He is so cute, Holly thought as she wrote the name ‘Scott’ over and over again in the margins of her notebook.
“Look, if you’re going to continue dreaming about Prince Charming, why don’t you just express your feelings?” Candy suggested, peering over Holly’s notebook.
Her mouth was so full of pizza; Holly couldn’t even understand half of what she just said. She looked at Jasmine, who shrugged her shoulders in agreement. Candy, on the other hand, decided to keep talking, her double chin shaking in unison.
“Maybe he’s waiting for you to just explode with passion!”
“You might just explode altogether,” Jasmine mumbled under her breath.
Candy laughed, not hearing Jasmine’s comment, and grabbed a chicken wing covered in barbecue sauce with her sausage like fingers. She bit into it and continued talking. “If I were, you,” she started. “I would just grab him and kiss him in front of all these people. Imagine how jealous the other girls would be!”
Holly twirled her pen in her hand and thought about what she was able to understand of Candy’s motivational speech.
Express my feelings, she pondered. How am I supposed to express my feelings? I don’t even have the guts to get up off this seat and start a conversation with him! I might embarrass myself and lose my chances forever!
She looked down on the page in front of her, and started drawing hearts with her green pen.
Maybe I don’t have to say it to his face, she continued to think. Maybe, I can write him a note…
Later that day, Holly sat with her friends in the library of the school, wondering what could have been taking Scott so long. School was almost finished, and she had placed the note in his locker sixth hour. Now, it was tenth, and she still hasn’t heard from him. “What if he doesn’t write back?” She asked with a glum voice. So much for expressing my feelings…stupid Candy!
“Did you put your name?” Jasmine asked.
“Yes.”
“Did you put your number?” Candy inquired.
“Yes.”
“Maybe he hasn’t gotten it yet.” Jasmine proposed.
Holly shrugged her shoulders.
“Or he thinks you’re a creep and doesn’t want to write back,” Candy said, chuckling.
Holly’s heart sank and felt nervousness sink in. She could feel little beads of sweat forming on her forehead and her hands started to get clammy. What if she’s right? She thought. What if he thought I was weird?
“Ugh.” She grunted and let her head fall to the table. I hate my life.
The girls sat at that table for a good fifteen minutes, not saying a word to one another. Jasmine was busy drawing in her sketchbook, planning out her portfolio for college. Candy was probably thinking about food. All was quiet, except for the sound of papers rustling and pens scratching.
Candy suddenly let out a gasp and toppled over her chair.
“It’s…it’s…it’s…,” Candy stuttered.
“Go on, let it out. You probably ate so much today that it put you in shock.” Jasmine said as she continued on her drawing.
Candy started tapping Holly’s arm. Her tap felt more like a punch. “Hey…hey…,” she continued to stutter.
Holly moved her hand away. “Leave me alone,” she said.
“No…no…it’s…it’s…,” Candy continued.
“Why don’t you go to the nurse,” Jasmine suggested. “You look like you’re turning blue.”
“IT’S SCOTT RYDER!” Candy finally yelled out loud. She was panting now, and her face slightly changed colors. Jasmine and Holly’s heads shot up and saw Scott walking in their direction, holding a folded piece of paper in his right hand.
“It looks like the note!” Jasmine said with excitement.
“Is it just me, or did it suddenly get really hot in here?” Candy asked unzipping her sweater.
A small smile formed on Holly’s face, but it didn’t show her true excitement that she felt at that particular moment.
Scott reached their table and came to a stop. There wasn’t a smile on his face, but that was normal. Scott never smiled. He was always so serious, so collected.
He looked at the three girls, then right back to Holly. She felt her cheeks getting hot and her hands started to get clammy.
His eyes are so beautiful, she thought.
“Are you Holly?” He asked in a deep, mysterious and handsome voice.
Candy choked on the mint she was sucking on and fell backwards again.
“Ye….yes,” Holly stuttered.
He handed her the folded piece of paper. She took it with a shaking hand and clutched onto it tightly.
“Should I, um, open it now?” She asked him. He simply nodded with no expression.
She grinned and looked at her friends, who were still staring at Scott in awe.
“I didn’t think you would write back,” she started again. “Thank you.”
He said nothing. Holly sighed and took a deep breath. This is it, she thought as she unfolded the paper and looked down, but instead of finding a response, she found…correction marks? There were correction marks all over her note. Eliminations, deletion marks, spelling corrections, punctuation marks. She flipped it over to the back, and her hands started to get clammy all over again. There was a grade. Like a teacher would put on a poorly written essay from a student.
D-?!
“I would have given you an F,” he started. “But I felt that would have been too harsh.”
