1 Rachel

Rachel stared down, looking at her black and blue high top converse. It was a sunny Monday morning, she always hated Mondays because it was the start of a boring and obnoxious school week. As she walked into her high school, she took notice of her surroundings, paying attention to every little detail. The girls with the short skirts and wedge sandals, the guys with the football jerseys, the nerds, the outcasts, everyone seemed to be enjoying their morning..except her. Rachel walked up the marble staircase and headed to her locker to grab her things for her morning class which happened to be math. She entered her 3 digit number code and opened her locker. Rachel grabbed her notebook and opened her bag.

As she placed her notebook into her backpack, a boy walked next to her and put his hand on the locker next to hers.

"Hey Rachel" Rachel turned her head and stared into the eyes of a similar person. It was Manny Vasquez, a boy she hardly ever talked to. Manny was the guy that everyone knew, but nobody really talked to. Rachel was the same. It sucks being the person everyone knows, but nobody really wants to converse with.

"Hey" She mumbled. Manny smiled, showing his pearly white shiny teeth. Her heart skipped a beat.

"So... uh are you free to hang out later?" Manny says with a smile as he reached into his front left pocket for his cellphone. Rachel chuckled, she was surprised that he would ask such a question. They hardly ever talked, it was weird and out of the blue.

"Of course," She says. Manny handed her his phone for her to put in her number. Rachel made herself a contact and handed him back his phone.

"Thanks," He says as he puts his cellphone back into his front left pocket. Rachel waited for the bell to ring, making small talk with Manny. It was nice, they had quite a bit in common but after 5 minutes of talking, the bell rang.

"I gotta get to class. I'll see you soon" Rachel says with a smile. Manny nods his head with a smile and walks away.

As Rachel walked to class, her best friend Emma came from the stairwell. Rachel was always excited to see her, so she greeted her best friend with a warm smile.

Emma greeted her with a welcoming smile and walked into the classroom with Rachel by her side. It was Math class and they had to take out their notebooks to get ready for the daily do now. Rachel pulled out her chair and sat down, placing her bag onto the cold floor. Emma sat beside her. They both took out their notebooks and placed them onto their desks. Rachel hated math, all of the long difficult equations, hours of stress, and crying over a worksheet, she hated all aspects of it. Meanwhile, Emma loved math. She always was so good at it, never gotten anything lower than a B in math. Rachel would sometimes use her as a cheat sheet, but somehow she still couldn't pass. The equation on the board confused Rachel, she was like a deer in the headlights stuck and not knowing what to do. Emma on the other hand wrote away, knowing every little step. With a sigh, Rachel tapped her shoulder.

"What do I do?" Rachel said with a small chuckle as she looked down at her blank page. Emma rolled her eyes and tried to help her to the best of her ability. Rachel now with work on her paper, was satisfied and began doing her daily math class doodle. Rachel doodled as she listened to her math teacher ramble on about the importance of math, and how much you'll need it in the future. All she could think about now was how it was almost lunch. It felt like an hour before the bell rang, but when it did Rachel smiled and packed up her things. Emma did the same, it was like at a twin pace. They were in sync basically. Rachel zipped up her bag and waited for Emma to finish packing up, she did this every day. Emma was always slower.

"Can you hurry up? I'm hungry" Rachel said with a smile. Emma rolled her eyes and picked up her bag and flung it around her shoulders. She nodded and began to walk towards the door. The walk downstairs to the lunchroom was always boring, Emma and Rachel didn't usually talk during that walk because they got caught up in their phones. Walking into the lunchroom was always great. Rachel and Emma always felt like models walking into the large room filled with teenagers. They reached their table and sat down. As Rachel sat down her bag, Manny came walking towards the table. She smiled but could feel her cheeks get warm at the sight of him.

"Hey, can I sit?" He asked quietly, putting his hand through his brown hair.

"Of course," She said. He sat down next to her and took out his lunch for the day which consisted of a ham and cheese sandwich. Emma looked at her with a smile.

"I'm gonna go get my lunch really quick," Rachel said as she began to stand up.

"Want me to go with you?" Manny asked. Rachel felt her heart begin to race.

"Sure, you can come," She said finally with a smile. He smirked and followed her to the line.

"What do you usually get?" Manny asked. Rachel grabbed her juice and looked back at him.

"Depends. Sandwich usually" She responded. He nodded his head at her response. It didn't feel awkward at all with Manny, Rachel felt calm by his side. He had this vibe, she felt drawn too. As Rachel was grabbing her tray, Manny stared at her with a look of happiness in his eyes. Rachel paid and walked back to the table with Manny by her side.

"Let me take that," He said and took her tray from her hands. Rachel chuckled,

"I can carry it, Manny," She said. He shook his head and placed it on the lunch table. Emma was on her phone, scrolling through Instagram. Rachel began to eat, not really enjoying it but enjoying the company of Emma and Manny. He pulled out his phone and went into his contacts, clicking on Rachel's name. Rachel looked over but said nothing. He began to type and Rachel looked at him with confusion. Suddenly, he puts his phone down and Rachel gets a notification. She smiled and took her phone from her pocket.

"You're cute" She read the message from an unknown number but she knew it was him.

"No you are" She responded and placed his name into her contacts. He chuckled. They talked for a little while longer until the bell rang and they had to go back to class.

"Wait, Manny, what class do you have next?" Rachel asked as she picked up her bag from the table.

"English with Brennen" He responded. She smiled, showing her straight white teeth.

