2. The Seat on the Right

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The cafeteria buzzes with the sound of laughter as everyone regales their Homecoming stories from the weekend before. I hear bits and pieces of after-parties, stolen kisses, and the five people that did not attend explaining how high school dances are a waste of time anyway.

In terms of my friend group's own after-Homecoming tales, both Allison and Hazel are laughing at me as they eat their lunch.

"You were so awkward on Saturday!" Hazel exclaims. She takes a bite of her sandwich. With her mouth slightly full, she states, "It was hilarious."

I hide my face behind my sandwich as I eat, hoping to block my flustered face. At least they find joy in my awkwardness, but I felt strange and embarrassed after the dance, especially when I found Colton after the slow dance to tell him I was all right. I let him go dance with his friends at that point while I lingered by the bleachers. I didn't even end up going to icecream after and merely took Colton home.

When I was thirteen, I remembered thinking of what my first high school dance would be like. My fictional date, some strange, obscure shape of a boy with no real features, besides just having a good personality, would walk me up to my door, and we'd share a quick kiss before my father came out and drove him off. But last night, I merely pulled into the driveway and told Colton goodnight in the car, driving away before I could even see if he'd gotten into his house.

I remember feeling frustrated as I drove home, but I wasn't sure why. Even now I'm not sure why. I'm not sure even now if I was mad at myself, or Colton, or my friends for setting me up with him. I just find I'm always upset with myself these days one way or another. Maybe if I just acknowledged what was bothering me, I could figure things out, but there are some things I still don't want to believe just yet.

"Please stop," I beg, slightly laughing to make it seem like my friends comments aren't really bothering me, even though I wish I could just forget the dance entirely, perhaps except for that moment where I talked to Aurora in the corner.

"You looked absolutely repulsed by him," Juliet teases.

"Was he really that bad?" Abigail asks. She was busy spending time with her childhood best friend that she usually always takes to dances. It was hard to pull any of my friends away from their dates, considering all of them got along well with theirs.

"No. It's not that," I say.

"'It's not you, it's me,'" Allison teases, feigning my voice.

I roll my eyes and take another bite of my sandwich. I've been wanting to talk to one of them for a while, but every time I even consider the thought, my heart pounds and my hands tremble, and I think it's better I just stay quiet. For now, I'll just take the dates they ask me to take to school dances and hope that maybe I'll actually fall for one.

"I think he really did like you, you know," Allison explains. "You really could have made Saturday night memorable."

"But we barely knew each other," I reply.

"You two had plenty of opportunities to talk all throughout Saturday night, but you just kept to yourself like you always do," Hazel teases.

"Maybe you'll get another chance," Abigail offers as a bit of relief.

That's kind, I think, but I have no interest in seeing Colton again, though I'm sure I won't be able to avoid him forever, considering he's one of Ryan's closest friends. Hopefully Allison won't get his hopes up. I sure wasn't trying to. I'd be surprised if he didn't hate me by the end of the night, considering how much I was trying to avoid him.

The lunch bell rings. Thank God, I think. The post-Homecoming talks usually only last a day or two, so I hope that this will be the last I'll ever hear of the awkward events that transpired this past Saturday night. I put my trash away and gather my things, thankful none of my friends are in my classes the rest of the afternoon.

My next class is AP Calculus. It's a bit more challenging, considering I'm the only junior in the class. The seniors like to stare at me with contempt, possibly because I've climbed the ranks so quickly. Math has always come easier to me for some reason, and I'm doing well so far.

I find my way to my seat and begin pulling out my books. I smooth my skirt out and reach for a pencil when two pale white hands with light pink fingernail polish balance on my desk. I slowly look up, finding Aurora Gray standing in front of my desk and greeting me with a smile.

"Good afternoon, Callie! Recover from Saturday?" she asks.

I'm taken aback at first. Aurora has never acknowledged me in class before, and I certainly did not expect her to do so after a brief run-in at the Homecoming dance. But leave it to her to always be kind and welcoming, I suppose.

"Oh, yeah. I feel much better now that the dance is over," I tell her.

"Me too," Aurora says. "I had a good talk with my date after about how I just wanted to be friends. He was really understanding, thankfully. What about you and your date?"

"Oh, that's good. I didn't really say much to my date. Just took him home. I barely knew him after all," I explain.

"Makes sense. My friends used to try to set me up with guys too when I was an underclassman. Did the homework make sense to you?"

So this is just a homework question, I guess. She's already moved on from the topic of Homecoming, even though I'm curious and want to ask more. I explain that the homework was fine, and I ask if she needed any help with it, which is why I'm assuming she meandered over to me from the desk on the right. But Aurora states she doesn't need any help. She was, likewise, just curious.

"How was the rest of your weekend?" Aurora asks.

This conversation feels like it's dragging by this point. This is the conversation two friends have the ten minutes before class begins, but we are not friends. Aurora and I are practically at the same level as Colton and I. We've barely spoken and know little about each other. I answer anyway though.

"Mostly just studying and recovering. I took my dog to the park and played with him for a bit," I explain.

"Oh, what kind of dog do you have?!"

"A golden retriever. His name is French Fry. My younger brother named him when he was five," I add on, just in case she's confused as to why we've named our dog after a potato-based snack.

"That's cute! I've always wondered what it would be like having a dog. I have two cats instead," Aurora explains.

There's a pause, and I open my mouth, realizing I should ask her what she did this weekend as well, since that's what custom, right? Before I can get the words to come out, one of her friends is calling her.

"Well, nice talking to you. I'm happy to get to know you better," Aurora says before turning and walking away. I stare at her hair, realizing how auburn it is. There are bits of blonde highlights in her hair too, I realize. I want to ask if they're natural or not, for some reason, and I begin to wonder how those highlights would glisten in the sunlight.

I look back down at my homework, realizing that the teacher has entered and class is set to begin soon. But for the duration of class, I keep staring over at Aurora, wondering why she wants to keep up the conversation anyway. It's probably just to be polite. Aurora makes friends wherever she goes.

At one point, Aurora catches me looking, and I want to self-combust in my seat at that moment, but she just gives me a friendly smile instead before turning back to her work. I do the same and stare down at my Calculus problems, suddenly finding it much harder to focus on math than last week.

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