She had no words to say whatsoever. This can’t be happening to me.
“I suggest you get a tutor,” he said as he started to walk away. “You’re never going to pass high school with those skills.”
Holly’s lip trembled and her eyes started to water as she read what he had written in his perfect penmanship.
D– ~~ I’m not interested. I have school to worry about. I also like girls who are somewhat intelligent.
That night, Holly lay in her bed, still holding the note. She looked it over multiple times, and each time she saw his neat, perfect handwriting, the more she wanted to punch him the face.
“What a jerk!” She yelled, throwing her pillow at the door. “He should be thankful he even got a note like this!” She buried her face into her comforter and let out a sob.
But then again, I bet lots of girls give him their numbers saying that they’re interested.
She crumpled the note in her hand and screamed, the sheets muffling her voice. She tossed and kicked, thrashed and screamed. There was a small knock on her door, and her Father came in silently, his hands behind his back.
“Hi, Daddy,” she said glumly. He smiled at her and sat down on her bed.
“Sweetheart,” he started. “I have something to tell you.”
“What is it?”
He hesitated and looked around her room, then back at her.
“We’re going to have to sell the house.”
“Why?”
“We can’t afford the mortgage anymore. It’s getting too expensive for us to handle.”
“Where will we live, then?”
“I’ve asked an old friend of mine if he could take us in for a few months, and he agreed to it.”
Holly pouted and her shoulders slumped. First the note, now this.
“I guess,” she said quietly.
“Oh, sweetheart, it won’t be that bad,” he continued. He stroked her hair for a minute, and then said, “Has Daddy ever let you down?”
She smiled and shook her head. “No, you haven’t.” She hugged him tight and the anger that she felt just a few minutes ago suddenly disappeared.
“We’ll be alright, Holls,” he said.
Holly laughed. “I know we will be.”
It was only a fifteen minute drive to her new home, but it still felt like the longest fifteen minutes of her life. Instead, it felt more like fifteen hours. The house was a handsome mansion, surrounded by trees, shrubbery, and flowers. A metal gate circled the entire perimeter, giving it a secure and hospitable feeling. Holly was in such awe, both of the house and the owners that she had almost forgotten about her troubles. Until that night.
This book is horrible, Holly thought miserably to herself as she sat on the sofa in her bedroom. She had almost forgotten that she had a book report on Hamlet to finish for the coming week. It was so extravagant, so luxurious, that it was hard to concentrate on anything else.
She tossed the book to the side and groaned. This is why I don’t do homework.
There was a small knock on the door and Roxanne stepped in. She was a petite woman, with long blonde hair and deep blue eyes. She looked to be about in her mid-forties, or a little younger. She walked over and took Holly’s hand.
“Come on, dear,” she said cheerfully, pulling her to the door. “My husband just cooked dinner. I bet you’re starving!”
They made their way down the spiral staircase and walked into the lovely mahogany kitchen.
“There they are,” William said with exasperation. “You girls getting along well?” Roxanne nodded and looked at Holly’s Father. “She’s like the daughter I never had.”
Holly smiled. “Thank you,” she said quietly.
William laughed. “Speaking of kids,” he retorted. “Where are your sons?”
Roxanne led Holly to her seat and sat down next to her.
“Jason should be coming down any minute, and Scott is still at school. He should be coming home soon.”
Holly froze in her seat. She wanted to ask Roxanne to repeat the name she had just said again, but she knew she would sound ridiculous. It’s just my imagination, she thought calmly. I’m sure it’s a different Scott.
Suddenly, the front door opened and a young man stepped in. He made his way into the kitchen and stopped in his tracks. His eyes bored into Holly and surged panic throughout her body.
Oh no. Holly dropped the utensils she was holding in her hands. Scott Ryder was standing right in front of her, and she was in his house. This cannot be happening to me, she thought.
“Scott,” Roxanne said as she stood up from her seat. “Don’t just stand there and gape. Be polite and say hello to our guests!” She scolded him. Scott said nothing. He just glared at Holly, like it was her fault she was there. The adults all laughed uneasily, as the two stared one another down with deep, brooding glares.
He slowly walked over to her, keeping his eyes firm on Holly, taking each step slowly and carefully, as if one little mistake was made, the entire place would explode. He leaned over and whispered in her ear. Holly shivered, but caught her reaction and stopped. “Now?” She asked him with deep question. I’m kind of scared to be alone with you right now, to be honest, she thought nervously. He nodded and indicated for her to go up the staircase.
