“Hey Clara, wait up!”

Turning around, Clara saw Alex approaching her. “What does he want?” she wondered. She wasn’t exactly a loser, but she wasn’t part of the popular crowd either. He is, though. She looked at him warily, all the while trying to lift her huge backpack. She and her classmates just came from a concert where here choir was part in and were now loading their stuff in the buses. At least, Clara tried to, but her bag proved to be too big for her tiny frame.

Jogging up to her, Alex saw her wrestling with her pack. “Need a hand with that?” he asked. Without waiting for a reply, he hoisted it up his shoulder.

“Uh, thanks,” Clara said, looking up at him uncertainly. A good six inches taller than her, she had to tilt her head to see his face.

“No problem,” he grinned, revealing straight white teeth. Almost against her will, she smiled back shyly. forgetting even for just a minute that her crowd and his don’t mix. “Where’s your sidekick?” he asked, looking around. “He’s not tailing you again, is he?”

Instantly, Clara’s smile faded. “If you’re referring to Jeremy, he’s not here because he’s not part of the choir and,” she said coolly, “the same goes for you.”

Alex held his hands in front of him. “Hey, easy! I didn’t mean anything by -”

“Really?” she asked, raising an eyebrow at him. “Why did you call him my tail then?”

“Well, he is always following you around,” Alex said a bit defensively.

Clara shook her head. One of the rare times that they talked, and they just had to end up bickering. Not that it’s a new thing. Ever since… No, Clara pushed that painful thought aside. I will not go back to that again. Not ever. She ran a hand through her hair.

“What do you want, Alex?” She finally said, wearily. “Look, I’m tired, and if you came here just to be insulting, then, don’t bother.”

“Sorry. Look, forget what I said a few minutes ago. I just wanted to congratulate you for a great concert.” Alex smiled apologetically.

Clara stared at him in disbelief. “You came here just for that?” She asked disbelievingly. “Some congratulations,” she added, muttering it under her breath, but lowly so he couldn’t hear.

“What can I say?” Alex said, grinning again. “I had to hear my favorite alto sing.”

Clara ignored the “favorite” part. Alex was a well-known flirt, after all. Instead, she asked, “How did you know I’m an alto?”

Alex’s smile faded somewhat. He took a deep breath. “Joanna told me about it,” he mumbled finally.

“Oh.” An uncomfortable silence followed.

“Anyway,” Alex said, finally breaking the silence, “would you like to ride with me? I’m about to leave anyway.”

“Ride with you?” Clara asked blankly. The school’s most popular guy, asking her to ride with him?

“Hey, don’t look as though I asked you to jump over a cliff!” Alex said, laughing. “You can always -”

“Clara!” Startled, the two turned to see Chelsea and Jennifer looking at them in surprise. “The bus is about to leave!”

“Be right there!” She called out, then turned back to Alex. To her surprise, he was frowning. “Look, I have to go. Thanks for the offer though,” she said, smiling at him apologetically. He didn’t smile back. What’s his problem? “Can I have my bag now?”

“I’ll bring it to the bus,” he said shortly, still not smiling. After stashing it with the other stuff, he went to the side and watched the rest of the crowd board the bus before he went to his car.

Clara walked near the back of the bus, where her friends were seated. Immediately, she was plied with questions by Chelsea and Jennifer, but she didn’t answer them. In fact, she wasn’t even paying the slightest bit of attention to her friends, a rare occurence. She might normally be shy, but she’s the crazy one among her friends. She just stared at the window while the others looked at her with disbelief.

What was that all about?

——

That’s my first story.:) Sorry if it’s lousy, it’s practically my first time to write something that’s not fanfiction.:p Please tell me what you think, and if you want me to leave this as it is or continue with it.