.”
“Yeah…um…” His voice trailed off and he suddenly had trouble meeting my eyes.
I waited, not knowing if he just paused, or if he decided to stop talking.
“What?” I prompted.
He opened his mouth to speak again, but the bell rang. “I’m going to be late. I’ll see you Monday.”
Bryan jogged off down the hall and rounded the corner. What a strange guy, I thought.
“Mademoiselle Day?” Madame Deveraux called to me from the door of her French class. “Entrez vous?”#p#分页标题#e#
I nodded and ducked inside.






 
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