High Hearts: segment one

                             
                                    Chapter one



          Laying still, trying to avoid contact with the outside world, he huddled in the fetal position.  He was afraid, afraid of everything, the world, the people in it, and most especially the girls that attempted to flirt with him.  He did not know why, but something about girls scared him completely.  In person he could not even look at one square in the eye, let alone talk to one.  Many of his friends were confused and angry with him, but he could not understand the reason behind their anger. 
          “Man, why the hell do you always turn tail and run like a damn chicken every time a girl tries to talk to you?” he remembered one of his closest friends, Jacob Cobb, telling him that as he was held in a friendly choke-hold.  And then she showed up at school that one day, she looked confused as she attempted to find her homeroom teacher.
          “Hi, I’m kinda new here and I…I kinda got lost.  Could you please show me where Mrs. Susan’s room is?” her angel like voice whispered in the depths of his mind.  He rolled over pulling the covers up over his head.  It was only one o’clock in the morning; it felt like an eternity.  An eternity of loneness and darkness, just what I always wanted, he thought to himself sarcastically.  He could not get her face out of his mind.  Those dark brown eyes gazing into his, and soft velvety brown hair, that was placed in a ponytail sporting a white bow.  He rolled over once more, this time causing the blankets to fall to the floor.  Come on I need to get to sleep, he thought.
          “Thomas! Wake up, you’ll be late if you don’t wake up!” his mother yelled.
He jumped out of bed and looked at his digital clock; it read 7:35 am.  He ran in to the bathroom turning on the hot water to the shower and jumped in with a toothbrush in hand already brushing his teeth.  Shit, shit, shit, shit, I’m gonna be late, he thought.  The boiling hot water began to scold his tanned skin, but he did not care, all he could think about was her.  That smile that she had and her delicate yet perfect lips was all he could think about.  I must be losing my mind, he kept thinking to himself.
          “Thomas! Get out of the shower, I need to get in,” his angry sister yelled as she banged on the door.
          “Wait you turn, Claire,” he replied closing his eyes to that the Head and Shoulders suds would not sting his eyes.  The rain-like fall of the water fell upon him relaxing his tense nerves, but he still could not get her image out of his mind.  No matter how much he tried, he could not.  His brain would not allow it.  It was impossible, her smiling face, dark eyes, and velvety brown hair were stuck with him.  This is ridiculous, he thought once more.
            Suddenly the door was kicked down with such force that it startled the daydream out of Thomas’ mind.
            “Get out of the shower now, freak!” his sister growled as she snatched the shower curtains away.
            He was thrown out of the door, soaking wet as it was slammed in his face.  Still in a daze, he looked at the clock fearful of the time.  It read 7:47 am. In that instant, he hurried to his closet and threw some clothes on his still damp body.  It looked as if he walked through a spring downpour, but he did not care.  He ran out the front door, only to see the back end of the city bus.
            “D-d-damn-it, I’m so late,” he stuttered as he broke into a full sprint trying to catch up with the speeding bus.  His brown hair danced in the wake of the bus as he drew nearer and nearer to the gray city motor vehicle.  He looked up in the back window and saw her once more, causing him to freeze in a trance due to her absolute beauty.  Car horns blared behind him awaking him from his spell.
            “Hey buddy, get off of the road!” one motorist yelled behind clenched teeth pounding on the horn of his old beat up mustang.  The bus was gaining more ground than Thomas was able to cover in such a short amount of time.
            “Great, today’s goin’ to be a great day after all,” he said aloud sarcastically giving chase to the bus once more.



                                          Chapter two


    It was abnormally warm in the city today; the temperature was going to steadily climb into the low eighties; which made chasing after the bus nearly impossible.  All he could do was think about talking to her, however, how could you talk to someone who you cannot see because they were in a bus five miles ahead of you.  Then with the bellowing of horns, it made it nearly impossible to think about anything other than trying not to become the cities newest speed bump.
         Come on, I’m almost there, he thought to himself finally being able to see the bus in his sight.  He was finally able to see her once more.  It was like seeing her for the first time when she stepped off the over-crowded bus.  He was lost in her beauty once more.  The smoothness of her hair and the curvature of her perfectly, well centered lips; it was like looking at a goddess.
         “Oh hi, it’s you,” she said smiling at Thomas.  She looked at him up and down and noticed that he was soaked in perspiration.  “Was that you chasing the bus?”
         He nodded noiselessly trying to stabilize his breathing, but that task was nearly impossible with the humidity, and then being spoken to by the most beautiful person in the school, no possibly the whole world.
         “Are you okay? Do you need to sit down?” she asked.  She sounded so sincere and her voice was so much more gorgeous, like a thousand angels in a choir.  They sat down on one of the already hot, metallic benched that the city recently erected for those pedestrians that could not afford a car, or the elderly who needed a rest from traversing the hazardous metropolitan scenery.  “Are you sure that your okay.”
         “Y-y-yeah, I was…I woke up late and…” he trailed off due to the lack of oxygen from his race to catch the bus, and his nerves were beginning to act up. “I mi-missed the bus,” he continued.
         “I’m sorry; I don’t remember your name?  What was it again?”  A soft breeze blew her shoulder length hair, making her more irresistible in his mind.
         She doesn’t remember my name, he echoed in his mind.  Then he remembered that he did not tell her his name that day they met in the hall.
         “I-it’s T-Thomas.  Thomas Daily,” he said shakily.
         “I’m Amanda Jordans,” she said happily extending her hand to shake his.
         I’m holding her hand, he echoed gleefully to himself as he smiled at her and gazed into her warm brown eyes staring blankly into his.  She released her grasp around his shaky hand, be he did not; causing her to look puzzling at him.
         “Can I have my hand back?” she giggled.
         “Sorry, I was just wonderin’ how you can wear a jacket in weather like this.  It’s hot.”
         Blushing, she spoke as she unzipped her jacket, “It’s because God gave me the gift of a large chest and I get embarrassed when people stare,” she laughed.
         It was hard trying to keep eye contact, and then she spoke.
         “You like them?”
         “Huh?”
         “My eyes, I can tell that you like them,” she said smugly zipping up her jacket.
         “How can you tell?” he replied quizzically.
         “Well for starters,” she batted her eyes, “you’re staring at me without blinking, and drool is coming outta your mouth, you’re holding my hand again, and,” she pointed downward toward his Thomas’s stone washed blue jeans, “you’re giving me a standing ovation sitting down.”  She giggled until tears rolled down her perfect face. 
         Suddenly the bell rang, warning the students that they needed to report to their homeroom class.
         “Come on Thomas,” she said pulling on his hand, “ we need to get to homeroom,” she looked at his pants again, “ and get you some cold water,” she giggled once more.
 
