Leeli

Leeli          It was that morning, the first time that Leeli saw her. The memory burned itself into her memory, meeting the girl that she thought hated her. Just another normal day, is when it happened. She woke up that morning, ate breakfast, took a shower and then went to school.
         High school in itself is an obstacle, name calling, cliques, finding your place in the world. Being a senior though, produced new challenges. The thought of being out on your own, having to take care of yourself in just nine short months. To the average teenager, this is horrifying. They think about having to give up their bedroom, pay their own car insurance, get a job. To Leeli though, it was just another part of life, one that she would face head on.
          The school smelled of socks and Axe Body Spray, just like it had yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that. Such repetition in this world, so much that it seems to throw off one's everyday routine by one minute. We can't stop to pick up a piece of garbage or smell a flower without worrying about being late for something, or missing a sale.
         Leeli walked through the halls that wound around the school, finding her way to her math class without really thinking anything about it. She stopped short when she saw her. It wasn't only because the girl was in her seat, not only because the girl had her nose, lip and eyebrow pierced.
         The girl was gorgeous. She sported short, white-blonde hair that was cut into a choppy style that seemed to grow in popularity over the past year. She wore a dark skirt that hung far above her knees. On her feet, were a pair of black and hot pink skateboarding shoes. She wore a large white, button up shirt with a black and green tie hung loosely around her neck.
         “Can I help you?” she asked, her soft voice was cocky, irritated.
         “You're in my seat,” Leeli replied with the same cocky tone. If this girl wanted to burn, she was going to fight fire with fire.
         She glanced around the room. “There seems to plenty available seats, why don't you choose another one.”
         Leeli was shocked, her eyes narrowed at the girl. “Look, I sit there everyday, I have since the beginning of the year. Obviously, you're new here. I'm not trying to be a bitch, but that really is my seat.”
         The girl smiled fiercely at Leeli and pulled out her notebook and pencil. She turned to face the front of the room just as the bell rang to start the class. Leeli rolled her eyes and took the seat directly behind the blonde.
         Normally, math was Leeli's favorite class, she never had a problem focusing on the numbers that presented themselves. She was good at math, she knew that much but this stranger was making it particularly difficult to focus. There was just something about her that set Leeli's teeth on edge. She wanted to stand up, numerous times, and demand that the girl give her seat up. Of course, seeing that it was just going to make her look childish, she fiddled with her pencil and waited for the bell to ring.
         The buzzing sound released them from the class, the girl was out the door before Leeli even had the chance to close her math book. She felt her feet carrying her quickly out the door, searching for the bright blonde hair that would show her where to go, who to confront.
         Throughout the rest of the droning day, Leeli waited to talk to the girl. Why she had let the girl bother her that much, she didn't know. Each class seemed to drag on purpose, slowing her down more and more. In between each class, she searched over the crowd of teenagers. Her friends thought that she was losing her mind, only paying attention to half of their conversations and giving out one-syllable replies.
         Finally, the final bell rang, releasing Leeli from her restraints. She just hoped that the girl wouldn't be leaving before she could get sight of her. The buses didn't leave for fifteen minutes after the bell and pulling out of the drive was a pain in the ass when one considered the flow of determined teenagers wanting to get as far away from the building as possible. Friday was their release, two days of freedom.
         “Ugh!” Leeli grumbled after several minutes of hopeless searching. The girl was nowhere to be found. She still couldn't understand why she was so determined to confront the girl, why she had let her claw her way so deeply under her skin. It didn't make any sense.
         Leeli was ripped away from her thoughts when something pushed her into the girl's bathroom to her right. “Hey!” she yelled when the girl pushed her against the wall.
         “What do you want?” The girl asked, frustrated, obviously.
         “Huh?” Leeli was momentarily confused. What did she want?
         “You have been looking for me all day. What. Do. You. Want?” she asked again.
         Her sense slowly came back to her. No, it didn't because there was no sense in searching for the girl, she didn't really have a reason.
         “What's your name?” Leeli asked her. The girl let go of Leeli and stepped back once.
         “You're kidding, right?”
         Leeli had to pause, to think about whether or not she really was kidding. “What's your name?” she repeated. Why do you care, stupid? She asked herself.
         The girl looked Leeli up and down and then shook her head, half of a smile made its way to her mouth. “Zoey.” She stuck out her hand and Leeli took it without so much as a second thought. “You?”
         “Me, what?”
         “Oh my God.” she said, rolling her eyes. “What's your name?”
         “Oh! Sorry, I'm Leeli.”
         “Okay, well, I have to go so, yeah.” She stared at Leeli like she had lost her mind. What happened next surprised Leeli more than anything had in her life. The girl closed her eyes and leaned in and she kissed Leeli. Her lips were soft and gentle. Before Leeli could full process what was happening, it was over and the girl, no, Zoey; she was gone.
         Leeli shook her head and wondered if that was really why she was looking for Zoey in the first place. Who knows, Leeli thought to herself. And then she went home.