Despite my aversion to it, Aurora has begun to greet me daily in our Calculus class. Every time I see her figure approaching my desk, see her red curls bouncing, see her green eyes shining, my fingers grip tighter around my pencil. So tight that I'm afraid one day soon I may just snap the thing in half.

I don't know why I'm irked. I don't know why her kind greetings and gentle smile frustrates me, but I grit my teeth in Calculus these days, wondering why on earth she has decided to keep speaking to me when our awkward run-in at Homecoming was just meant to be a one-time occurrence.

I think to myself, whatever. It's not like we speak outside of class anyway. Our interactions are limited to the five minutes before class where she walks over to my desk and asks how my day is, if I understood the homework all right (yes, I did. I always understand it). Sometimes she'll wish me a good rest of my day when the bell rings at the end of class, but those occasions are usually reserved for Fridays, when we have a weekend ahead of us.

"Morning, Callie. How's it going?" Aurora asks me at class in the morning.

I'm sleep deprived. There are bags under my eyes. I've tried to hide my greasy hair by throwing it up into a bun, though it's still noticeable. One class ago, I noticed there was a stain on my polo from dinner last night. So today hasn't been great.

"Well, it's all right. Slept through my alarm this morning," I mumble, not wanting to lie, but also not wanting to dump all my problems on someone I barely know.

"That sucks. Sorry."

I bet Aurora Gray doesn't sleep through her alarms. She looks awake and gleaming at eight in the morning every day. Not a hair is out of place. Her shirts are never wrinkled, there aren't any stains on her skirt. I once heard her say she doesn't even drink coffee often.

"Big test or something you were studying for?" Aurora wonders.

"Yes," I lie. Though I am always plagued by tests and quizzes, those assignments have been few lately, so I can't attribute my stress to that. In all honesty, I don't know why I haven't been sleeping well lately. Well. I do know, sort of. I thought it would go away, now that I haven't been thinking of Isabella, but the insomnia likes to creep up on me right before I go to bed.

"Good luck on it, then," Aurora says before she goes and takes a seat.

I grumble a bit to myself before staring ahead, awaiting my teacher's lecture. My eyes still linger to Aurora now and again as she diligently takes notes. Halfway through the class, I challenge myself not to stare at her for the remainder of class, and surprisingly, it works, once I direct my eyes to the clock more often.

"Have somewhere to be?" our teacher, Mrs. Hall, asks as I pack up my belongings.

"Sorry?"

"I can see you looking at the clock every five minutes. It's a bit rude when I'm teaching," she explains.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I wasn't bored at all, I promise. It's just a bad habit of mine. I'll keep my eyes forward next time," I promise, guilt filling me. Great. Now I can stress about the disappointed look in my teacher's eye.

"I'm just messing around, Callie," she assures me. "I can tell you're just a bit out of sorts today. Get some rest," she says before giving me leave to go.

I leave class, feeling embarrassed throughout passing period. Thankfully, Aurora isn't in that one, but at one point, I notice her through the window, chatting with her friends. My gaze falls to her without thinking.

Lately, I can't get her off of my mind. Not in that sort of way. I just wonder what kind of person she is. Why she's so friendly all the time, why she's the queen of perfection, and most of all, why she's decided to talk to me of all people? I never thought much about Aurora Gray before, but she's become an enigma that I want to learn more about it...without interacting with her directly, if that makes any sense. In all honesty, I've never been really keen on making friends with older or younger classmen. Plus, there's the fact that graduation is approaching. Getting to know a senior my junior year is a waste of time anyway.

"Callie, eyes on your own paper!" Mr. Ford barks at me from the front.

"Sorry," I murmur before looking back down at my quiz. I sneak one last peek a minute later, but Aurora has vanished with her elite squad. Whatever, I think. I didn't really want to see her anyway.

At lunch, I am quiet as I eat. I can see Aurora's auburn hair gleaming in the sunlight as she sits at a table with her friends. I can't believe I've memorized where she sits now. I never used to notice that spot before. I wish I'd stop noticing her sitting there. Because now every time I look up, my eyes go straight to where she sits.

The only positive side of my curiosity I can fathom is that I no longer think of Isabella as frequently. My eyes no longer search for that glistening dark hair. My heart no longer rapidly beats when I meet her eyes in the hallway. And because I no longer look around for her, I don't stumble through my words on the off-chance that we do end up greeting each other.

