i look at them look at you

Aurora Holland

The first thing I noticed when I walked into my Ceramics class, was Elijah Layton sitting on top of one of the desks. His long legs were stretched out, the soles of his shoes resting flat on one of the blue plastic chairs.

He looked different than the last time I saw him, but then again he was plastered when I saw him last. His cheeks were still the same pink as last time, but a little less since he had no alcohol in his system and it wasn't humid in the building. His eyes were much brighter and less hooded and heavy, the light color of his irises sticking out from the doorway of the room.

His smile was the same, but that much was expected. He had a beautiful smile, and I watched as he unashamedly flirted with the girl sitting at the desk next to him.

The feeling of a body bumping into me caused my attention to be ripped away from the lanky boy, and I mumbled an apology as I stepped out of the doorway. I didn't know whether this class had assigned seating, and I was almost too afraid to both go up and ask or just sit down at a random desk.

I watched as people flooded in last minute before the final bell rang, finding their way to wherever they wanted to sit. There were no names on the desks, and I was struggling to build up the courage to ask the kind lady in the front of the room for help.

"Aurora!" The sudden sound of my name being called by a familiar British accent caused my head to snap right. My eyes were wide as they landed on Elijah.

He'd been in the middle of the room, seemingly the center of attention. When he called my name all eyes landed on me, and if it were possible my cheeks burned even hotter. He smiled at me with his beautiful goofy smile I'd seen so many times in the little amount of time I've known him, and I just watched in silence as he threw himself off of the desk. He turned to the girl he'd been flirting with, saying one last thing to her. Her cheeks reddened as she looked down to her lap, seemingly flustered with whatever it was that left his mouth.

Then again, if someone with an adorable accent said sweet things in my ear, I'd probably react the same way.

My eyes fluttered back to Elijah, who slipped his grey backpack from the ground in one smooth movement. He stalked his way back and forth through the occupied seats, sitting at a completely empty table near the back. His eyes traveled to me, patting the back of the seat next to him. "This seat's open!" He exclaimed as if it was nothing.

I looked around the room, already seeing people whispering. I don't know what was being said, and part of me was glad. I don't think with how sensitive I was that I could handle hearing the bad things being said about me, I'm sure they all know by now that I'm Paige Holland's shy and dorky cousin.

"You must be the new student, Aurora Holland." The woman at the front made her way to me, seeming to ignore Elijah's comment. "I would give you a professional greeting and tell you to sit wherever you want, but it looks like you've already managed to make yourself a friend."

Not exactly, I thought. Of course, I wasn't going to say that. Elijah was really kind to offer his seat next to me. And he's best friends with Carter Jackson, surely meaning he has a high popularity status at Riverway High.

I could see the looks of jealousy from a few girls cowering in the other back half of the classroom, but I kept my eyes on the older woman in front of me.

"It looks like I'll be seeing you quite a bit here, huh?" The woman then said, catching my attention again.

"Uh. I guess so," I mumbled, "Do you teach all the art classes?"

"Most of them. There are other art teachers here to help me take some of the load off of my back, but I just so happen to be teaching most of yours. You're taking Ceramics and what else again?" She asked, tapping her finger to her chin.

I can't explain why or how, but she reminds me of Miss Darbus from High School Musical. Just less accent-y and nicer. 

"Painting and AP Art History, I'll also probably be taking more classes next semester," I answered nervously, twisting the ring around my finger the way I usually do. I covered that hand with my other hand so nobody noticed the odd habit, thankful that the whispers had managed to calm down a bit.

I think this is the most attention that's been on me at one time if I'm being completely honest. And by on me, I mean just me.

"Well, I hope to see you more often next semester as well." She sent me a kind smile, one I gladly returned.

Art teachers always make me feel safe. Where most people (adults, teenagers, children, etc) always give Paige all the attention, art teachers are one where I can say I get some recognition. Art isn't Paige's strong suit, and I've always excelled in all of my art classes. It's something I could get lost in for hours, no matter the project.

The final bell rang, and a few late students strolled in as if it were nothing. The teacher standing in front of me gave them a look that lasted half a second before her attention went back to me. She smiled a bright smile, one that was contagious. "I'm Mrs. Rosa. I really hope you enjoy my classes this semester. I'll save you the embarrassment of talking in front of everyone, as you look to be a shy one- not that that's a bad thing or anything!" She quickly rambled on, holding her hands out as she realized there was a chance she could've offended me with her words. "I was once shy and the new student too, those things never mix well."

"Thank you," I kindly said. I know she meant no harm by the shy comment, and whereas I'm usually offended and upset, I wasn't. She seemed to just be trying to put herself out there, especially since I'd be having her for multiple classes this semester.

She stepped to the side, motioning in the direction where Elijah sat. He wasn't paying any attention to us anymore, scrolling mindlessly on his phone. I sent Mrs. Rosa one last kind smile before walking past her.

I wasn't sure what went over me to sit next to Elijah, but I did. I was quick with my movements, knowing people were watching as I quickly pulled out the tiny blue chair and sat down. My backpack fell to the floor with a light thud, causing the boy next to me to look at me with a smile.

