Chapter 6

    Chapter 6: The Harp


 

 

I woke up to my alarm clock again, six in the morning, bright and early, Ugg!  Off I went to have my morning shower.  I got dressed quickly in jeans and a light sweater since it was supposed to be a cool day according to the forecast on the radio.  I ate breakfast alone today because James had already gone into the ‘office’ as he called it.  He worked in the recruiting office for the military.  He did something special for the government that he wasn’t allowed to talk about.  I found it funny and thought of him as a James Bond 007 type, always off on some secret mission.

I got to school early again and walked to my locker so that I could get organized for my morning classes.

“Hey Anastasia” said Jeff.  He was a short boy with bushy black hair and thick glasses.

“Hey there, how are you?” I smiled tentatively at him.

“Christine wanted me to ask if you could get her homework for this morning’s classes.  She’s been sick since Tuesday.” he said and blushed tomato red.

“Sure, I wondered where she was.  I’ll drop it off at her place on my way home.  Um, what’s her number so I can call her when I’m on my way?” Jeff handed me a piece of paper with Christine’s number on it. He smiled and started to walk to his first class.

“I’ll see you at lunch” he called.

“Sure” I said.

I grabbed my books and went to biology.  The morning went by fast and I was glad that algebra was almost over.  Our lecture was interrupted by a knock on the door.  Mr. Chang came into the class and spoke for a moment with Mr. Scott.

“Anastasia, would you please go with Mr. Chang for a moment?” Mr. Scott asked politely.

“Sure” I answered, as I quickly collected my books and wrote down the homework assignment. When I got into the hall Mr. Chang was waiting for me and motioned me to follow him.  We arrived at the music room a few minutes later and there, sitting by the piano, was a harp.  My eyes widened with wonder and joy as I dropped my bag and ran down the stairs to my favourite instrument.

“May I?” I breathed, reaching for it and caressing the harp as one would a cherished loved-one.

“Please do.  I’m anxious to hear you play” He replied watching me expectantly.

I sat on the small stool and leaned the harp into my shoulder.  I stretched my fingers slowly and then began plucking the strings playing a sad melody that Stacy had taught me years ago.  I played all through the lunch hour completely forgetting about the time.  Mr. Chang interrupted my concentration only when the lunch hour was almost up.

“Anastasia, it’s almost time for your next class” he said regretfully. He had been as consumed with my playing as I had been.

“Oh” I said sadly, shaking off my revere.

“Don’t worry you’ll be playing again in a little over an hour” he said.  I smiled at the thought and as I looked up I saw Lizzy and Alexander staring at me with curious expressions.  They looked at each other and then Alexander walked away.  Lizzy grinned at me. 
“I’m glad you enjoyed yourself” she laughed. “You looked so sad when he asked you to stop.  What was that tune you were playing?”

“It was a song my aunt taught me.  My mother apparently wrote it and I always think of her when I play” I sighed dreamily.  I walked to the top of the room and slowly out the door with Lizzy by my side.

“So are you still planning on coming out with me this weekend?” Lizzy asked deliberately not bringing up any questions about my mother.  I was very thankful for that.

             “Sure am, my godfather said that I should relax and have some fun.  I’m looking forward to getting out.” I replied.

“Great, I’ll pick you up tomorrow at eleven o’clock.  Here’s my cell number, what’s yours?”

I wrote my number down on a piece of paper and gave it to her. “I’d better get to the library, I’ll see you later Lizzy.”

“Bye, see you next period.” she called as I walked down the hall.

I entered the library and I saw Tisha and Michelle glance at me, questions evident on their faces.

“You didn’t come to lunch. Is everything ok?” Michelle asked.

“Mr. Chang asked me to go to the music room.  He found a harp for me to play and I lost track of time.  I do that when I play. Sorry.”I replied sheepishly.

“Jeff was disappointed.  He wanted to ask you something” she said giving me a strange look.

