They Meet

It was Monday morning and the alarm went off, announcing to Christopher that it was his first day at his new school. He groaned loudly, but got out of bed to take a shower and get dressed.

“Are you ready for school?” Grace asked as she saw Christopher walk into the kitchen, dragging his feet.

“Yes, I am. A little nervous,” he replied, taking the bacon with some eggs, “Some boys were making fun of me when we were in town, and I’m afraid of seeing them at school. They might do the same.”

“Oh, Chris. Don’t pay them any mind. Remember, you have to ignore whatever comments they say or you will live in fear all your life. We are starting fresh, and I want you to think about it.”

With those words, Christopher finished his breakfast and headed to the bus stop in front of his house. Not long after, he was picked up and sat on the last seat at the back, staying away from everyone else. He could hear the other students murmuring, and despite not hearing what they were saying, he knew they were talking about him.

“Hey, new guy! Where did you come from, a dairy farm?” one of the students said, making his friends laugh, but the rest of the bus was quiet. Christopher stayed silent for the rest of the ride, while the other kids chatted and laughed about random things. At least he was glad they didn’t keep bothering him for the rest of it.

The bus arrived and Christopher waited for all of them to get off before he did the same. 

“Hey, kid. Don’t pay them any mind. This is a small, boring town and they haven’t had anything new for a while, so being the new student will get you attention. Just ignore them,” the bus driver said and smiled at him before she let him out of the bus and drove off. He stood there for a bit when he heard a pick up truck park next to him. 

“I swear, Gunner. Next time you decide to drive fast, I will not take a ride with you,” he heard the girl yell. They seemed to be friends, or maybe a couple? The way they were fighting, he would have to be inclined to the first. 

A small car with a lady and another girl stopped right behind him, letting her out.

“I’ll pick you up later, sweetie,” the lady said.

“Mom, I told you not to call me sweetie in front of my friends. I’ll see you later, love you!” She said, closing the car door and suddenly he remembered where he had seen them. They were the three friends who rode the horses to his house and tried to get him to meet them.

Christopher didn’t waste time and walked quickly inside the school before they noticed him. He headed towards the principal’s office to get his class schedule. The secretary motioned him to sit until she could print it out and he did as told, bouncing his leg up and down, nervously while he looked around, interested in the art prints on the walls. 

“Good morning, Miss Lowell,” Faith walked in with her usual cheery self and greeted her. Miss Lowell rolled her eyes and with a smile, she handed her the usual mail for her teacher. 

“Thank you,” Miss Lowell replied. When she turned around, she saw Christopher sitting on the chair. Looking at a book that he picked up from the table next to him.

“Oh, my God! You must be Christopher!” she squealed, making both Christopher and Miss Lowell jump on their seats. He stared at the secretary with a ‘help me’ look while she shook her head.

“Miss Hilton, go to class,” she ordered. Nodding, Faith walked out of the office, leaving Christopher wondering if she was as crazy as she seemed. Miss Lowell handed him the schedule and wished him good luck on his first day of class.

Walking down the hallways until he found his first classroom, with a deep breath, he opened the door and walked in. The students looked up to see who was the mysterious person that had walked into class and they all stared at him.

“You must be Christopher,” Mrs. Kay, his teacher greeted him with a smile, “Welcome to Stevensville High, please take an available seat so we can start our class.”

He looked around, and it didn’t go unnoticed that the other students were staring at him while he was walking towards his seat. To his luck, he had to sit next to that overexcited girl he met at the principal’s office.

‘No way, just my luck,’ he thought, looking at the floor until he sat down. Faith couldn’t help but stare at him and leaned over to try to get his attention. 

“Hi, I’m Faith, nice to meet you,” she said, extending her hand for him to shake. At first, he tried to ignore her, but she was very persistent and kept her hand stretched out.

“Christopher. I guess you already know that,” he replied, hesitantly shaking her hand. 

“It’s really nice to finally meet you. You have been the talk of the town. Oh, wait until my friends meet you, Palmer has been dying to.”

He nodded his head, burying his face in the book. Trying to tune her out and focus on the class. 

As soon as classes were over, they all headed to the gym to watch the game and the pep rally. Christopher sat in the first available spot and it was right in the bottom middle of the steel benches, just by the courtside.

He saw a few students perform and at the end of the dance, the main dancer pointed in his direction and looked straight into his eyes, making him blush at her random action. Embarrassed, he decided to rush out of the gym, without looking back.

~~~~~~

It was finally time for the pep rally and Palmer was getting dressed for the performance, right after the basketball game. 

“Are you ready, girls?” she asked, and they were all excited to go out there and start the show. After they were all ready, they headed towards the boys’ locker rooms to get them and walk to the gym, where everyone was already sitting, watching the game and waiting excitedly for the group to come in and perform.

She was well known as the greatest dancer in school, in her small town, it was easy to acknowledge her.

It was finally their turn to perform and after great twists and moves to some country and some hip hop, everyone was cheering and clapping.

“Palmer! Palmer! Palmer!,” the students chanted her name, and with a big smile she bowed in gratitude. As soon as they were all about to walk back out, a boy with skin as pale as the walls in the basketball court, and hair as white as a seashell caught her attention. 

Palmer walked over and looked at him, pointing the cane she was dancing with in his direction, but her action made him nervous and he hurried out of there. She saw him walk away and decided to follow him. 

It might have seemed like she was stalking or harassing him, but her curiosity and her eagerness to meet him made her run after him. She saw him by the lockers, trying to open it and take his belongings out. Without wasting time, she walked over, approaching him before she leaned against the locker next to his.

“Hello, I’m Palmer. You must be Christopher, it’s so nice to finally meet you. I have been trying to see you since that day at your house. Your mom said you were not feeling well. Hopefully, you are feeling better now and we can...” she rambled and he looked at her with his eyebrows raised, checking out the nearest exit to get away from her.

“I’m sorry for all my rambling. You must think I’m crazy. Anyway, it’s very nice to meet you,” she said, extending her hand, hoping he wasn’t too scared of her with all her talking.

“Nice to meet you. Now if you’ll excuse me, my mom must be waiting for me at the entrance. I missed my bus when I decided to stay here,” he mentioned, giving Palmer an idea.

“Why don’t I tell my mom to give you a ride? She takes me to the diner to get some apple pie and maybe I can invite you to join us. Wouldn’t that be a good idea to get to know you?” she asked, crossing her fingers behind herself. 

Christopher was silent as he made a run for the exit, making her follow. They made it to the parking lot and his mom was there, waiting. But so was her mom.

Palmer ran towards Grace’s car and greeted her. “Hello, Mrs. Melbourne, remember me?” she asked, and Grace with a big smile greeted her back. 

“Of course I remember you. But please, I have told you to call me Grace. Mrs. Melbourne makes me feel old.”

“Okay, Grace. I was wondering if you could let Christopher join me and mom at the diner for some desserts. We will drop him off later, is that okay?” She asked, eagerly. Grace looked at Christopher who seemed uncomfortable at the situation.

“Maybe another day. It must have been a long one for him, but I’m sure he’ll accept next time,” She replied. 

“Oh, okay. Until next time, Chris!” She said before walking away, disappointed. Palmer saw him get in the car as she put her seatbelt on before her mom drove away, ready to share the delicious pies she always enjoyed with her.