Page 10 of Beautiful Trauma

“Tell me, Elijah, do you kiss the hands of all the girls in school?”

“Sometimes I do, Katie. Sometimes I do.” I found the flirtatious sparkle in his eye intriguing.

“Aren’t you charming?” I rolled my eyes at him.

“That’s what they tell me. Listen, thanks for the pen.” He pulled it from his back pocket and handed to me.

“Keep it. We have a vocab quiz in English third period.”

He shrugged sheepishly. “I know. I just wanted an excuse to talk to you again.”

“I guess I ruined that plan, didn’t I?” I walked toward my next class. “Oh, and Elijah?”

“Yes, Katie?”

“That’s not my pen.” I turned and walked into my next class without looking back.

As was the norm with Eli, he strolled into English class ten minutes after it started and took his seat next to me, dropping a note onto my desk with a wink as he did. Our teacher, Mrs. B, didn’t comment on Eli’s tardiness and just shook her head as if to keep herself from making a snide remark.

I slid the note onto my lap out of sight. We were in the middle of our quiz, so I finished it up before reading the note. Private school had more than prepared me for all the college testing, so general high school classes were a breeze.

As per usual, I was the first to finish, so I took my paper to Mrs. B’s desk, put it in the designated spot, and retreated to my desk.

I opened the note.

K - Ditch gym with me -E

His handwriting was perfect. Most guys I knew had chicken scratch for penmanship, but not Eli. He had carefully printed out the words. I wondered if that was how he always wrote or if this was just how he wrote when he was trying to pick up girls. Taking a peek at his quiz, I saw the same perfect printing.

I added a response:

I enjoy running. I get to listen to my music and forget about all the drama here. What do you have last period? We can just cut the day early. - K

I folded the paper back up. When he went to put his quiz on Mrs. B’s desk, I tossed it onto his seat. He was one of the last to bring up the quiz, so Mrs. B was getting her materials together for her lecture as he returned to his desk. I saw him pick up the note and tuck it into his pocket.

At the end of the period as we filed into the hall, he grabbed my hand to hold me back. “Katie, hold up.” I stopped and faced him. “I didn’t know you were such a rebel. Ditching last period sounds excellent. I hate chemistry.”

“And I already speak Spanish.” I winked. “You have a plan for this, I assume?”

“No plan needed. Just walk out the door near the gym like you mean it and meet me in the side lot. Nobody pays any attention to that.”

“Public school is so weird. I gotta head to my next class. See you later.” With that, I walked away.

I saw him in gym class while I ran the track listening to my favorite emo music to get me in the zone. Something about running made me feel free. Running while listening to The Used was a step above that somehow. I caught Eli out of the corner of my eye across the track. He was walking next to a friend of his whose name I didn’t know. A few moments later, I was passing him as I kept up my speed.

I ran a lot of laps around him in that hour.

Heading out the door near the gym as the bell signaling last period rang, I spotted Eli leaning against the brick wall and went to him. “So, what’s with the note, Jenkins?”

“You’re here, aren’t you?”

“Normal people text.”

“Only if they have the person’s number.” I’m such an idiot. He handed me his phone to put in my number. I texted myself so that I’d have his as well as we walked away from the school. Once off school property, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a joint. After lighting it and taking a hit, he offered it to me, and I followed suit. He whistled. “New girl, I am shocked.”

“I don’t know what you’ve heard about me then. I literally just walked out on last period with you. We met like four hours ago. What about that doesn’t scream ‘makes bad choices?’”

He tipped his head back with laughter. “Heard you came from a private school. Assumed you were a goody-goody, but perhaps you’re slumming it in public school because they kicked you out?”