“Oh.  Well I guess it’ll have to wait till next week” I shrugged.  I would definitely have to avoid Jeff.   Which got me wondering about Paul; So I decided to go to the bathroom with my old cell phone.  When I turned it on there were four messages and the last message nearly scared me to death.  I heard the crackle of a bad connection followed by, “Anastasia, I will find you.” A deep Spanish accented voice said threateningly.  I started to shake uncontrollably as I broke the phone in half.  I took out the sim card from the back of the phone and put it in my pocket then threw the pieces of the phone on the floor and stomped on them as hard as I could shattering every piece.  Then I quickly cleaned up the pieces and threw them in the garbage.  Still shaking, I looked at my reflection in the mirror and saw how pale I was.

“Are you okay?” A sweet concerned voice asked.  I spun around and saw the girl with long brown hair and beautiful sapphire eyes watching me intently.

“Y-ya, I’m fine” I stuttered as I looked down and rushed out of the bathroom so I wouldn’t have to explain my breaking the phone.  She stared after me with a worried look on her face.

I returned to the library and hid in a far corner away from everyone else and tried to control my breathing because every time I inhaled it sent shooting pains through my ribs.  I clutched my side as I shook.  The only thing I could do to get my mind off the message was to hope that the bell would ring soon so that I could go to the music room and get lost in playing the harp.

When my spare was finally over I gathered my things and ran back to the music room for class I tried to put a happier expression on my face but I’m not sure it worked.  Lizzy watched me carefully as I took my place and I could see that she was worried.  I could hardly wait to play the harp again, that way I wouldn’t have to look at her and wonder if that other girl had told her something. 

Mr. Chang brought out new sheet music for the class to learn.   Now that he had a harpist he wanted to showcase the class in the Christmas concert.  We needed to learn some old Irish carols and they were wonderful to play.  Some were upbeat while others were sad and lilting.  I had played two of the four songs before because Stacy thought it was important for me to broaden my musical interests.  I knew I would have to practise quite a bit if I was going to play in a school concert in a few months.  Mr. Chang said I could stay after school for an hour each day if I wanted to practise and I could come on my lunch hour too.  I thanked him knowing I would be in here as much as possible.  What he didn’t understand was that I regarded music as one of my safe havens; music was familiar to me because it was a little piece of my mother and her friend Stacey, but most of all music was a mental escape.

Today was also the day I was to do the challenge to get out of the physical education class.   Before I walked to the back of the gym I changed my clothes and made sure to tape and bind my left side really well.  I didn’t want to be in too much pain while doing the obstacle course. I walked to the back of the gym where the coach waited with his friend.  I eyed the two men and then got myself ready to run their supposed obstacle course.

“Anastasia, are you ready to try and beat my friend?” The coach asked smiling.

“Yes, I’m ready but what exactly will we be doing?” I questioned.

“You just need to follow Jack and if you can keep up with him I’ll exempt you from all physical education classes.” The coach answered.

“You look familiar to me Jack” I observed, eyeing the man.  I knew he was a street runner, he had to be.  He possessed the well muscled physique of a runner and I couldn’t shake the feeling that I knew him.

“I was a well known street runner when I was younger” he said smiling.  I nodded and moved my hand indicating for him to start.  He grinned and took off with me hot on his heels as he did his first trick which was a simple flip over the stairs. I added a little more flourish with a back flip twist and kept pace with him easily.  He ran and performed trick after trick, flipping and tumbling off buildings and other obstacles.  Whatever he did, I matched and stepped up the bar pushing him.   When we arrived back at the school he ran up the side to the roof as I followed. He did a back flip off the roof and a summersault as he landed and went to join the coach.  I smiled at them both and took a few steps back, then ran full tilt and launched myself off the edge twisting and turning gracefully in the air landing softly on my feet.  I executed a sassy bow to both men and joined them.

“You’re a street runner” The coach said a bit annoyed. I nodded grinning, as I panted and wiped the sweat from my face.

