When I walked into my biology classroom, Connor’s eyes fell over me, lighting up in joy. A wide, happy grin spread across his face as I made my way over to my seat. I sat down and looked over at him.
“Hey,” I greeted him casually. I was trying so hard to act as if everything was ok, but I just couldn’t. I didn’t expect to feel so bad after turning Bobby down, but for some reason, I did. There was this awful, gut-wrenching feeling of guilt boiling in the pit of my stomach, and I couldn’t stand it.
“Hi,” Connor replied brightly, focusing my attention back on him. “So, you excited about Saturday?” he inquired.
“Yeah, totally,” I told him, flashing a weak smile. I really wasn’t all that excited about it. Connor was a nice guy and all, but compared to Bobby, he didn’t stand a chance. If only Bobby woke up one day and was completely hideous, un-charming, and not so smooth-talking. Then maybe I would be able to get over him more easily.
I knew that would never happen though. I was attracted to Bobby and I just had to accept that. I also had to get rid of that attraction completely, before it continued to eat away at me any longer.
“Me too,” Connor agreed gleefully. “I’m really looking forward to spending more time with you. I really like you Rachel, and to tell you the truth, I’ve had a crush on you since freshman year. So now that we’re going out on a date, I’m just thrilled. My life is perfect right now.”
“Wow, I had no idea that you liked me that much.” I said, truly surprised. What was so great about me? I wasn’t tremendously gorgeous, or extremely popular, or the captain of the cheerleading squad. I was just a totally plain, average-looking girl. So what did Connor see in me that was amazing?
“Well, I do. And I’m going to make sure that you have an incredible time on Saturday.” he added.
“I’m sure I will.” I reassured him with a grin. Before he could say another word, the bell rang, a signal that class was now beginning.
“Alright, everyone, before we begin, I have an announcement to make.” Mrs. Hopkins declared. I turned my head to face her and when I did, I let out a shocked gasp. Standing at the front of the classroom, next to Mrs. Hopkins, was Lindsey. “Lindsey Kiernan is now a part of our class, so lets all treat her with respect.”
“But she’s only a sophomore! This class is for juniors!” I blurted out, before I even got the chance to consider was I was saying.
Mrs. Hopkins eyed me with irritation, “I know that she is only a sophomore, but she’s been bumped up to our class, because the previous science class she was in didn’t meet her educational abilities.” Lindsey smirked at me and panned me down with her pale green eyes.
I couldn’t believe it. Lindsey was actually smart. In fact, she was really smart. Not many sophomores got moved up to junior-level classes unless they were like, geniuses. I’d always just sort of assumed that Lindsey was a complete airhead like the rest of the cheerleading squad.
“Lindsey, why don’t you go ahead and take a seat next to Rachel in the back.” Mrs. Hopkins said, pointing at the seat directly next to me.
My mouth literally dropped open when she said this. I was so close to shouting out in protest, but decided to keep my cool. The last thing I needed was a detention with Mrs. Hopkins after school.
“I’d love to sit next to Rachel.” Lindsey chirped cheerfully. But I knew that it was just an act in order to get me even angrier. I wouldn’t let her get to me though. I was completely capable of ignoring her existence.
Lindsey sat down in the empty desk next to mine and muttered something under her breath. I couldn’t make out what she’d said, but I wasn’t so sure that I wanted to know. It was obviously some type of rude comment, but I just totally ignored it.
Instead, I turned to face the front of the class, and kept all of my focus on Mrs. Hopkins’ lesson on evolution. As she droned on about Charles Darwin, I could just feel Lindsey’s eyes glaring viciously at the back of my head. But I didn’t turn around. I wasn’t going to give her that kind of satisfaction.
Mrs. Hopkins put a slide up on the overhead that showed a picture of some kind of small cat going through stages until it became a large tiger. “It takes hundreds of years, but eventually creatures make it through the process of evolution, transforming into a whole new creature.”
