Chapter 3: Biology

English went by slowly, and as soon as the bell rang I rushed into the hallway. I am a good student, but English is my weakness. It never made sense to me. When to use a semi colon, when to use a dash? I never understood it. On the other end of the hallway, by the stairs, where Mike stood as he waved towards me. Over the years, Mike Newton and I had become best friends. Even though we were both very different. Mike is jocular and gross, where I tend to stay a bit quiet.

"Dude, did you see that hot new girl? She was in my history class." Of course Mike noticed her.

"Yeah, I think her name was Katie." She was indeed beautiful, a little weird too."

As we walked to the cafeteria, Mike kept talking about Katie, and I kept up with what he was saying for a bit. Then soon enough he started talking about her perfect body, that's when I tuned him out of my head. When we walked into the cafeteria I saw someone from the corner of my. Katie. She was seated at our table with Jessica (obviously) by her side. Lauren sat across from Katie with an annoyed expression, and my other, kind, friend, Angela Weber sat next to Katie, quietly eating her lunch.

"Hey guys, look we have a new person, Katie say hi."

"Hi guys-hi Noah." What? Katie mentioned me separately. What could that mean?I smiled warmly back at her.

Mike eagerly sat down across from Katie and started talking to her. Mike was obviously fantasizing about her. My other friend Tyler Crowley sat down next to Mike, and he too became indulged in a conversation with Katie. I sat down next to Mike and I listened to their conversation. Katie had just moved from Alaska to Mystic falls. She lives with her older sister Rebekah. Her sister is a model. By far, not the most interesting story, so I tuned out and concentrated on the cracks in the ceiling.

After five minutes the kitchen finally opened. Mike decided he would help Katie get her food, while I just tagged along to get mine. Every now and then, Katie would throw glances at me, as if she wanted help. That seemed weird, most girls enjoyed receiving Mike's attention. I realized it was time I finally help the poor girl.

"Hey Mike, I actually forgot my lunch money in my locker, can you go grab it?" I knew Mike wouldn't want to seem rude in front of Katie, so he nodded and left.

"Oh thank goodness, he's finally gone" Katie sighs with relief.

"No problem, Mike's just really into you"

"Oh I know" She laughed, totally flustered.

"So you're Noah Black, right?"

"Yes"

"What class do you have next?"

"Biology, what about you?"

"Same, biology"

"Biology with Mr. Varner?"

"Yes"

"Ok, do want to walk together?"

"Sure, that sounds great" With that, she reached out to grab an apple when our hands touched. Her hand felt hard and cold, as if they had been shoved in snow for hours. My hand jolted away with shock.

"Oh, sorry." She muttered and lowered her head, as if she was ashamed.

"It's ok" My consolation didn't do much, she inched away from and faced down. My arm started to reach up to comfort her, but she moved away. She then looked up at me and smiled.

"There's a long line behind us, we should get our food." I nodded and followed her, grabbing whatever was in reach. I felt so bad for making her uncomfortable. I knew I would have to make it up to her, so I continued talking to her. She seemed to loosen up a bit when I joked about me being an albino because of my pale complexion. No one ever laughed at that joke. After lunch we walked to biology together. I told her about Mr. Varner, and that he was an easygoing teacher.

Biology with Katie was oddly fun. She too made jokes and we both laughed. I have always been a good student, but Katie had the answer to every question. She got most of the work done by the time I was done thinking.

"Wow, have you already done this class?" I asked in astonishment.

"Yes, I took AP biology before I came here."

"So you already know all this"

"Yes, but I'm not going to let you cheat" She teased. Suddenly, something inside me changed. I noticed how beautiful she really is. Almost as if she were unreal. Every now and then she would smile warmly at me, or she would brush her smooth, straight, silky, black hair behind her shoulder. Every time my heart would pick up it's pace. What was wrong with me? Was i too attracted to her? But I quickly shoved the thought away, knowing that Mike wouldn't be too happy about that. After class ended I walked with her to her locker, where I paused and turned to her.

"Do you want to study together for next week's test?" I could really use her help.

"That sounds good. We could meet up at your house. I would offer mine, but it's still clustered from the moving."

"That's no problem, my house it is. Here's my address" I ripped the corner off of my biology notes and wrote down my place and number, then I handed it to her. She seemed careful not to make skin contact.

"Ok, see you later then." I was supposed to say bye, but I couldn't. Some part of me wanted to stay with her. My arm, without my consent, moved up to her face. My fingers loosely pushed a strand of her hair behind her shoulders, exposing more of her perfect skin. Her eyes went wide , her lips parted, and she shuddered. Enough, I ordered myself, and took my hand down. Then I turned and walked away, flushing a bright red. What did I do? What was wrong with me?