Fourteen by C.M. Smith (short story to read .txt) 📕

go inside the school. I’d sat in my car in the farthest corner of the parking lot, watching everyone walk inside, chatting, laughing, and completely unafraid to pass through the double doors. I kept my head down when I made it inside, my stomach in knots, feeling like I was going to spontaneously combust at any moment as I shoved my things into my locker. I grabbed my human physiology book and made it into the classroom as the second bell rang, my eyes trained on the floor as I made it over to my table. Evan was already there, and I could feel his eyes on me as I sat down. Looking straight ahead, I noticed that Steve’s head wasn’t in my way as it usually was. I felt a small sense of relief that I wouldn’t have to deal with him today as well.

“Anna,” Evan whispered when everyone was seated and Mr. Streeter had started roll call.

I ignored him, grinding my teeth as I grabbed my pen and played with it nervously. I managed to call out a shaky here when my name was called before tapping the end of the pen against my notebook and wiggling in my seat.

“Did you see them?” he said, when I didn’t say anything.

I shifted uncomfortably, trying to concentrate on anything but what he was saying.

“Anna, please,” he begged.

“See what? Pictures of me in some humiliating pose plastered in the hallway? No, I didn’t,” I snapped in a whisper, still fidgeting with my pen as Mr. Streeter finally started the lesson I wouldn’t be paying attention to.

“You didn’t open it.”

“Open what?”

“Did your Dad give it to you? He said he would.”

I closed my eyes and did my best to block him out.

That stupid envelope had been taunting me ever since my dad gave it to me. I’d tried my best not to think about it, but that hadn’t worked. It didn’t help seeing Evan in person, either.

“I got it,” I finally whispered back.

“Why didn’t you open it?”

“I had things to do.”

“Anna, I’m sorry. You have to let me explain.”

“I don’t have to let you do anything, Evan. You won. Give it up. Whatever else you had planned, I’m sorry, but I’m not going to keep playing this game.”

“There is no game and I didn’t win. There was nothing to win. In fact, I’m pretty sure that I lost it all!”

“Drake! Weller!”

We both looked up to find Mr. Streeter staring at us along with the rest of the class.

Huh. Guess we raised our voices a bit.

“Sorry,” Evan mumbled, hunching his shoulders.

I said my apologies as well and flipped open my notebook, the pen still held tightly in my hand as I tried to focus on the words the teacher had written on the blackboard.

The rest of the class passed without incident until Mr. Streeter gave us ten minutes before the bell rang as free time, reminding us that the science fair was this Saturday.

“Will you come over tonight?” he asked, his eyes trained on the books piled in front of him. “We need to get everything for our project worked out.”

He was right and I hated it. We still had a lot of work to do and barely any time to do it.

“I’ll call my dad during lunch,” I said.

“Thanks.” He played with the edges of his notebook.

“Will you ever talk to me again?” he whispered.

I almost faltered, the tone of his voice nearly breaking my heart, but I sucked in a deep breath, staring hard down at my books. “I’m talking to you now.”

“About anything else but the project?”

I shrugged, rubbing my thumb on the binding of my textbook. “I don’t know.”

“Please just let me—”

“No, Evan.”

“Anna, please—”

“Stop it,” I whispered, my eyes watering as I committed the doodles on the cover of my book to memory.

“That was from a party about three weeks ago—”

“Stop it, Evan.”

“I didn’t know you then, Anna. It doesn’t make it right, but—”

“Evan, stop.”

Thankfully, the bell rang, and I think I was the first one up and out of my chair, practically running to the door and not caring whom I knocked over on my way there.

I should’ve stayed home.

I pulled up behind Evan as he parked in his driveway and placed my hands in my lap.

It had been one hell of a confusing day, and I just wanted it over with. No one had said a word to me today—aside from Vince and Christina who had told me that they’d left the party almost as soon as they’d arrived—when I’d finally showed up in the cafeteria after calling my father who agreed to let me go because he was all about Evan these days.

I had never gone through a school day where no one had made any kind of comment to me, and I wasn’t entirely sure what to do about it. There was a lot of staring and a few snickers that only made me speed up my pace as I walked by. I’d managed to avoid Kyle and Ashley, not entirely sure if they’d want to talk to me anyway but wanting to cover all of my bases while I could.

I was mentally exhausted, and the last thing I really wanted to do was sit in Evan’s house with him as we worked on this stupid science fair project that started this whole damn mess.

A few more months, Anna, and you’re gone. You won’t see him, and you won’t have to deal with any more of this crap. You can start over and things will be better. You’ll make them better.

I grabbed my bag and pushed open the door. I got out and met him at the front of my car, and he offered me a weak smile before walking toward the house. I followed behind him, and he held the door open for me. He took off his shoes and hung his keys on a rack by the door. Figuring it was okay,