Crackers

Chapter 2

I fiddle with my hair. The bell should ring any moment now. I glance over at Mr. Richards, my history teacher, who was droning on about the Civil War.

On my left was Elliot and Cole was on my right. They both looked equally bored. When Elliot caught me staring at him, he grinned. I quickly turned away and watched Cole. He smiled at me, his soft gray eyes brimmed with kindness.

Cole was quiet and reserved. He talked wisely, and he would be the first person I would ask for advice. Dirty blonde curls framed his face. He wore rectangular glasses that almost made him look like a blonde Harry Potter. I chuckle at the thought of Cole casting spells and riding broomsticks.

The bell rings, and I watch as Elliot storms out of the room. I grab my stuff and follow Cole out to the hallways. We started to walk towards the cafeteria.

"Hey," I greeted him.

"Hey." Cole didn't raise his eyes to meet mine. He was more interested in staring at my shoes.

"Something on your mind?"

"No. I....uh..just tired." He flicked his head back up and smiled. "Everything is just fine."

Before I can ask anymore questions, Nicky runs up to us. Her frizzy red hair was a mess and she was out of breath.

"I've been looking for you, Aria. We need to talk."

"Um..ok. Go ahead."

"In private," she insisted, nervously looking at Cole.

I glance at Cole, and he gets the message.

"I'll go," he announced and walked towards the cafeteria.

"What is it?"

"The hike. I need to talk to you about it."

I raise and eyebrow, waiting.

"I.....I mean..Cole and I....."

"Nicky, what happened?" I idea popped in my head and, I nervously snapped my fingers. Yup, I snap when I'm nervous.

"Hey Williams!" Elliot's voice rang out. I turned, and before I could even open my mouth, I was ambushed with spaghetti. Elliot Parting had just thrown five plates of spaghetti at me. Spaghetti. Saucy, messy, real spaghetti.

My fingers curled into a fist. My eyes were closed shut, and I could hear the laughter of my peers. The laughter became stronger. My head spinned. I felt someone place a hand on my shoulder.

"Let's go," Cole's voice whispered into my ear.

He and Nicky led me away from the crowd. We reached the girls restroom, and Cole stopped by the entrance. Nicky dragged me into the bathroom and helped me clean up. The sauce left stains on my shirt and noodles were lost in my hair.

"I don't have any extra clothes, Aria. You'll have to bear the stains," Nicky informed.

I did not reply. I could feel the tears coming on, but I refused to let them fall. For the second time that day, I stared into the mirror. Luckily, I don't wear much make-up so my face didn't look like a mess of mascara. I forced myself to grimace. I needed my game face now. I paused to lick my lips before opening my mouth to speak.

"Nicky, I'm going to ruin Elliot Parting."