“You move like a girl I heard about named Jade Angel.  Have you heard of her?” Jack asked.

“Yes, she was a good friend of mine” I said wistfully.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were a street runner?” the coach asked.

“And take away all my fun?  Hardly! Besides you didn’t ask and to be honest, I thought this place would be boring for running but I see it’s possible to find fun even here.” I grinned completely invigorated by my run.

“Well, I will keep my word.  You are exempt from the physical education classes.  Well done” the coach said.  I nodded and happily walked back into the school to get my homework and head home.  That was great fun, I thought to myself, but it sure didn’t help the fact that my ribs were still broken and healing.  I sighed as I leaned against a locker trying to breathe deeply as the pain in my ribs slowly subsided.  I was going to hurt like hell for days because of this.  I’m such an idiot I shouldn’t have gone on the run but it was worth it to get out of a class, and I had to admit it was great fun.

When I finally called James, he was relieved. “I was getting worried kid.  What kept you?”

“I was in the music room playing the harp.  I’m sorry.  I tend to loose track of time when I play.  If I could afford to buy one, I would.  It makes me feel calm to play.  With all the craziness in my life, this is my mental escape and I also had my physical education exemption run to do.”  I was talking very openly to my godfather thinking I was alone and I hadn’t realized that Alexander Foxworth was leaning against the wall listening to me.  When I noticed him I jumped, startled, and flinched slightly at the pain that shot through my ribs.  He smiled slightly amused, not realizing that I was in pain.

“I’ll be home soon James.  Do you need me to get anything on my way?” I continued my conversation with James ignoring Alexander.

“No kid. I’m good. See you soon.”

“Okay then, bye” I waited until James said bye and snapped my phone shut and quickly walked to my locker.  I looked over my shoulder and there he was, god, he was gorgeous.  Alexander was walking leisurely towards me and I blushed looking down at my feet.  I grabbed my stuff from my locker and started to walk toward the stairs, attempting to pretend I was ignoring him and the effect those gorgeous green eyes had on me.

“Are you going to say hello or are you going to run and hide in your car?” a deep amused voice asked from beside me.

I looked up into his vivid green eyes for a moment not sure of what to say.  He smiled.  “I don’t bite you know” he laughed.  I felt my heart start to race and I knew I was blushing furiously.  Lovely. Here I was, completely alone with the most gorgeous guy I have ever seen and I was blushing like a little kid!   His voice was like silk and I felt my knees starting to melt and then I remembered I wasn’t supposed to like him.  To be completely honest, I felt so confused when he was around that I didn’t really know how to act. I’ve been defensive and that hadn’t worked, so perhaps some different emotion would get him to go away.

Although, did I really want him to leave me alone?  I wasn’t so sure anymore.

“Um, hi.” I whispered as I bit my lower lip nervously.  I couldn’t look away from those beautiful eyes, they were intoxicating.  We looked into each other’s eyes for what seemed like an eternity when he finally said “I think you had better get going. You still have to go to Christine’s don’t you?”

“Yeah I do.  Thanks for reminding me. Wait, how did you know that?” I looked at him questioningly.  He just smiled at me and headed down the stairs.  I followed him to the parking lot trying very hard not to make a sound even though my heart was racing and it felt like it was going to jump out of my chest.  I saw Will the cousin with the Sapphire blue eyes leaning against Alexander’s black BMW waiting for him.  There was also a group of jocks tossing a football around waiting for him as well, it seemed that a group of girls were standing off to the side watching him and his cousin as they giggled and spoke in whispers. I sighed and shook my head.  I had best forget about him.  I didn’t want to become one of those simpering, brainless idiots.  I lengthened my stride as I headed for my car

“I heard you got out of gym class.” Alexander turned and said.

“Ya, so?” I looked at him a bit confused.

“I never thought of you as the street runner type” he replied amused.

“And what type of girl did you take me for?” I snapped as I realized that he was only trying to get me to blush again.  Seriously, now he was just getting on my nerves.