“So you’re saying that animals get bigger over time because of evolution?” Connor asked. He didn’t raise his hand, which was very normal for him, considering that he was known for blurting crude, sarcastic, yet funny things out in the middle of class.
“Those weren’t my exact words, but yes, they do.” Mrs. Hopkins replied.
“Well then what the hell happened to Clifford?” he demanded with a comical grin. The whole class tried to conceal their laughter, everyone except for Lindsey, who just scoffed and rolled her eyes.
Mrs. Hopkins narrowed her eyes, completely un-amused. “I’m going to let that one slip, Mr. Cordell, but the next outburst I hear from you will be a detention.” she remarked.
“It was a rational question.” Connor argued. “I just want to know how he got so big.” More muffled laughter filled the room, and Mrs. Hopkins just rolled her eyes.
“All of you are juniors here, correct?” Mrs. Hopkins demanded. “Well, all of you, except for Lindsey.” We all nodded, the laughter dying down. “Well then why don’t you start acting like it? Lindsey, the only sophomore in this class, is ten times more mature than all of you juniors. You all need to start acting your age, because I’m sick and tired of you all acting like five-year-olds. Grow up.” Then she turned on the heel of her hideous black loafers and continued on with the slide show she was presenting to us.
After class finally ended, Connor and I walked out into the hallway together. “So, I don’t think Mrs. Hopkins likes me very much,” he said.
I smiled back at him, “Yeah, I don’t think so either.”
“Hey Rachel,” Lindsey’s bright, chirpy voice said from behind me. I glanced back at her, glared, then turned back to Connor. I heard her sigh from behind me, followed by the sound of her stiletto heels clacking against the ground. And then she was walking right beside me. “Would you just listen to me for like a second?” she demanded.
“No, I’m good.” I replied. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Connor eyeing me in concern. He was probably wondering whether he should take over and tell Lindsey to leave me alone or just stay out of it completely.
“I just wanted to let you know that Bobby and I got back together this morning, so stay the hell away from him.” she remarked. I came to a halt right in the middle of the busy hallway, barely even noticing as people pushed past me.
Lindsey walked off down the hallway with a smug smile plastered across her glossy lips and I glared after her, jealousy boiling up inside of me. I couldn’t believe it. Why on earth would Bobby want to get back together with Lindsey? What the hell was wrong with him? He was supposed to be in love with me!
I had to stop thinking these things. I had to stop being so jealous. I just had to stop thinking about Bobby altogether. This was ridiculous. I made a promise to my parents that I would stay away from Bobby. And I wanted to follow through on that promise. But constantly thinking about him wasn’t helping me get over him. It just made me even more eager to see him.
“Rachel,” Connor murmured to me. There was a hurt look in his eyes, like he knew exactly what I was feeling at that moment. Like he knew that I cared about Bobby, not him. “Are you ok?”
I nodded, bringing myself out of the envious daze I was in. “Yeah, I’m fine.” I lied. I forced my feet to continue moving. I forced myself to keep walking, but all I wanted to do was curl up into a ball and cry because my life was so awful. I couldn’t do that though. So I just kept on walking.

Lunch rolled around and I sat down at my usual table. After a few minutes, I was joined by Connor who was silent as he ate his potato chips. Silent wasn’t normal for Connor. I knew he was still upset because of the way I’d acted earlier when Lindsey told me that she and Bobby were going out.
I glanced over at Lindsey’s lunch table, but Bobby wasn’t there. He was probably just running late for lunch or something. I knew that was where he was going to be sitting from now on though. On the plus side, this would make it much easier for me to avoid him. I should’ve been really psyched about that. But I wasn’t. In fact, I was pretty upset.
“Hey,” The sound of Bobby’s voice shocked me. It sounded like it was coming from right behind me. But it had to be in my head. I had to be imagining it. Someone sat down next to me, and I looked over to see that it was Bobby.
Ok, I was seriously going crazy now. Not only was I hearing Bobby, but I was seeing him too. This was really weird. I’d never had a hallucination like this before. It seemed so real.
