Evenhim.
She also was really creatively smart. In English, she was a champion.
A master.
All of that didn’t add up to a mere6.All of that was beyond the numbers 1-10 that Joshua seemed to feel only existed.
Deep down, it disgusted Seth. But the part of him that wanted to fit in, that wanted tobelongto a crowd, and a popular one at that, forcibly overlooked his distaste. He gritted his teeth and laughed along, as though he were as shallow as Joshua.
As if he believed in those numbers.
The highlight of his first high school year, however, was that his parents were at least beginning to pay attention to him. His grades were doing well, and the teachers praised him at the end-of-year parent and student interviews.
That night, his Dad actually suggested they eat out at a nice restaurant. Seth bloomed with pride. He was determined to keep it going.
But over the summer holidays, his parents had gone back to their routine. Dad would stay working late nights and be too tired to watch a movie as a family whenever he got home, going straight to shower and bed. His Mum was there more often, but she spent a great deal chatting with her friends on phone calls.
They never asked about what Seth was doing. Or how he was going. The friends he made, or how he was finding class.
He’d gotten used to it. Back then, in primary school, Seth craved for them to pay attention more. But now, he sought this in his friends. Even if they happened to be dickheads, because at least they seemed to care.
It was at the beginning of Year 8, when the summer heat still lingered toward the end of January, that Seth realised the gossip hadn’t just been contained in his grade, but had somewhat spread to the teachers too.
Did teachers even care about such trivial things?
Apparently, they did.
It started out when their science teacher, Mrs Kaleski, asked them all to line up against the wall for their first science class of the new year.
They were inYear 8now, she explained. They no longer could act like animals in a classroom, chatting, conversing, mucking around. Which is why she enacted the dreaded seating plan.
One by one, his friends were called up, being placed next to other classmates that heknewthey weren’t close with. Or really, anything with.
This class is really going to be the drag of the year, huh?Seth thought, as Joshua, was assigned beside Layla.
There were only a handful of them left, and none of them Seth was particularly close with. I mean, at least there was Gwendolyn or Bianca.
Oh please, let me be seated with either or,Seth manifested.
“Seth Moore,” Kaleski called. His desk was in the middle column, but thankfully it was the second last row. Carrying his things, he sauntered over, placing his textbooks sloppily over the surface.
Please call out Gwen or Bi-
“And Nina Mendez.”
Seth froze.
No, no.
Actually, the whole class seemed to freeze along with him. The most uncomfortable few seconds of silence of his life occurred. Until, the class erupted.
Laughter poured in from his peers, who all turned to watch as Nina walked over to her side of the desk. She was looking around at her peers, a nervous smile on her face. She glanced at her desk as she reached it, not even meeting his eyes.
After placing her books down, her gaze shifted to the ground. Not once did she look at Seth.
If she likes me so much, why don’t I feel like I exist to her?Wait, why did he even care?
They stood side by side, leaving all the space between them as one could possibly muster.
