Until There Was You

The first kiss

Deep breath. I stared at my reflection in the mirror. So different. Good different. But, is it a big enough difference? Will anyone even notice? My braces were gone and my hair now fell just below my shoulders with a mix of auburn lowlights and golden blonde highlights. My bangs, slightly curled under, grazed my forehead. I was wearing natural-colored eyeshadow with a dust of light pink across my cheeks and the cherry lip balm I applied gave my lips just a hint of red. I looked pretty. Well, prettier.
"Mara! I'm leaving in like 5 minutes. If you're not in the truck you're riding the bus!" Sam shouted.
"Fine! I'm coming! Calm down!" Such an ass.
Well, here we go. First day of Freshmen year.
"I have cross-country after school today so mom is picking you up. She said you have cheer practice but I'll get done before you, so..."
"Yeah, she told me last night."
"Lunch is always a cluster. So, try to get out of class as soon as the bell rings. I wouldn't even stop at your locker or you will be last in line and then you won't have any time to actually eat. And if you pass me in between classes, 'Hi' will do. We don't need to have a full-on conversation."
"And what makes you think I want to stop and talk to you?," I said, slinging my backpack over my shoulder as we walked towards the school.
"Whatever, just don't be annoying ok?," he snapped.
"Whatever," I snapped back.
As we neared the front doors I immediately felt nauseous. I froze. It's as if my feet were filled with cement and no matter how hard I tried they wouldn't move. Sam kept walking until he noticed I was no longer next to him.
"Mara. Seriously!," he said with an eye-roll. He turned and walked back to where I was standing.
"Look, I know you're nervous. But high school is way different than junior high. You're gonna be fine."
He seemed genuine in his response. Sam actually being nice and acting like he somewhat cared? Weird. I nodded in response.
"I have to stop in the office first and drop off this paper. I'll walk with you to your first class. Good?"
I nodded again thinking if I open my mouth at this point I might puke. My heart was pounding. I stayed close to Sam as we walked in. It smelled so different and it was much louder and bigger than I remembered from the last time I was here. But, in a good way. I followed Sam into the administration office.
"Hey Sam!," a cheery brunette said from behind the desk. She must be the secretary. "Welcome back! How was your summer?"
"Hey Mrs. Stoker! It was good. Nothing too crazy." Oh, uh yeah. This is my sister, Mara," he motioned to me.
"Well hello Mara! Welcome! We are happy you're here.," she beamed. Man, she was super peppy.
"Thank you," I replied. The secretary redirected her conversation to Sam.
"Your brother has already graced us with his presence this morning. Happy to have him as a student teaching with us this year." She looked back at me.
"Must be kind of nice having both of your older brothers in the school for your first year. Maybe make your transition to high school a little more comfortable?"
I smiled politely. She began gathering some papers together in a stack in front of her. Sure, I thought. It's great. Just then the office door swung open behind us. We both turned to see who it was.
"Hey, Steven!," Sam grinned. "What's up man?"
"Sam! Not much, not much. How was your summer dude?" I watched their brosuff interaction with annoyance as they high-fived and hugged, but I couldn't ignore the cuteness of the guy. He was a little bit taller than Sam, maybe 5'11" ish give or take, with sandy-blonde hair, pale blue eyes, and a slender, athletic build. If there were more guys here that looked like him this was going to be amazing. They continued to chat until the first bell rang.
"Dude, alright. Look, I gotta get my sister to class. But, let's talk at lunch."
"Have a great first day!," the secretary smiled.
"Let's go Mara."
"Not gonna introduce me, huh?," Steven asked with a smirk.
"Nope. You don't need an introduction to my little sister. She's off limits dude."
I could have throat punched Sam right then and there. I shot Sam a death look.
Steven put his hands up as if he were being held at gun-point.
"My bad. She's cute though," he smirked, nodding his head at me.
"Seriously, dude. No."
Steven just laughed at Sam and turned to talk to the secretary.
"God Sam! Could you be any more embarrassing! You're supposed to help me feel less like a freak, not make it ten times worse!"
"Calm down, Mara. You're being dramatic. Steven's cool. But," he said, stopping me in the middle of the hall, " Let's get one thing straight. My friends are off-limits. I don't care what they say or how cute they think, or you, think they are. You're dead if you even think of dating one of my friends."
Although I was annoyed, I also appreciated the protective, older brother vibes and the fact that he was even insinuating I would have a chance with one of his friends. I don't know what Sam is so worried about because if his other friends looked like Steve I wouldn't have a chance anyways.
We stopped at my locker so I could drop off my stuff. Sarah was at her locker just a few down from mine doing the same thing. She waved at me. I waved back. Sarah was a friend of mine from gymnastics. I was really happy that we would be cheering together this year for football. Our high school was well known for football. Our varsity team was really good and had won a bunch of titles. Sara was super sweet and very pretty. Without a doubt, one of the popular girls at her junior high. Her and I were about the same height. She was petite and had almost bleach-blonde hair, gorgeous blue-eyes, long eye-lashes, and a near perfect complexion with faint little freckles that covered the bridge of her nose.
"Awesome. You can hang with Sara. I gotta get to class and it's on the other side of the building. You good?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks."
"K, I'll see you later."
"Hey Sam," Sara smirked, tossing her blonde hair off of her shoulder as he went by.
"Hey Sara," Sam smiled.
Puke. I hate to admit it without sounding gross, but my brother wasn't necessarily unfortunate looking. Several of my friends have been crushing on him for years. Including Brie, Lynn, and Sarah. I rolled my eyes as I closed my locker.
"Mara!," Sarah exclaimed, "You look so good! I haven't seen you since try-outs. You cut your hair?! And I love the color. Like a total make-over. Really. You look amazing!"
"Thanks." I chuckled. "Trying something new. Was definitely time for a change."
"Well, girl, you got one. And it's awesome! Let's get to class."
We walked to first hour together, chatting about the upcoming cheer season and a little bit about gymnastics. Sarah had quit after this last past season ended. She said she was really burnt out and just didn't love it as much anymore. She also wanted a life outside of the gym. I could definitely relate. I felt that way too sometimes. Five nights a week at three hours a practice is a lot. I was sad she wouldn't be in the gym with me anymore, but at least we would be cheering together. Plus,we had several classes together. We walked into first hour just as the second bell rang. Everyone was sitting around talking and laughing. Sarah and I grabbed the last few desks towards the front.
"Guys, Mara. Mara, the guys." she said as she plopped down at a desk.
One turned and looked at me, giving me a head nod.
"That's Nick," Sarah commented, "man of little words." He let out a snarky laugh. "And that's Adam."
I felt my stomach tighten.
"What's up?," he said cordially.
Adam was beyond gorgeous. He had dark brown hair, brown eyes, and an almost olive-complexion. He was the epitome of "tall, dark, and handsome."
"Hey," I said, trying to sound self-assured.
"First game this Friday," he said, turning back to talk to Nick.
Just then I heard a familiar voice.
"Hey!," Brie whispered." She was sitting a few desks behind me.
" Oh, hey Brie! I'm sorry I didn't see you when I came in."
"It's fine. Umm, I see you are already making some new friends," She smiled nodding towards Adam.
"Yeah, something like that."
"Well, I'm gonna need to know a little bit more on that one," she smirked as she sat back in her chair.
"Good morning class!," the teacher announced as he walked into the room. Adam stopped chatting with Nick and turned to face the front of the class, giving me a head nod and a devilishly handsome smile as our eyes met.
Sweet Mercy. High school is gonna be freaking awesome!