“Bobby, what are you doing here?” Connor asked. That’s when I realized that this was real. Bobby was actually sitting next to me. He wasn’t sitting with Lindsey.
“Well this is kind of where I’ve been sitting the last couple of days.” Bobby remarked.
“I know, but shouldn’t you be sitting with your girlfriend?” Connor demanded. There was a venomous look in his eyes. His hate for Bobby was visible.
“Yeah, if I had a girlfriend right now.” Bobby replied, looking confused.
“Aren’t you going out with Lindsey?” I asked him.
“That ended a while ago.” he told me. He looked at me curiously, as if he thought I was going crazy.
“But Lindsey told me that you two got back together this morning,” I said to him.
“Well she lied.” he informed me. “There’s no way in hell I’d ever get back together with her.”
I felt my jaw drop open in shock. “So she lied just to keep me away from you?” I demanded. I said it mostly to myself, but Bobby replied anyways.
“I guess so,” he said.
“She shouldn’t have to worry though,” Connor said, “because you two are just friends. Right?” I felt my face begin to heat up as a blush crept across my cheeks.
“Yeah, of course we’re just friends.” I replied. “Right Bobby?”
He nodded, looking a bit uneasy. “Yep. Just friends.”
But I knew that even being just friends was too much.
“Bobby,” Lindsey said, walking up to our table. She sat down next to him, a bright smile spread across her lips. “Hi,”
I could tell that she was trying to make it seem like they were actually going out, because she didn’t know that Bobby had already told us the truth. I decided to play along with her little act just for the fun of it.
“Lindsey, you never sit with us.” I said to her. “So why are you sitting here today?”
“Because I felt like sitting with Bobby today.” she replied, flashing Bobby a flirty smile.
“Oh yeah, I forgot.” I said. “You two are boyfriend and girlfriend now.” A nervous look crossed her face and she glanced at Bobby in panic. “You are boyfriend and girlfriend now, right?”
“Um…” She was at a loss of words, completely unsure of what to say.
“No, we’re definitely not.” Bobby replied, catching on. “Where would you even get that idea?”
“Well Lindsey told me that you two got back together. Was she lying to me?” I acted as if I was completely shocked that she would do such a thing. And a small smile flickered across Bobby’s lips. I could tell he was trying not to laugh.
“I guess so,” Bobby replied. He turned to look at Lindsey, who’s face was beet red. “Why would you do something like that, Lindsey?”
Her eyes were wide and full of panic. “I just thought…I thought maybe…I thought we could…” She trailed off, a blush bringing color to pale cheeks. “I love you,” she stated, looking up at Bobby.
His blue eyes glanced over to me and then back to her. He was clearly unsure of how to respond to that. “Uh,” he began, “I’m sorry Lindsey, but I’m not getting back together with you. We’re just friends.”
“But you’re single now! Becca’s gone! She’s out of the picture!” she cried. “It’s a sign Bobby. A sign that we should be together.”
The entire table was shocked into silence. None of us could believe that she’d actually just said that. But not only was I shocked. I was freaking pissed. How dare that she say that about my sister!
“Listen, you psycho b!tch,” I snapped. “Bobby’s not interested in you. If you haven’t figured that out by now, then you probably need to start riding the short bus. Because you’d have to be pretty slow to not realize that.” Bobby and Connor both had stunned looks on their faces, but I barely noticed. I was too busy going off on Lindsey. “And you do not talk about my sister that way! Got it?”
Her blush went from pink to crimson red and her lower lip began to quiver. I thought she was going to start crying, but she composed herself just before the tears escaped. She rose to her feet, her face free of any detectable emotion, and quietly walked away from our lunch table.
“Wow,” Bobby said under his breath. He was grinning in amusement, his eyes still wide with surprise.
Connor saw the upset look on my face and placed his hand on my shoulder. “You ok?” he asked me.
“Yeah,” I told him. “I’m fine.” I stood up and walked away from Bobby and Connor, heading into the bathroom. Then I locked myself inside one of the stalls and cried. For my mom. For my dad. For myself. And most of all, for Becca.