1 Chapter 1

I walk down the hallway trying to avoid being seen as best as I can. As I turn the corner I think I've done a good job of staying out of sight. Until-- "Johnnyyyy boyyyyy!" I hear that familiar voice that has tormented me for years. Blake Walker. School bully and well known bad guy. This kid has been picking on me ever since I can remember. I try to keep walking and keep my face hidden until I see two big feet step right in front of my path. "What do you want, Blake?" I asked, kind of annoyed. I wasn't trying to be bothered today, my birthday is today so I just want to go home to my parents to see what I got. "Awe you've got some bass in your voice today, don't you? What's in there?" Blake asks reaching for my backpack. He starts throwing all my books down one by one and reading them out loud. "Science, Social Studies, Algebra. Wow you're still a little nerd just like in 4th grade, aren't you?" He laughs as he walks off.

I try not to let Blake make me mad so I pick up my books and head off to class. When I get in the room I see a usual sight. All the seats are taken with the exception of one seat kind of off to the side, next to the window. I don't mind this because I like the view of the park that's not too far from the school. I simply look out there until class starts, then I turn my focus to my work. When Ms. Faulkner, our teacher walks in, I get out my science book and prepare to write notes.Then I see something that kind of makes my heart sink. I stare in half shock as I see "PARTNER WORK" written in big letters across the board. I really don't like working in pairs, especially since I normally cant find a partner, due to the fact that there was an odd number of students in the class. I say "was" because we just got a new student yesterday.

Her name is Mya. She said she just transferred to Delaware from Indiana. It's not that i wouldn't want to work with her, though. It's just that I hate meeting new people, and starting conversations. There's no point in trying to contest it though. I just know we're going to be partners as I look back up and see that most of the class is already paired up.

Ms. Faulkner looks at me and motions for me to go up to Mya. So I do. I have no other choice. As I get closer and start to approach her, She turns and looks up at me from her seat. "Hey, I'm Mya." she says, as if she didn't introduce herself yesterday. I decide to play it cool though, maybe talking to people isn't so bad. "Johnathan." I say as I take my seat. We look at Ms. Faulkner waiting for her direction. We weren't like the other groups that are mostly all friends, they were chatty. Me and Mya were as silent as mice. I look at her to see if i can try to find something to talk about, but nothing. She is very pretty though.

I started to stare but I managed to stop before she could see me, seeing her. Ms. Faulkner starts to explain the group direction again but I start to drown her out as I look at Mya again. Her hair is so curly, and long too. Her skin is also pretty. Brown, clear, not a blemish in sight. I stop my stare and zone back into reality. I'm too late though, Ms. Faulkner has already finished with her instructions. I turn back around to see Mya looking at me. And before she could say anything about the project, I open my mouth to ask "what are we supposed to be doing? I wasn't paying much attention." Mya smiles and explains that the project is about the phases of the moon. I wonder is schools ever stop teaching certain things. We've been learning about the solar system since 5th grade, we're in 8th grade now. Give it a rest.

I still want to learn more about Mya but I'm scared to ask questions. What if she thinks I'm weird? I decide I'm going to do that at a different time. Right now we need to focus on the project. We start brainstorming ideas we can do for our project. I wanted to make smaller models of each phase of the moon. With 8 different models. Mya disagrees. She wants to make one big model, and have a poster to go along with the model that explains each phase. That does actually sound easier so we go with her idea. Before we pack up to go to out next class I want to ask for her number, so we can alk about the project of course. But before I can pull up the courage to do it, she is already packed up and out the door.

The rest of the day is basically the same, except with no partner work-- and no Mya. But that's okay. Mya makes me nervous. I don't like it. I go throughout the rest of the day scrolling through various social media apps on my phone, and of course doing my classwork. The end of the day comes and I find myself going through my usual dismissal routine: Hide my face until I can find my bus to go home. I'm usually good at this part of the day, particularly because Blake walks home on Mondays and Tuesdays, and only rides the bus on Wednesday, Thursday, And Friday. When You're trying to avoid someone you learn their schedule pretty well. I sigh with relief as i see my bus pull into the lot. I hurry on to sit in my seat, 3 seats behind the driver. Too close for anyone to bother me, and not so close that I look like a total weirdo. On the drive home, I start to get excited, My parents birthday gifts are always very nice. They can have a bigger budget on my gifts since I'm the only child. I sit back in my seat and imagine the possibilities.