“Well, a girl who hides in the music room is hardly the kind of girl I thought you were when I saw you at the gas station.  You were almost a lioness then and now you act like a weak little girl who’s lost.  But then again you did put Mark in his place the other day in the gym” he mused.  “You’re a confusing contradiction.” I stopped walking.

“Oh, I get it.  You think you were being a hero at the gas station.  I’ll let you in on a secret” I smirked eyeing him.  “I don’t need you! A dumb jock who thinks every girl will fall all over themselves to get you to notice them.  If you think I care what you think you’re sadly mistaken, and if you want me you’re going to have to work a lot harder catch my eye.  I don’t go for guys who have half, if not all, the school jockeying to be your best friend and hanging on every word you say!” I sneered as I put my hands on my hips.

“You’re feisty. I like that” he grinned.  His eyes were amused as he gazed intently at me.

“Alex, stop flirting with the new girl we got stuff to do.” Will called, his voice dancing with amusement.

“Will, I’ll be with you in a minute” Alex replied sparing his cousin a cursory glance.  He gazed at me and despite my anger, I felt as if he could read me like an open book.

“You don’t like it when people figure you out” he stated matter of factly.

“You have hardly figured me out” I replied flatly.

“You like being on your own, you like the quiet and solitude of your music and you enjoy the rush of danger that street running provides which means that you are either very sure of yourself or you’re running from something or maybe a bit of both” He cocked his head to the side giving me a cocky grin.

I stared at him in disbelief as he perfectly described me.  Who was he and what did he want with me?  He was right. I hated to be figured out.  I liked to remain an enigma both for personal reasons and for my survival.

“What do you want?” I asked unnerved.

“Just for you to go on a date with me” he replied smiling engagingly at me. “I’m not a bad person - really!  You might even enjoy yourself.”

“Not in this lifetime” I replied quickly still annoyed with his psycho-analysis of my personality. I turned and walked away toward my car.

Once I reached the safety of my car I took a deep breath to calm my nerves and winced in pain; I really needed to remember that my ribs were broken. I sighed as I sat for a minute in disbelief.  I managed to keep my movements smooth and relatively fluid during the running but I knew that I was going to be in a lot of pain later.  I can’t believe I actually spoke to Alexander and I can’t believe I treated him that way.  He just got under my skin so easily and he was so annoying! How did he know that I had to stop by Christine’s? Was he eaves dropping on my conversations too? I was absolutely baffled.

I called Christine on my way home, she gave me instructions to her house and I dropped off her homework assignments for the weekend, I wished her well and then went home.

I ate dinner with James and we talked about our days but I didn’t tell him about the message on my old cell from New York.  I didn’t want to worry him.  I did the dishes and decided to get my homework done early.  James watched the hockey game; the Leafs were playing Montreal tonight.  I would glance at the score every now and then while I finished my math problems.  Once my homework was done I headed for bed even though it was still early as I wanted to get a good night sleep for tomorrow.  Suddenly I had an overwhelming feeling that I needed to check something online.  I turned on my computer and googled the New York Times.  On the front page was an article about the tragic shooting of an eighteen year old boy from Manhattan.  He had been gunned down in broad daylight in the crowded area of Time Square.  When I read the name I gasped.

“Oh God, no” I whispered though my hand.

“What’s wrong?” James asked as he came to see what I was looking at.

“He died because of me” I whispered.

“Don’t be ridiculous, it was a drive by shooting” James said scanning the article.

“You don’t understand.  He called me on my first day of school, he was trying to get me to tell him where I was but I wouldn’t tell him and now he’s dead.  I listened to my voice mail from my old cell today and a Spanish accented voice said he would find me.  They killed him because of me, he was my friend and now I’ll never see him again.” I was shaking with fear and for the first time James placed a hand on my shoulder and squeezed gently.