"I see you've chosen to sit next to the coolest guy in class," He said.

"Did I?" I couldn't help but ask, looking over at him.

His smile only grew, showing off his perfectly straight white teeth. "I like you already, if you weren't aware before."

++

Class went by in a flash, thankfully. I assumed it'd be agonizingly slow considering it's already felt like this day's dragged on, but then again it was art. They were in the middle of a project already, and although Mrs. Rosa was very kind and considerate of the fact that I was behind, I still felt like a failure as everyone was already messing with clay and I was stuck in the beginning stages of my project.

Not to mention, Elijah makes it really hard to concentrate. Sure, he's funny, goofy, and very charming, but he's got the attention span of a goldfish.

I've never had an issue working with others who have the problem of paying attention, but it's different when the person is constantly trying to talk to you and distract you from work as well.

My second class for today was Painting, meaning it was in the same exact classroom with the same exact teacher. It calmed my nerves a bit, knowing I knew where I was going and who the teacher was.

Unfortunately, since I didn't pay enough attention to what the classes said on my schedule, I didn't realize that my first two classes were in the same class. I could've easily taken my Ceramics textbook and my painting workbook all in one go, but at least now I know for future reference.

Mrs. Rosa was kind enough to let me leave my backpack in the room, meaning I left with just my old textbook and schedule with my locker combination. It took me a good minute to find where my locker was, and after a bit of a struggle, I'd quickly switched out books and found my way back to Mrs. Rosa's classroom.

As I entered, I sat in the same seat I was sitting at in the last class, my eyes glued to the desk with the work from Ceramics sitting on the top. I sketched as people walked in, ignoring the hushed whispers coming my way.

The seat where Elijah sat previously was empty, and I didn't mind. The room was big enough for me to sit here alone unless the class was a full classroom. I wasn't sure how the scheduling worked here and whether they filled each and every class, but I hoped it wasn't like that. I like classes that are smaller, it helps me work better when it comes to presentations and doing anything that involves talking in front of other people.

"Oh my god, he's actually on time today," A girl from the right of me spoke. It was the first thing I was able to hear clearly, and I was relieved to know that it wasn't about me.

"He looks so good in that jacket," Another voice responded to the first girl. They sounded the same, but I kept my eyes locked on the paper in front of me. The last thing I needed was to glance over and them be rude because I was looking.

It's happened before.

"You should try and talk to him when he walks by, see if he says anything to you," The first voice spoke again.

"Are you crazy? I do not want to be the next girl in Ashley's wrath, no thank you." The second one shot back just as quickly, and I could hear the nerves in her tone by the way she responded.

The last bell rang, cutting their conversation short. I shoved my artwork away in the folder I had specifically for Ceramics, pulling out my belongings for painting. As I dug around in my backpack to find the folder I packed for this class, my pencil bag fell out of the backpack and into the middle of the walkway.

It was sitting between the table I sat at, and the table the two girls sat at. I sighed out a sigh in frustration, beginning to reach forward to grab it but was too short. As I began to scoot my chair back to crouch down and gather it off of the floor, the sound of my chair caught the attention of the girl sitting closest to me.

"Oh, let me help you with that," She spoke kindly, beginning to reach forward and grab it.

"Thank y-"

My thanks were cut off as she picked it up from the bottom of the bag. Her finger looped through the zipper in one quick motion, the writing utensils scattering all around the floor in all directions. I looked up to see a smirk on the girl's face, one that showed she was taking the upper hand. She dropped the empty back to the floor as if she never held it, a look of mock innocence covering her features. "Oops, you should really learn how to close that to avoid things like this."

I felt the heat cover my cheeks, feelings of Point Prep coming to the back of my head. I was used to stuff like this, so instead of biting back I just kneeled on the floor and began to grab the different utensils on the ground.

Tears pricked my eyes at something so small, but I couldn't help it. This was already a very eventful morning, and just as I thought things were getting better I knew for a fact I was hoping too much.

Cameron's slight kindness, Elijah's kindness in Ceramics, I knew it was all too good to be true. This is why I don't trust people's 'kindness', there's always something more below what they're showing me.

"Kaya, you should really learn to not be such a bitch," A voice muttered in disgust. I didn't bother to look at the voice, I knew if I looked up everyone would see my puffy red eyes as I did everything in my power to prevent myself from crying.

My hands grabbed in every direction, taking handfuls of utensils. It didn't help I had a lot of them, but as I was an artist I carried more than the usual pencils and highlighters. Usually, I was very organized and put things in neatly, but the quicker I stood up off the floor then the quicker I could hide back in my seat and act like nothing happened.

A large hand hovered over mine, going to grab the same drawing pencils as the ones I reached out for. It was warm, and I felt shivers run down my spine at the simple touch. I'm usually a really touchy person, but I never actually touch anyone, so this was a very foreign feeling to me.

My movements stopped completely, my eyes drifting up to the person crouching beside me. The first thing I took notice of was the black leather jacket, one I feel like I'd seen before now. Then, my eyes stopped at the familiar dark brown eyes with a bit of honey.

"Fancy seeing you here, Rory."