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Speechless(34)

By:Hannah Harrington


                Okay, this could go on, but I’m actually starting to creep                     myself out, and the point remains. Brendon is gorgeous, and even more so because                     he doesn’t seem to notice exactly how good-looking he is. Maybe he just doesn’t                     care. He’s that fucking cool.

                I tear my eyes off him and hastily duck into a seat on the                     other side of the room, way in the back row, next to a short, petite Indian girl                     with long, black hair that falls all the way to her waist. There’s a lone apple                     sitting in the middle of her desk. I watch as she stares at it intently for                     almost a full minute, then reaches out and rotates it about forty-five degrees                     to her right. A minute later, after some more staring, she spins the apple                     slightly again.

                What a freak.

                I turn my attention back to Brendon. My enormous crush on him                     might’ve meant something a few weeks ago. Actually things had been going well in                     that arena—up until Kristen’s party. I could tell he wanted to kiss me that                     night. Um, before I ran upstairs to puke, that is, and instead stumbled into                     Kristen’s guest room. Before I decided to out Noah to everyone within earshot.                     Brendon’s body language was clear as day. He was totally into me.

                Probably.

                It doesn’t matter now. He’s just like everyone else; I might as                     well not exist, unless someone needs a spitball/eraser/pencil/food/sexual                     harassment target.

                That doesn’t stop me from spending all of detention staring at                     the back of his dumb/gorgeous blond head, willing him to turn around and smile                     at me, which is one of my most absurd fantasies. Right up there with owning a                     pet unicorn or marrying Prince Harry. It’s just never going to happen. I don’t                     know why I’m torturing myself like this. I’m such a masochist.

                I take out a notebook and a pen and doodle the outlines of                     models, drawing different dresses—some of them angular with low necklines,                     others with big, swooping skirts. My mind and eyes keep wandering back to                     Brendon, though, and soon enough my outfit doodles turn into me doodling a trail                     of broken hearts along the margin. When I realize what I’m doing, I stop myself                     and scratch the hearts out so hard my pen tip almost tears through the paper, my                     display of aggression causing the girl next to me to glance over. I ignore her                     and rip the page clean out of the notebook, crumple it in my fist and shove it                     into my backpack.