Tuesday Teaser!
She never really did fit in with them in the first place, but there was a certain content security in being friends with the popular kids. Everyone was nice to her, even if she barely knew them, and the jealous stares and new-found respect made up for the things she knew were being whispered: Why is Andrew dating her? He could do so much better. Sure, she probably puts out, but she’s so weird.
Before Andrew, none of that would have bothered her. Before Andrew, her peers wouldn’t have cared enough to say these things. In many ways before they’d started dating she was nobody, but at the same time, she was somebody; independent, and known only for herself.
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She’d been alone in the theater after drama when they’d first spoken. She, the typical dramaphile, was practicing her lines for the school’s production of Cinderella. It was to be a mature piece filled with the original nasty details like sawed-off toes. She was, of course, Cinderella, and was trying to find a way to play the traditionally gentle and naïve character with more bite.
Andrew, a volleyball star with no artistic gumption, had been placed in the class to expand his horizons. By some chance he’d left a textbook in the auditorium. Sascha was standing onstage with her back turned, and didn’t realize his presence. She ran her lines again and again, stressing different syllables and ranging between terror and anger. All the while he watched, turned statuesque by her voice, with only the view of her casual summer dress and the blond vines of her hair.
She screamed when she turned and saw him standing there. He was stock-still, his bright blue eyes headlights-wide, with freckles dusting his pronounced cheekbones. His hair was light brown and cropped close to his skull. At that moment, her heart beating in her chest, all Sascha could think was how beautiful he looked.
“You scared me,” she’d said, breathless. He held up his textbook as if to answer and unspoken question.
“I don’t know much about all this, but the way you speak… it’s beautiful.”
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From Poisk
Enjoy your week, lovelies! :)