“I’m sorry Anastasia, I’ll let my contacts know.  Don’t worry we’ll keep you safe, I promise.” James said quietly his voice full of concern.  I nodded slowly as I realized I need to stay in shape and practise my martial arts as much as possible no matter how much pain I was in.  If my father had no problem killing an eighteen year old boy what would he do to me?

“James, I wanted to ask you a question before I go to bed.”

“What’s on your mind?” he looked down at me and tried to smile but he could see the fear and anxiety written all over my face.

“Is there a clearing nearby that I could go to?  I want to practise my martial arts stuff but I need room to move.  I don’t want to wreck anything here and I don’t want an audience, if you know what I mean.”

“I’ll look into that for you. When did you want to start practising?” he inquired.

“I was thinking on Sunday since I don’t have any plans.  I don’t want to get rusty.  I have to be ready for anything.” I looked at him seriously.

He nodded sombrely. “I’ll see what I can come up with.  When are you going out with Lizzy?” I

know he was trying to get my mind off the article that was blaring across the screen of my computer.

“She’s picking me up around eleven o’clock.  Don’t worry I’ll call you if I’m going to be late” I smiled half heartedly.

“You’re a good kid. Thanks for letting me know where you’re going to be and who you’re going to be with.  Most teens aren’t that mature.” he honestly.

“Well I was taught to be responsible and I like that I have someone looking out for me” I looked at my feet, trying to be as normal as possible.  I wasn’t used to telling people how I felt, but James seemed to be able to get some of the barriers down not all of them but definitely a few.  James nodded and smiled.  I walked back to my room and quietly closed the door before I threw myself on my bed and cried myself to sleep praying that no one else would get hurt because of me.

Chapter 5

                                     Chapter 5: Gorgeous but Annoying

 

It was my second day at school and I just wanted to be left alone, however the hard part is that in a school this small it’s hard to disappear into the background and since I’m the new kid everyone wants to talk to me about New York.  I don’t really want my life to be broadcasted so that everyone knows about me, god these people they are so nosey!  I guess that’s what it’s like to live in a small town; this was going to take a bit to get used to.  It’s almost lunch and I really don’t want to go to the cafeteria or the library so where do I go?  Camp out in my car? No, that would be an easy place for people to look.  I turned my head and looked out the window and there they were a grove of seven huge Maple trees, now there’s a place I could go to think!

The bell rang so I gathered my books and headed into the hall with all the other students.  I bee lined for the stairs and went to my locker. I dumped my books and grabbed a notebook and a pen and slipped them into my backpack and headed outside.  I put my ear buds in and cranked the tunes on my iPod as I headed around the school.  I walked under the first maple tree and looked up into the branches - it didn’t have what I was looking for.  The second maple tree was perfect, it had large enough branches that were high enough up to shield my presence if someone were to walk by.  I walked back about thirty paces and ran straight for the tree. I ran up the trunk four paces and grabbing onto the first branch I swung myself up twisting agilely so that I landed on my feet.  I hopped up to the next branch and settled myself into a small and relatively comfortable nook by the trunk of the tree.  I shimmied my back pack off and pulled out my notebook and pen so that I could write.  I also pulled out a map of the area and began to study it.  If I was going to be living here I needed to learn as much as possible about this town’s layout and the surrounding area.  I had to make contingency plans in case my father showed up; I had to have a least five plans, that way if one failed I could switch to another without thinking too much.  I studied the map and circled the major routes into and out of town, then I pulled out my highlighters and started to mark alternative routes in case I was cut off.

I opened up my notebook and started working on plans A, B and C.  While I was staring off into space thinking, I dropped my pen, and it landed on the ground right in front of a teacher.  I swore under my breath as he looked up with a startled expression on his face and spotted me lounging a good fifteen feet above him.

“It’s time the two of you headed for class.” He said.

Two of us? What was he talking about? I turned slightly and looked up into a pair of amused emerald green eyes and cocky smirk.  Alexander Foxworth was sitting above me just to my left.  I hadn’t even noticed him and there he was examining the map on my lap.  I glared at him as I quickly folded the map and stuffed it into my bag with my notebook and highlighters.

