Lost in the Love Letter

ch. 7 - questions

The next day arrived, and Mandy was getting ready for school. She was wondering what Dominic was going to ask her. She was trying her best to not romanticize her friendship with him, because that's always ended badly for her... as we know. She got up, put on a plain white shirt with mom jeans and white vans. She went to the bathroom to brush her teeth, do her curly hair routine, and put on a little make up. All she used was a tinted sunscreen, a little blush, and some mascara.

When she got to school, she parked and headed to first period. When she walked in, she saw Dominic sitting in the same seat he was in yesterday, along with his backpack covering the seat she sat in too. She walked over and he saw her. Then, he removed his bag from the seat next to him and motioned for her to sit there.

Dominic: "Morning, Manda"

Mandy: "Good morning! *she smiled and took a seat* So, what did you wanna ask me?"

Dominic: "Dang, you remembered already? Can't we let the bell ring first?"

Mandy: "No, tell me! I'm curious"

Dominic: "Okay fine hold on haha" *he turned over to reach for his bag and started digging around in it, with his back turned to Mandy*

While he was rummaging around in his bag, the bell rang for class to begin. Mrs. Wallace came around collecting their worksheets from yesterday.

???: "Sorry I'm late!"

Mandy, along with the other students, turned her head to see who was coming into class late. It was Hunter.

Mandy's thoughts: "WHAT?! He wasn't in this class yesterday!!"

She felt heat filling her cheeks. There were 2 available seats in class. One was in the corner, but the other was the one next to her's. Dominic's seat was on her right side, and the empty seat on her left. 

Mrs. Wallace: "Hunter? I had you during 4th period yesterday, are you in the wrong class?"

Hunter: "No, I had to change around some classes. Here is my hall pass from the counseling center."

Mrs. Wallace: "Okay, well pass up your worksheet from yesterday, and take a seat in the one next to Mandy's."

Hunter: *he handed his homework to her and looked around* "Who?"

Mrs. Wallace: "Mandy, please wave your hand."

Mandy's thoughts: "Oh no. This isn't happening."

She gave a small wave and they made eye contact. His eyes felt so familiar and touched her heart, just like the way they used to. He looked at Mandy for a moment, and gave her an ever so slightly puzzled look as he walked toward her. Mandy broke eye contact and turned over to Dominic. When she turned, Dominic was holding out a little card that read:

"I know we just met, but I can't help but feel there is a spark between us. Would you like to go on a date with me?"

Mandy smiled. She felt her stomach flutter. She put the note on her desk and turned back to Dom. 

Mandy: "I'd love to!"

Dominic: "Oh great! When are you free?"

Mandy: "Um.. how about tomorrow after school?"

Dominic: "Sounds perfect."

They exchanged a smile, then turned forward to Mrs. Wallace, who thankfully hadn't noticed their little moment. Mandy managed to avoid looking at Hunter for the remainder of the class.

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*After school*

When all of Mandy's classes were finished for the day, she decided to stick around campus. She wasn't really thrilled to go home yet, because of her parents' constant commentary on "how great their new house is". So, she decided to search for a quiet spot to work on homework and hang out on the school grounds. 

While roaming across campus, she found a nice small little quad near the west end of the school. In the quad, there were 4 tables, one marking each corner. There wasn't anyone there, so she sat at one of the tables and placed her stuff down to start working.

After she finished her homework, she pulled out her phone to see if Emily or Selah replied to her message in their group chat from yesterday.  

TEXT MESSAGES: 

Mandy: "Hey guys! Haven't heard from you both in a while! I miss you all :) how's life down in Cali??"

Emily: "We're fine lol"

*end of messages*

Mandy's thoughts: "That's it? "Fine"?? Emily has never been this blunt in her texts."

Mandy put her phone down and pulled out her laptop. She was really pleased with the spot she found. So far, there weren't any other students around, and she enjoyed it. The tables were fairly new too, without much gunk on it from the wrath of teenagers. Her alone time was going great, or so she thought...

Hunter: "So it's Mandy now, right?"

Mandy froze. She was caught off guard, and felt as if 100 tons of bricks had fallen on her. She slowly turned around to face him, making sure she remained neutral. 

Mandy: "What are you doing here?"

Hunter: "I never really saw you as a "Mandy". It just seemed too... soft."

Mandy: "Excuse me? What are you sayi- Why are you-"

Hunter: "Man... I thought you'd be a little more excited to see me, Amanda."

Mandy: "Don't call me that. Like you said, it's Mandy now."

Hunter: "Why do you go by that now?"

Mandy: "Well, high school came and I wanted a clean slate from middle school."

Hunter: "I bet you did" *he smiled to himself and laughed a bit*

Mandy took a brief pause. She looked deep into his eyes. She didn't want to fall back under his trap; She couldn't let him know how much influence he could have on her. 

Mandy: "I have to go" *She began rustling around in her bag to find her car keys*

Hunter: "I'll see you in class then..."

She gave a slight smile to be polite, and began to leave. He watched as she headed off to her car.