                                                     
                                                       
                                                      Chapter Three


            With in the walls of the over populated educational facility, Thomas felt little almost no relief of the embarrassment moments before.  Students were scrambling to their next classes so that they would not receive detention for being late for class.  His locker was, unfortunately, across the matured school.  The school itself existed for about 150 years, making it one of the oldest in the country.  However, looking on the inside of the educational building, it looked as if the school was recently built. 
            Suddenly, people began rushing past the dark headed youth and he over heard one person yell, “Hey, there’s a fight goin on it the court yard!  It’s huge; both the freshmen and senior classes are gettin’ in to it!”
            “I wonder what’s it about,” one girl said to her friend.
            “Don’t know, but I bet it’s over that Jessica chick leaving Brawly for a freshman,” her friend replied solemnly flipping her blonde, curly locks of hair.
              “Luck bastard whoever he is,” one of the boyfriends said.
              “James!” the blonde yelled as she slapped the muscular jock in the gut.
              “I’m just kidding babe, you know that you’re the only girl for me.”
              She better be you ungrateful bastard, Thomas thought as he rolled his blue eyes turning down one of the long dark corridors to his next class.
              Suddenly, Amanda bumped into him causing her binder she was carrying to expel the papers it was holding.
            “I-I-I’m sorry, I didn’t s-see you there,” Thomas shuddered.
            “It’s okay, you’re just the person I was looking for,” she smiled picking up the papers that lazily floated toward the recently polished tiles.
              “Amanda, are you coming? Were gonna miss the fight if you don’t hurry up,” a girl said tapping her foot on the floor.
              “Who is that,” Thomas asked helping Amanda pick up her fallen papers.
              “I’m her sister, Tiffany.  Tiffany Wilds. And if you’re wondering why we don’t have the same last name its because were…” Amanda cut her off
                “Half-sisters.”
                “Oh, same father different mothers,” Thomas said smoothly.
                The bell rang and the teachers were becoming irritable due to the lack of students coming to class.  With the school brawl waxing on and engulfing more of the student body the, police were going to be called to break up the feuding freshmen and seniors.
                  Thomas, being dragged by Amanda and her sibling exited the coolness of the building, and entering the humid death cage of the school court yard.  People were chanting and egging on the fighters as the student body encircled the battalions of ninth and twelfth graders. 
         “Fight, fight, fight, fight, fight!” the onlookers bellowed as they cheered on their captain of the basketball team.
                Suddenly, a freshman was slung into the air by the ring of students and began body surfing above them.  It was not the captain of the team, but the freshman.  His face was badly disfigured with bruises and blood coving his rugged face, hiding some delicate features that were uncommon in other teens his age.    His soft brown eyes glimmered with glee for winning the feud aganist the seniors.  His partners all congratulated him on his victory by giving and receiving high-fives, and then they brought him in front of the girl whom he was fighting for.  The one he longed for was his to keep.  She too congratulated him by giving him a steamy kiss on the lips.
         “Thomas, would you fight for me like that,” Amanda asked dreamingly as she grabbed his hand.
         “Wh-what?  Ummmm,” was all he could speak as he blushed a little.
         “I can’t believe that you won’t fight for my sister, Thomas.  And after all the nice things she says about you,” Tiffany said crossing her arms on her chest, which made the dark-headed youth do a double take.
                "N-nice things? You talk about me?"
                "Why shouldn't she, your a nice guy from what I have been told," then Tiffany pulled Thomas by his shirt,"And if you go putting you hands down my sister's pants, you'll have to answer to me.  Got it?"
                Suddenly, Thomas turned bright red across his face.
                "Ha!  I made you blush like a girl!  I'm going to hang out with my friends.  Good luck you two!" Tiffany yelled as she walked away.
                "WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU!" he cried 
                “So Thomas, when are you gonna ask me out,” Amanda smiled.