-Tristan-
As soon as I'd stepped onto campus, my head couldn't stop turning around, scanni ng the mob of students, hoping I'd spot her at last. I'd been keeping an eye for every girl around with similar facial features, comparing them with each other and praying for the best.
Long, curly, black hair...
There! A girl with the same hair was leaning against her locker, laughing with h er friends, and when one of them finally caught me staring, the friend nudged th e curly-haired girl and pointed to me. Then her eyes shifted to mine, and the co rner of her lips turned upwards with shyness.
Before passing her locker, I smirked, yet all I felt was disappointment. She did n't have the exact features of the mystery girl.
"Tris! I've been calling for you three times already!"
A voice startled me out of my thoughts, and I turned to see Clark jogging up to me. We pumped our fists in the usual sign of greeting, and I said, "Ah, I didn't hear you."
Small, oval-shaped face...
He flicked my left shoulder and said, "That's all right, bro. Seems like your he ad's in the clouds again, yeah?" He chuckled, adding, "You're just like all the others who haven't gotten over the dance yet."
"Tell me about it."
The noise dissipated when we entered our homeroom, and then was replaced by seve ral greetings from some of our classmates.
Slipping my backpack off my shoulder, I headed to my seat at the back, where the gang was laughing and talking about something or other. They gave me high-fives and slaps on the back as usual. I returned them absentmindedly, what with these millions of random thoughts swarming my brain.
Leaning against the wall, I glanced out the side window, my hands inside my pock ets. The raucous noise around me rang in my ears, but I wasn't distracted by it as I kept on scanning the students who were walking through the school entrance.
Tall, slim build... Small nose... Huge, dark eyes...
"Bro, that song is so old!" I heard Ryo Knight, one of my pals, exclaim in his J apanese accent as another guy played a Westlife track on his phone.
"So is your mom, but I don't see you complaining," William Reed countered, follo wed by several outbursts of 'Ooh, burn!' and laughter from the others. "Anyway," he continued more seriously, "I have no choice but to use this. She likes old s ongs, from what I've heard."
"So... you're actually dating her? For real? It looks like you're getting seriou s over here," another dude, Justin Case, responded. And yes, that's really his n ame. Creative, right? His parents had to have been huge jokers.
"Why would I not be serious? Monique's a great girl, man."
My head turned towards them in a snap. All their mouths were frozen into O shape s as they stared at a bewildered William.
Eventually, Grey said, "Dude! Did you not realize you're dating T's ex-girlfrien d?"
"Seventh ex-girlfriend," Clark added, and the group's gazes darted towards me, W ill's face turning as white as the classroom wall.
I raised an eyebrow at them, wondering why they were overreacting. I mean, okay, I had dated Monique, and her personality had been somewhat interesting, but app arently, my relationship with her had been just like all the others- childish, c onfusing, and not too serious. It was hardly even worth remembering.
"Dude, you just broke the bro code." Shaking his head, Grey leaned back in his s eat and crossed his arms. "That girl is off-limits, and you know the punishment for that."
So typical of him. Instead of memorizing our coursework, he'd instead memorized the entire contents of the Bro Code.
"Damn, I feel terrible," Will said, his eyes wide. "But really, I didn't mean it . I completely forgot that she was Tristan's ex!" He turned to me, continuing so lemn-faced: "Please don't beat the life out of me. I just got rid of a nasty bru ise from last week, and I'm really not looking to get demolished today, so if-"
I just shook my head and said, "Nah, don't worry, bro. I'll let it slide." Will' s jaw dropped, and I kept going, "Well, if you really like her, then forget the rules, and seize the opportunity. Prove you're actually cut out for her, and don 't let her go. That's how it works, right? Oh yeah, and don't forget to give her sunflowers every once in a while. Those are her favorites."
The other guys just stared at me while Justin started a slow clap. "Whoa - that' s incredible!" he exclaimed. "Such deep thoughts from the prince of campus!"
Grey nudged him and said, "Nope, he's probably just high right now. He was, like , quoting a Nicholas Sparks book or something, which is definitely creepy for hi m."
"I'd rather you called me considerate," I said, grinning before I resumed my sea rch.
After a few seconds of staring outside, I heard Will speak, apparently recovered from his slip-up. "What's the matter with him?" he asked from behind me. "He's been acting like that for a while now, looking through the window like he's in s ome music video."
"He's just searching for someone," Clark said, sounding as if he knew what was g oing in my mind. "Aren't you, Tris?"
"I'm just-"
A voice calling my name in a high-pitched tone stopped me. Turning around, I saw Ronnie sitting on top of the teacher's desk, waving at me with her legs swingin g back and forth underneath. Tossing her straight, golden-brown hair behind her shoulder, she shot me a smile, and then asked, "Wanna come with us after school? There's a new club in town that we want to try out."
Her friends all agreed, nodding their heads at me for encouragement, but I just shook my head and said, "No."
"But we can go bowling after! You like that, right? Please, please come with us? " Ronnie gave me her puppy eyes. "Just this once. For sure it'll be fun!"
"No."
She looked like she was about to cry. "But Fiona won't be there-"
"No." I sighed. "I'm sorry; I just don't feel like it. Try again next time."
Facing the window once again, I tried to ignore the mutters and groans from all the girls. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Ryo shooting up from his sea t, one hand springing up into the air and the other pulling up Justin.
"Since Tristan's not joining, we can be his replacements!" he called. "I think i t would be ten times more exciting if we-"
"Definitely not!" was Ronnie's grumble. If Ronnie had been a cartoon character, Ryo's question would've made smoke blow from her ears and nose.
