Chapter 4

The long wait had finally over. Honestly, she had just waited for about twenty days. But to her excitement, twenty days seemed forever. Wasn't it too exaggerated for a fifthgrader to feel that way? What mattered most was, she needed to wear her best and be attractive to James. Well, congratulations to her because she even managed to be in the same class with James. Sometimes, it was worth  the effort to be a good actress and she got it. She smelled the success for her plan.

She was so true to her word about her so called seriousness. She had arrived in the class room in a perfect timing. The teacher was a about to speak when she interrupted.

"Good morning, fellas!" Danielle exclaimed with a bright smile and energetic vibes. She had even raised her arms up high while facing the whole class. Nothing could ever describe the emotions she felt inside. All she knew that moment was, she's smelling success. Success that it had to do with the young love of hers. She already claimed it as she entered the classroom.

What an epic entrance! Well, that was crazy! None of them utter a single word, neither Terrence nor James. Their eyes were focussed in one direction, they're looking at Danielle. There could be a certain word to describe their reaction, and that was 'Gape'! They were all gaping to see a crazy stranger in their class. And it took a few seconds for Danielle to feel the awkwardness. She had slowly turned and greeted the teacher.

"G~Good morning, ma'am.  Did I make it on time?" awkwardly, she asked.

"Well, you're just a second away from tardiness. And you must be..." Ms. Mckittrick said.

"D~Danielle Torres," she faked her smile as she was waving.

"Oh, right! So, it's you. You know, I've heard so much of your story and I'm so aware that you are an actress. But I tell you, I am the best actress here,'' Ms. McKittrick emphasized her authority and glared at her with an 'fool me and you're dead'  look.

Everyone was murmuring after hearing such words from their teacher. That was scary! Very  very scary! This could be a terror class. But thinking about the positive side of it, having this kind of teacher could help the school to be a bully-free zone.

"O~Of course you are, Madame," Danielle had acknowledged the authority of her teacher. She was maybe a drama princess but she was not stubborn. She was raised in decent family with good manners and right conduct. She absolutely knew where she stood but she couldn't blame the teacher for saying it.

"Good! Oh wait, you're the third student came from same school. Is this merely coincidence or did you guys plan  this?''

"I uh... I don't think so. I as far as I know, it's just me and my best friend Terence,' she stuttered knowing  that she had  planned all of these.

"Alright, you can find your seat now."

Danielle was roving her eyes to see a vacant seat. Terence was waving at the back but she ignored it when she saw a slot besides James. Perfect! Everything went well for her plan. But as she was heading to that seat, everyone was gazing at her, even James. A kind of gaze that could melt someone, and she was half way there. She almost lost her strength but she had to be still. Come on! Hold still, Danielle.

"Eheerm" she cleared her throat as she gripped her hands to gain strength.

"Is this seat taken?" she couldn't stop her lips from shaking as she was facing the person whom she admired.

"No," what a plain answer from James! There was no emotion at all. He quickly turned his head to a another direction. Obviously, he didn't want to have a conversation with her.

"I'm Danielle. Nice to meet you. And you are...'' as if she didn't know the guy. With this acting, she could have been awarded as best pretender ever. Well,. for the sake love, she did it all.

Danielle offered her hands to him for a handshake but he ignored her, so she had taken it back. Awww! What a shame! But wait, why she was not affected? As she was seated, she even tried to whisper.

"Hey, look...I'm trying here, okay?" she said in a hush tone.

"Who told you to do so?" he sarcastically replied.

Whoa! Thas was a direct hit. It smelled like there would be another big challenge for Danielle, and that was the aloofness of James. She had no plans of giving up despite the hostile treatment she got from the guy

Well, let us see how far could she go.

"That made you even more cute. Uh...So sweet," James didn't expect to hear that. He turned to her with a frown.

"Oops. Did I say that out loud?" she covered her mouth because she herself couldn't believe what she had just said. She intended say it silently, but it turned out that she's thinking out loud. You see, when a person's mind engaged in something, either in positive thought, angriness, feeling in love etc, they're more likely to think out loud. And sometimes, they even laughed alone and that's worst because if people watching could think that she or he's crazy.

His aloofness had no effect to her. She had even managed to ignore his aloofness and remained in a good vibes. Hopefully it would last and she would be able to win his heart or else all her efforts would end up in vain.

While everyone was busy on the class, she was also busy eying James. She couldn't take her eyes off him. How could she ever get concentrate in the class like this? Did she forgot the condition that had been given to her in order to remain in this school? In just a blink of an eye, she forgot everything. It could be worse.