No, now I just stare at Aurora and feel annoyed, while a slight bit of curiosity pokes at me as I try to piece together in my mind what type of person she is.

My friends are talking about a T.V. show they watch weekly, as is custom this day of the week. I drown out their conversation, still focusing on Aurora's hair, how her curls seem to fall perfectly in place, and how the natural blonde highlights in her hair glisten in the sun. My hair has never been as beautiful as that, not even with proper hairstyling. It irks me even more.

"Hey," I say, interrupting my friends' conversation. They glance up and confusedly stare at me. "You know anything about Aurora Gray?"

"Who?" Allison asks.

"The senior?" Abigail wonders.

"Yeah," I say, diverting my eyes from Aurora at last.

"Wait. Why?" Allison asks. I can tell she wants to hear drama. The gossip spreads quickly around St. Joseph's, in a matter of hours usually, but unfortunately, I'm never the one who usually spills the tea. Allison should know this by now.

"She's in my Calculus class. I just don't know much about her and was curious, that's all," I say.

"You're just upset you're not getting the highest grades in the class," Hazel teases. "I hear she's incredibly smart."

"That's not all of it!" I complain. It's true that Aurora is probably performing better than me. I rarely see her struggle on any of the tests and quizzes, and though I tell her homework was no problem, there are a few problems I've struggled with that I decide to keep hush about. I can't stand being tutored by someone else. It's not a challenge if I can't figure out something myself.

"She's head of the service club, right?" Juliet recalls.

"Yeah," I murmur.

"I don't know much about her. I just know she's pretty popular among the seniors," Abigail answers.

"Oh, her locker is close to mine," Hazel realizes.

"How is that helpful?" I ask.

"Well, she has conversations near the lockers, doesn't she? She sure seems to have a lot of friends. She's always offering to tutor people or planning events or doing this or that. Sounds like a busy gal. Don't know how she keeps up the grades," Hazel murmurs.

"Or the perfect appearance," I say quietly.

"What?" Allison comments.

"Nothing, nothing. I just don't think someone can be that put together," I say, quickly eyeing where Aurora sits again.

"You are jealous you're not top of the class," Abigail teases.

"Oh, whatever," I murmur, returning back to my food. We do not speak about Aurora for the remainder of lunch, as it should be.

»»---------------------►

That night, after dinner, I lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling with my hands folded squarely on my stomach. Music plays softly in my ears from my earbuds as I sit back and wonder, who is Aurora Gray, anyway?

This position is familiar. I used to do the same routine after dinner last year where I would come up here and ponder, though my thoughts were about Isabella those nights. On the occasion I am struck with those feelings again, I come up here and do the same thing, but this time, Aurora has replaced those thoughts. I feel strange, irked, afraid Aurora is pitying me in some way. Because I already have enough friends, and I don't need her to keep up a conversation that should have ended at the Homecoming dance.

"Callie, can I borrow a charger?!" I hear Olivia complain from outside my door.

I grumble and turn over as she opens the door.

"Oh. Period problems?"

"No. And shut up, Olivia. Yours will be here soon enough," I growl as I slowly sit up and pause the music on my phone. "What do you want anyway?"

"Let me borrow your charger, please," she begs, kneeling on the floor and clasping her hands together.

"Where'd yours go?" I ask, narrowing my eyes at her.

"I lost it again," she murmurs.

"Isn't this the fourth of fifth charger Mom and Dad have bought for you at this point? You know, soon you're going to get a summer job, and they're not going to—"

"Look, save your lecture, Callie. I'll give it back, pleaseeeee," she begs.

I reach into my drawer and grab a spare, tossing it at Olivia. "Give it back before you go to bed," I warn.

"I will, I will!" she promises. She goes to exit, then pauses before spinning around and looking at me. "What were you doing anyway?"

"Contemplating death," I answer.

"Okay, fine. Don't tell me," she says before narrowing her eyes and smirking at me. "Were you thinking about a boy?"

"Olivia, shut up. You know I don't like anyone like that," I state. "Just bring the charger back later."

"Fine," she says before exiting.

I lay back on bed and let out a sigh. I wish there were a boy I liked. I think my life would be much simpler that way. But as the days go on, I begin to think more and more that there might never be a boy I like.

Annoyed with my jumble of thoughts, I put my phone away.