I felt bad for my friend, though, being burned yet again. Behind me, I heard him moaning, "Chikushou, nandemonai!" and God only knew what the meaning of that ph rase was. Probably a string of curses they used in Japanese TV or something.
Then someone slung his arm around me; it was Grey motioning for me to sit down. I gave in, slumping into a seat before crossing my arms across my chest.
"Wow, this is the first time we've heard you decline a hot girl's offer," Justin remarked, his brows scrunching up. "Watch out, they're going to skin you for th at one."
"Whatever. I got a lot of things on my mind right now."
"We can tell that," Clark said, poking me in the shoulder. "Still thinking of th e girl, huh?"
"That's just like him, thinking of the opposite gender for hours," Grey commente d, then glanced at Clark. "Who is she, anyway?"
"That's what he's trying to figure out."
I put my arms on top of the desk, leaning closer to my friends. "Do you guys hav e any information about the girl who took over for the opening dance? At the Val entine Ball, I mean. Do you know anything about the Queen's replacement dancer?"
Ryo said, "Eh? You're into that..."
"Just answer the question."
The guys looked at each other and shrugged, and disappointment drove through me like a bulldozer again.
"Even we were wondering about her," Will remarked, but when he saw my heavy gaze , he hurried to revise his statement: "B-but, you know, not in that kind of way. We weren't calling dibs or anything. She's yours. All yours."
"Ooh, wait, wait, I think I know her!" Justin hooted all of a sudden, snapping h is fingers as if he were getting an idea. "The girl who replaced Lacey Harris, h uh? I think I know who you're looking for!"
For a moment, I thought my heart was going to leap out of my chest. Snapping my head up, I couldn't help but giddily ask, "You know her? Really?"
"No." He snickered. "Ha! Got ya, T!"
There's always that one friend of yours that you just want to smack in the face with a brick.
I pointed my finger at him sharply, giving him a death glare. "Okay, you may hav e got me there, Case, but you better shut up before I could go Darth Vader on yo u."
"Oh, don't worry, dude," Ryo exclaimed to Justin. "I know Kung Fu! We can go Neo over him."
"What?" I stared at them as if they were losing their minds. And by now, I think they really were.
Justin spread his arms out like Jesus. "Welcome to the Matrix, sucker."
The rest of them cracked up and gave high-fives.
"Fuck you, guys," I muttered. "Do you think this is a joke?"
Clark took the opportunity to cut in, saying, "You're actually making a big deal out of this girl?"
I wanted to argue, but I realized he had a point. Why was I making a big deal ou t of her? I usually just kept calm and waited for a girl to approach me, and if she didn't, I'd just assume she was an introvert and forget about her. It was th e typical behavior of a guy, though I knew it wasn't the best way to go.
But now everything seemed to be changing, and I found it strange to have a parti cular girl stuck in my brain for minutes, hours, days, maybe months, if this kep t up. Overall, I had no idea what had been going on with me lately. Had I hit my head somewhere without my knowing? I'd been acting nuttier than peanut brittle, and I had no clue why.
All I understood was that she was a girl I didn't want to forget.
But if I don't forget about her, I might drive myself crazy...
My friends were still waiting for a response, and the only one I could give them was a shrug and a head shake, since I had no idea how to answer them best.
Raising his hands in surprise, Grey said, "Whoa, the Casanova's getting serious just because of a girl? For real? That's news to me." He then turned his attenti on to the others and said, "All right, listen up brothers, enough dicking around . T's in serious condition here. And this kind of thing only happens once in a b lue moon, meaning we'd better make the most of it." Then he looked back at me, j abbing his thumb back at himself and adding, "We'll be your wingmen in the searc h for whoever that girl was."
"So... this is like a search party?" Clark asked; his face similar to a person a bout to witness the apocalypse.
"Yeah, let's call her Cinderella!" Ryo said, causing all of us to stare at him a s if he were stupid. And yes, he really did look like stupid, his finger pointin g upwards as if there was a light bulb on his head.
"You're a big fan of that story?" I asked with a sneer.
"Iie! I only know that because my little sister was forcing me to watch the Disn ey version with her... along with the other movies, like Barbie and Bratz."
Grey patted him on the back, saying, "I know how it feels, bro. I have a young c ousin who's like that, only she goes for Twilight and shit. Anyway, I think Ryo finally has a point here. The girl's like Cinderella, since no one even knows he r identity, Tristan is the prince, of course, and we guys are like... like..."
"The mice," Justin filled in.
"Exactly." Grey nodded, then slapped his forehead when Justin's words sank in. " No, jeez! Why would you compare us to the mice? We're like... like... uh, forget it."
"So, you guys are really helping me to find her?" I asked.
"Dude, a bro doesn't let a bro have all the action alone. We got your back, righ t, guys?" Grey held out an open palm, glancing around us with his brow rose. Bea ming, we all slammed our hands against his as a pact and let out several hoots.
Everyone else in the room was staring at us as if we were a bunch of idiots, but at that point, I really didn't care.
"Awesome," I said breathlessly. "Then what's the plan?"
Before any of them could answer, Mr. Cross entered the room, and everyone rushed to their seats. His grey brows knitted, and after waiting for us to settle down and keep quiet, he slammed his book onto the table and proceeded to the blackbo ard. Without saying a word (and without apologizing for his delay), he began to write down a series of long mathematical equations, much to the class's frustrat ion, but no one dared to speak up as we copied them in our notes.
I caught a glimpse of Grey mouthing at me, "Plan. Later," and gave him a quick n od, finally sensing a ray of hope that managed to lighten my mood somehow.
Cinderella, huh?
If she was Cinderella, she should have at least left a glass slipper behind as a clue, right? But she didn't leave a single thing...
Cinderella, where on Earth are you?