“You two know each other?” William inquired. Before Holly could respond, Scott was pushing her out of the room and up the stairs, where they could be alone. He led her into his bedroom, which was right next to hers, and slammed the door behind him. It was dark and she couldn’t see anything, and a feeling of uneasiness crawled up her spine. What if I get raped?! She panicked.
Scott turned on the lamplight sitting the desk in the corner of the room and glared at her. “What the hell are you doing here?” He asked annoyed.
“I don’t know?” She said quietly.
“When my parents told me that a girl would be living in our house, I expected someone much more gifted than you.” He hinted.
She crossed her arms over her chest and bit her bottom lip. She wanted to leave.
“Look, I didn’t know it was going to be your house,” she started.
“Right, I’m sure you didn’t.”
“I was expecting someone else too, you know.”
“Oh yeah? Who?”
“Someone better than you,” she said angrily. She opened the door behind her and stomped out, leaving Scott standing alone in his room.
Now five months later, and things still haven’t changed. Every day was a constant battle for the two, but they started to warm up to the fact that they were living under the same roof. They saw each other so much that Holly started to get sick of seeing his perfect face. Each day they fought however, just brought them closer and closer to one another.
That night, the two were alone and minding their own business. Holly was in the kitchen, studying for her upcoming exams and Scott was in his bedroom, probably doing something other than studying. Scott doesn’t study. He was naturally smart.
She was working an essay on the solar system, and she was trying so hard not to fall asleep on the table. She might start drooling.
A set of footsteps made their way down the staircase. Holly looked up and saw Scott standing at the entrance of the kitchen. “What are you doing here?” She asked, annoyed.
“I live here,” he retorted.
“Right, I forgot,” Holly said as she returned back to her essay.
“Shouldn’t you be asleep?” Scott inquired. He walked toward the refrigerator and took out a water bottle.
“I have work to do,” she answered bluntly.
“Since when were you so serious about school?”
“Since I decided I want to go to college.”
“If you graduate,” he murmured.
Holly glared at him. “Did you come down here just to annoy me?” She asked.
Scott laughed. “Like I would waste my time annoying you,” he said. “I have better things to do.”
“Then why don’t you go do those better things back up in your room,” Holly retorted. She opened her laptop and started typing her essay.
Scott ignored her. “I’m hungry,” he said. “Make me something.”
Holly growled and stood up from her chair. “You can’t tell me what to do!” She yelled at him. Scott looked back at her surprised. She cornered him to the counter, staring up at his eyes.
“What?” He asked surprised.
“You’ve been treating me like crap since I moved in here,” Holly said angrily, poking him in the chest. “I actually liked it better when you didn’t know who I was!”
“I knew who you were,” Scott laughed.
“That doesn’t matter. What matters is that I’m not going to take your crap anymore. You can’t keep treating me like this. You’re not the boss of me.”
Scott laughed to himself. This girl is unbelievable, he thought, shaking his head. Holly turned to leave, but he retaliated and pushed her to the wall. He propped his arm up, blocking her passage way and inched closer to her face. Holly wanted to run away, but she was glued to the spot, and her feet didn’t want to move. “I’m a jerk, aren’t I?” Scott asked with a grin. His breath was warm, and she was mesmerized. She nodded meekly, but said nothing.
“So, that means you’re over me, right?” He continued. Holly nodded again. His eyes shone and he smiled again. “Prove it, and tell me that you don’t feel anything after this.”
Is this kid on drugs? She thought. “Prove what?” She asked confused.
Scott shrugged and smiled. He inched his head closer and closer to hers, until their noses were only inches apart. Holly tried to pull away and dash for the door, but he kept her pinned up against the wall. He laughed, and pressed his lips against hers, giving her no time to protest and retract. After a few seconds, she closed her eyes and felt her body relax. He’s kissing me, she thought dreamily. He’s kissing me.
Scott pulled away as Holly opened her eyes. He smiled and kissed her softly on the forehead. Her heart fluttered and her stomach dropped. She was feeling strangely ecstatic over a guy who treated her like garbage, like she was worth nothing. Snap out of it, Holly, she thought angrily. Remember what he did to you. She glared at him, her cheeks red with fury. She wanted to punch him in the face again.
“What was that for?” She asked annoyed.
Scott laughed and sighed. “Just enjoy the moment,” he said calmly.
“What was that for?” She asked again, but this time, there was anger and hostility in her voice.
“One playful kiss at a time,” he said.
“What?” She asked confused.
“One playful kiss at a time, until I decide.”
Holly looked at him, dumbfounded. I wonder what type of drugs he’s on… she pondered.
“Decide what?”
He laughed and shook his head. He started to make his way up the stairs, as if nothing had ever happened.
“Just start counting,” he said with a wink.