Falling Away #Watty 2023

•Chapter 18•

THE NEXT DAY AT SCHOOL, I was on the lookout for Liam, but he seemed to be elusive. He wasn't in class, and he wasn't with his friends.

"Have you seen Liam?" I asked Tony as we settled down for our first class of the day.

"I saw him this morning, but I haven't seen him since," Tony replied, narrowing his eyes into a slit. "Why are you asking about him? That's not like you."

Feeling embarrassed by the attention, especially with Betty and Daphne whispering to each other nearby, I quickly came up with an excuse. "He borrowed my book and promised to give it back today," I lied, but I could tell none of them were buying it. I regretted not being more assertive; in the past, I wouldn't have felt the need to explain myself. Sometimes, being bold and confrontational seemed like the easier way to handle things.

Like, eye rolled, mouth twitched. None of your business sucker. And then I'll walked out of the class posing like a queen.

"Enough with the ranting, let's proceed with today's topic. If you're attentive, you'll leave with a brain full of knowledge; if not, the reverse is true," said the man in a tuxedo.

Sarah glanced at the man and whispered to Bianca behind her, "Who wears a tuxedo to teach high school? Did he mistake us for his dinner date?" They both laughed, and soon the laughter spread through the class.

"Enough, nitwits! Do I look like a comedian to you? One more word from your mouth, and it's detention for weeks," the teacher snapped, silencing the class instantly.

"I'm Mr. Tobias, your new English teacher. Today, we will be discussing sentence structure." As the lecture began, I looked around for Madison but noticed Liam sitting in the farthest corner of the last row, looking in my direction.

My face flushed with embarrassment. He must have been there the whole time and heard me asking about him.

"You, the girl with brown hair and a long nose," Mr. Tobias called, pointing in my direction. "I don't tolerate romance in my class. The eye contact between you and that handsome dude in the corner is irritating."

My world felt like it was crashing down as the class stared at me. Why wasn't Liam getting any attention? And for the record, my hair isn't brown, it's a rich auburn blonde. He must be color blind.

"She's tripping," I heard Tony whisper to Hewitt, and they both chuckled. And of course, they didn't get picked on by the teacher.

The rest of the class felt like hell, with Mr. Tobias picking on my every move. I turned, he scolded me. I sighed, he scolded me. I smiled, he scolded me. I even got scolded for holding my pen a certain way.

I mean, it's my pen. Why should I debate how I hold it? Enough is enough.

Exiting the class feeling drained, I complained under my breath. "What's wrong with Mr. Tobias? Why is he picking on me?"

Gemma laughed. "I think it's because you were in the front row. It's easier to pick on people in the front row."
"Oh, really? Like I was the only one there. Why did it have to be me?" I demanded angrily.

We settled in our favorite spot in the cafeteria. I looked at my tray, observing the food before taking a bite out of the hamburger. Gemma checked her phone and then sighed heavily, like she was disappointed about something.

"What's wrong?" I asked, concerned.

"My application to Stanford was declined," she replied with a sigh.

"Oh, sorry to hear that. What's your second choice? Maybe you'll get into that one," I suggested.

"It's not like I didn't meet the requirements; they've just reached the maximum intake for this year," Gemma explained. "My second choice is NYU. My mom will kill me if I don't get accepted."

"At least you have a choice of institute. I'm still contemplating that," I admitted. "Have you asked your dad which college he wants you to go to?"

"If I'm choosing, it has to be my choice," I replied. Before I could continue, Liam walked into the cafeteria, one hand in his pocket and the other running through his blonde hair. Tony followed behind him, busy with his phone until they settled in a spot next to us.

Glaring at Tony, I felt the urge to give him a resounding slap for being a jerk in class when he knew Liam was there. Liam, on the other hand, was staring at me as if I had a net of cute nestlings on my head. Rolling my eyes, I turned to face Gemma, who seemed puzzled by my distracted attention.

"Um, Zoey, why does Liam always stare at you like that?" she asked.

I gulped hard. "What way?" I realized my cheeks had suddenly reddened. "I keep wondering that too."

Tony looked up and noticed Liam. I saw him whisper something to him, and then, like he was denying it, he smiled, showing off his teeth, which somehow looked dashing to me.

"I think I just lost my appetite," I announced, standing up and carrying my tray. I dumped the remaining food into the garbage by the door and walked out.

"What happened, Zoey?" Gemma asked, following me closely as we walked down the hallway.

"I have basketball practice in a few minutes," I said, glancing at the watch on my wrist. "I don't want to be late."

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