"So do we!" She said. He was glad to see her excited. All 3 of them talked as they walked to class. This class became Rachel's favorite class, she was way better at English anyways. They all walked to the class, making random conversations and making the walk seem like forever when it wasn't even 3 minutes. When they arrived at the class, Rachel sat down next to Emma like always and Manny sat behind her. Rachel grabbed her blue notebook labeled "English" and began taking her daily notes. Manny couldn't help but just stare at the back of her head, it seemed weird to him but she was all he could focus on. Maybe this wasn't such a good thing. Manny opened his yellow English notebook and tried to take notes but he couldn't focus on a word being said. All he could think about was her, and the conversations they had all in one day. Rachel's mind often wandered to Manny and how sweet he was to her. Something she never really experienced. After more minutes of either struggling to pay attention or barely concentrating, the bell rang and everyone got up from their desks and left the room. Rachel had a few more classes left and she was excited for the day to end already. She usually was never like this because she had nothing to look forward to, but today was different. She had something to be excited about. Emma, Manny, and Rachel split paths, going to their next classes and the rest of the day was not easy for any of them. For Rachel, the separation got to her and all she wanted was to see Emma and Manny again. Same for Manny except, he just wanted to see Rachel. For Emma, she struggled to be alive in any other class, as her grades brought her down. Finally, the end of the day bell rang and like usual, everyone packed their things and exited the school with smiles and chuckles, in either a group of friends or all alone. Rachel put her things away and unlocked her phone before walking out of the class.

"Meet me outside" She texted to Manny. Rachel walked down the stairwell phone in her hand.

"Okay" She heard the ding from her phone, already knowing who it was. She was excited to see him again. As she exited the highschool building, she saw Manny already waiting for her near the street. She smiled and hurried down the steps. He watched her with grace, he admired everything about her. They greeted each other with big smiles.

"Wanna hang out now?" Manny asked.

"Yeah we can do that" Rachel says with a cheesy smile. Rachel pulled out her phone to text her mother. Her mom was very protective over Rachel, she always has been. Rachel hated it, but she knew why.

"Where are you gonna take me?" Rachel asked as she looked down at the sidewalk as they walked. Manny was swaying his shoulders with happiness.

"How about the park?" Manny shrugged his shoulders. Rachel nodded,

"Sounds great"

Her blue jeans rubbed painfully against her soft and smooth legs. They walked and talked about nonsense for about 15 minutes until they finally found the park they had been looking for. The sun came from out of the clouds and shined right into their eyes.

"Ouch" Rachel put her arm in front of her eyes as the sun blinded them. Manny smiled at her attempt to get out of the sun. Manny tried to help her cover her eyes but it didn't help.

"Thank you," Rachel said with a smile. Manny nodded as they sat down on the bench. They talked about each other, pasts, fears, pet peeves, everything. Rachel wanted to mention her brother, who had passed away years ago from a car wreck. She held back, as she was scared of the judgment. Manny locked eyes with her, he could tell something was up but was hesitant to say something. The wind blew Rachel's hair into her face. Manny used his finger to move it out of the way. She smiled. She could feel a connection, a connection she never felt before with anyone. Not even her own best friend. Rachel then realized that she should be going home, it was starting to get dark.

"Wanna walk to my house with me?" Rachel asked as she zipped up her sweater. Manny smiled and nodded.

"Yeah sure," He said as he flipped his hair around. The 10-minute walk was good, they talked about themselves and both of them learned the basics about the other. Minutes later Rachel sees her tinted blue colored home.

"We're here," She says. Manny opened his arms out and leaned in to give her a hug. Rachel felt so safe with him, in his arms she felt happier than ever before. It was a feeling she never thought she would experience. She never wanted to let go

"I'll call you," Manny says with a bright and captivating smile. Rachel blushed and entered her house with a smile. Andrea, her mom looked up from her phone and tilted her head.

"You had a good day?" She says as she put her phone down and tapped next to her, motioning her to sit.

"Yeah, I met someone…" Rachel unzipped her sweater and hung it up on the door. Andrea put on her glasses and put a cup to her mouth.

"I am so happy for you" Andrea was excited to see Rachel happy. Rachel's past made her mom believe that she couldn't really achieve happiness, it sounds cruel but it was true. When Rachel was 7 years old, her dad killed himself and when she was 12, her brother died in a car wreck. It was traumatic, and Rachel lost herself. She hasn't been happy since the age of 6.

"Thanks, mom" Rachel ran upstairs and jumped into her big and comfortable bed, staring up at the blue ceilings. Rachel pulled out her phone and texted Emma.

"Hung out with Manny! It was great" Rachel smiled before sending the text. She felt calm, and at peace.

"I'm so happy for you Ray!! Can't wait to third wheel" Rachel could see Emma's facial expression just by her message. Rachel chuckled and put on some sweatpants and some good music and just danced around her room. She felt like she was living in a movie, a romantic comedy movie to be precise. Rachel was awaiting Manny's call. She was worried he wouldn't call. To waste some time, Rachel just sang her favorite songs and relaxed.

As Rachel just hung around in her bedroom, she heard her phone ding. She picked up her phone and looked at the message

"Can I call?" She smiled.

"Of course" She responded back quickly. Her nerves were at an all-time high, she had no reason to be nervous, but she was. Her phone began to ring, Rachel looked at the contact name and quickly answered.

"Rachel?" She hears. His voice was a happy medium, deep but high pitched.

"Manny?" She responded back. He chuckled and started to converse. They talked and talked for an hour and a half about pointless things. Rachel not once mentioned her dad or her brother. She finally hung up the phone and put it to charge, thinking all about this boy and how happy she could make him.