Unexpected Lessons

As much as I hated studies and school, I was actually looking forward to the next day of summer school.

I have had a crush in the past, but none quite like this. I was just so mesmerized by her eyes of different colors. No matter what it was that she would be talking about, I could just get lost in her gaze.

There was so much about her that I wanted to know, I just didn't know how to ask without being so invasive.

In the dimly lit classroom with Sunlight being the only source of lighting, The teacher had already gone over the lecture and had left us to complete the assignment.

It was surprising to me that I managed to stay awake.

That teacher spoke with such a monotone it was like listening to a broken radio.

I looked over and observed how easily CC went through the equations with such focus. My eyes tried to follow the work she was doing and compared it to what was on my paper.

I had absolutely nothing.

Even going back and reading these formulas in the textbook and looking over the notes from the teacher, it still looked like some Alien Language to me.

"Psst."

My attempt at getting her attention was not very effective. The desperation led me to swing my foot to the side and kicking her leg.

CC quickly snapped to glare at me but immediately changed her response. She could tell by the look on my face that I was beyond lost. "Do you not get it?"

I shook my head and shrugged.

She looked over at the teacher who was just casually reading some book and not really paying attention to the class. Her expression showed she was a bit annoyed by this. "Ugh." She growled.

"OK. See that number." She tapped on the equation written on my paper. "Multiply it by this number."

The more she walked me through these problems, the more I started to figure it out and understand the assignment.

"Oh!" It had finally clicked. "Shit. These are easy."

Did she know some kind of shortcut or a different way of figuring these kind of problems out? What she was doing was nothing like what the teacher explained.

CC had already finished her assignment and was doodling along the edges of her paper.

What is this girl? A genius?

I fidgeted and twirled my pencil between my fingers. "Ummm... You clearly know this stuff. Why exactly are you in summer school?"

"I wanted to get ahead so I could graduate early." She said proudly.

"Seriously? That's a thing?" This was not something I was expecting to hear. This was one of those truths that hit you at the molecular level.

"You didn't know?"She returned the same puzzled look that I was gaving her.

"No." I was completely dumbfounded. "I always thought summer school was just for slackers and those who failed classes "

"Well, yeah," she saidextending out the yeah. "But you can also take them for extra credit. Besides, summer classes are shorter and a lot easier."

"Damn. I Wish I knew that." I leaned back and relaxed on my chair.

She was just dropping all kinds of secret knowledge. Any more revelations, my brain might implode.

"Now you know." She winked.

I instantly puffed my chest out proudly and had a finger pointing into the air. "And knowing is half the battle."

Without a moment of hesitation, we simultaneously sang "G.I JOE!" out loud. We were giggling loudly like a bunch of little kids afterward.

The teacher cleared his throat loudly.

CC and I quit giggling and looked over at the teacher whose eyes were focused on us. We composed ourselves and returned to doodling and looking over our work.

After he scolded us with a glare, he returned to reading his book.

The moment I knew he wasn't looking, I made a very lewd gesture that made CC snort loudly.

He peeked up from his book and we quickly composed ourselves again as if we were working on the assignment the whole time.

It was at that moment we were on the same brain wave and just knew each other's thoughts. We would randomly peer over at each other at the same time and snicker like we just told a joke telepathically.

"Stop." CC whispered with a hint of laughter under her breath.

Meeting CC was probably one of the best things to have happened all year.

Day after day, we would just have fun in class...of course while also doing the assignments.

We would pass notes with funny jokes written on them. I would sometimes draw a bunch of faces and expressions on a piece of paper and she would draw the rest of the head and body. This had us laughing hysterically.

I started to bring my Gameboy to school and we would play the VS mode of Tetris using the link cable during break times. We would even trade games to play.

Thanks to her, I was able to play Kirby's Dreamland 2.

The teacher didn't find us amusing at all as it was distracting at times. He really could say much either because we were actually participating and doing our assignments.

CC was actually helping me understand math a little better. That is strange for me to say. Math was the bane of my existence.

I never liked asking for help from the teachers as I felt like I would slow down lectures, or become a burden whenever I didn't understand.

She, however, did notice and helped me whenever I was struggling.

The teacher even noticed improvements in the assignments I actually turned in. I went from barely passing to a B-. That was a huge improvement to me.

I was really growing feelings for her. She was bringing me hope, I was just too shy and scared to express myself.

Summer School was starting to become enjoyable.

One Monday, CC seemed particularly cheerful than usual. When she sat down, I couldn't help but notice that she had a slight blush peeking through her cherubic cheeks. "You seem like you had a good weekend?"

"I did." CC sighed and nodded. "I wish it didn't end."

Starting to get even more curious, I had to push for more information. "How so? What did you end up doing?".

She opened up her lunchbox purse and pulled out a strip of photos to show me. They were from those photo booths at the mall. "I pretty much spent all weekend hanging out with Kenny..."

"Kenny?"

The way she said his name echoed in my head. I looked at the cute pictures and immediately recognized Kenny.

"So that's where Kenny ran off to." I joked.

"Wait! You know Kenny?!" CC was a bit surprised.

"Yeah. I've known him since 7th grade. He's a good guy." I nodded "I know Kenny really well."

Kenny was truly one of the nicest people I've known. Me, Kenny, Adrian, and some kid we called Gilligan were a group of friends in middle school. During the freshman year, Kenny was hanging out with me and some of the misfits until he slowly vanished.

Now I know. He was dating CC

"How long have you been with Kenny?" I asked. I couldn't help but feel a bit jealous and heartbroken at the same time.

"This weekend was our 10-month anniversary. Look what he got me?" She had a new silver ring adorned. It was a Claddagh, an Irish-style promise ring.

I was holding my jaw from dropping and trying my best to hide my mixed emotions. "10...months!?

"Yeah." She replied.

"Wow." I nodded accepting this small defeat. "You... 2 must be getting serious."

"Mhmm. I really think he might be the one." She said in a really dreamy manner. "He just knows exactly what to say, how to make me feel special..."

She was spacing out into her own thoughts.

Kenny really had her floating on cloud 9.

Looking again at the picture strip, they really did look so happy together. The silly faces they were making, the warm smiles and the starry look in their eyes...

All I could do was be happy for them.

Even in knowing about her romantic relationship with Kenny, we continued to enjoy each other's company throughout the rest of the course.

We were just two friends with a similar sense of childish humor.

A friend and a tutor. If it wasn't for her, I would have failed the summer course as well.

I started to see CC as a dear friend and Kenny was already a friend as well. I didn't want to feel intrusive so I felt I should try to move on from that crush.

It was only a crush...and that's probably all it will ever be.

Maybe I really wasn't meant to experience love and affection yet...or probably ever.

Summer played a cruel trick on me.

However things are going to go, I'm still hopeful.