First Sight

--Lan--

"Lan Lan. Lan. Laaaaaaannnnnnnn."

"No."

"Please, Lan Lan?"

"No."

"Are you really going to eat that?"

"...Fine." The small cup of pudding slid across the table towards the outstretched hands waiting eagerly. The grabby redhead devoured it quickly and grinned at her friend.

"Thanks bunches, Lan Lan, I was positively starving."

"Amelia, you literally just finished your lunch," I sighed. "How you possibly stay in shape with your appetite is beyond me."

"Lan Lan, face it, you eat at least as much as I do," Amelia rolled her eyes. "If I'm being honest, I wonder how you stay so toned. At least I'm in track and field, but you despise running."

"Maybe I'm just genetically blessed, or, you know, there are other types of exercise that can keep you in shape without running," I told her. We have had this same conversation way too many times.

Brrrrrriiinnnngggg!

We walked to class, our voices hushed in the chatter of the other students.

"So, Lan Lan, I heard that a certain blond has been staring at you all class period for the past week," Amelia started.

"Which one?" I murmured with a smirk.

"Okay, we get it, you're hot and you know it. Jeez, with how cocky you are, why do all these boys fall under your spell?"

"Amelia, I'm confident for a reason, and you are just as popular with the guys as I am, so I don't want to hear it," I paused. "Was it Nathaniel or Martin?"

"Ha! I knew you were interested!"

We walked through the door, falling silent. The professor, Mr. Myrkel, glared at us over his wire rim glasses.

I whispered, "Tell me after class, ok?" and Amelia nods. We quickly faced front and started pulling out our laptops.

***

There was a flurry of chatter and noise as the students shuffled papers, closed binders, and zipped up their bags. Everyone always hurried to escape the clutches of Mr. Myrkel, even this early in the year. As we all hurried past with our heads down, he seemed to sneer at us on our way out, his gnarled claws gripping his old cane.

As soon as we burst safely into the hallway, Amelia got started.

"So, Nathaniel Dubois, age 17, blond hair, brown eyes, French roots. He speaks fluent French and Spanish, and he has a super sexy accent. Trust me, it is wonderful. Anyway, since he transferred here in sophomore year, he's had two relationships. He was with Janica Demori for seven months, and they're still friends even after the breakup, but, and I admit this makes me doubt him a little, he went out with Tammi Dean for two months."

"You're right, I don't know how it took him two months to figure her out. She's not that subtle, and it's really Amanda that calls the shots. She's the cruel one, but Tammi's just a lackey," I said, opening my locker. Amelia leaned against the locker beside me, resting her head against the creaking old metal.

"Maybe we'll get lucky and her Daddy will have finally sent his little angel to a private school," she sighed.

"Or she could have had a change of heart. She might be tired of being the bad guy by now," I said, closing my finicky locker door. "Alright, let's go."

Walking down the halls, we saw the person in question, her little cronies flanking her like loyal dogs. Her bottle blonde hair fell back over her shoulders as the light hit her green eyes, the scene straight out of a teen movie. As she passed, she and her posse sent us identical nasty scowls before turning and sashaying away, the sway of their hips so obviously exaggerated it was comical.

"Nope, she's still a b*tch."

"Yeah, what were we thinking? She would never randomly grow humanity," I sighed. "I hope she doesn't make too much trouble this year, I don't have time or energy to deal with this too."

"Don't worry, Lan Lan, I've got your back." Amelia linked her elbow in mine.

"Thanks, babe." We walked out the doors, giggling, and into the parking lot. Stopping next to my beat up sedan, I dug around my bag chaotically for my keys, Amelia laughing at my disorganization. Suddenly, she fell completely silent.

Looking up, I froze.