“What’s your hurry?” Alexander asked with an amused tone.

“I don’t like being watched by jocks with hero complexes.” I snapped.

“Well you’re in my tree” he replied arching his left eyebrow.

“Your name isn’t on it; first come first serve.  You weren’t here when I came outside” I replied coldly.  It didn’t matter how gorgeous he was, he was really getting on my nerves and it seemed that everywhere I went he always showed up.  He was cocky and excruciatingly annoying.

“Well I enjoyed the view” he smirked and the double meaning in his words was evident.  I rolled my eyes and slipped my backpack on.  I looked at the teacher as I leapt to the ground landing softly on my toes and snatching the pen out of his hand.

“Thanks for my pen” I said and started heading for the school.  The teacher had an astonished and bemused look on his face as he watched me walk away.

“You don’t like me do you?” an amused voice behind me said.  I stopped and spun to face the boy who had spoken to me.  I couldn’t figure out how he could sneak up on me like that; he was so quiet and stealthy like, it was unnerving!

“What do you want?” I asked in an annoyed tone.

“To know what you’re working on.” He replied looking at me curiously.

“That’s none of your damn business, so just leave me alone.” I turned and started back towards the school.

“Why are you so jumpy?” Alexander asked.

“I’m getting tired of nosey people like you” I retorted.

“Do I bug you?” he seemed so pleased with himself as he looked at me.

“As a matter of fact you do, so why don’t you go bug someone else and leave me alone” I glared at him as butterflies danced in my stomach as I looked directly into his amazing emerald green eyes.  I was almost lost for words as I studied his gorgeous face.

“See something you like?” he smiled leaning forward.

“No” I said too quickly turning as I tried to hide my blush and I rushed to music class listening to him chuckling behind me as I ran up the stairs.

Lizzy waved to me as I entered the music room and headed to the piano.  I nodded to her a bit agitated and sat down on the piano bench.  She looked at me slightly confused and then she noticed her brother walking to the drums.  I watched her eyes glaze over and then noticed Alexander turn slightly to look at her.  I would have watched them longer but Mr Chang called the class to order.  It was like they were communicating telepathically, I shook my head.  I must be imagining things.

            After class I quickly gathered my things and headed to my car.  As usual I noticed Alexander leaning on his car watching me as I opened my car door and as usual, there was a group of guys and girls crowded around him and his friend with the sapphire blue eyes.  It was amazing how everyone seemed to gravitate towards them.  I shook my head slowly and got into my car.  I was startled when I heard a tapping on my window and saw Lizzy smiling at me.  I rolled the window down and smiled back at her. “Hi Lizzy”

“Hey, I know you still haven’t decided about the movie but I was wondering if you wanted to get lunch together tomorrow, you know girls only” she asked.

“Are all the groupies coming too?” I asked arching my eyebrow at her.

“Groupies?” she inquired confused.  I looked behind her towards the group surrounding her brother and gestured with my hand towards them.

“Oh I was planning on asking a few people to join us, why?” she replied thoroughly confused.

“Would you mind if it was just you and me, I’m not big on crowds.” I asked softly not sure what her response would be.

“Okay sure, but I figured you would like a group since you’re from New York” she replied with a hint of uncertainty in her voice.

“I may have lived in New York but it doesn’t mean I like crowds or groups of people.  I prefer one on one conversations, less noise and distractions” I replied.

“Sounds good to me” she replied with understanding in her beautiful eyes. “We’ll just get to know each other.  See you tomorrow?”

“I’ll see you tomorrow.”

            When I got back to James’ place I changed my clothes so that I could go for a run.  I went into the bathroom and reinforced the bandage around my ribs so that it was good and tight.  I knew it would be uncomfortable to run, but staying alive was more important than a bit of rib pain.  I took some Ibuprofen and then grabbed my iPod.  I looked at the map I had been studying earlier and then headed out for my run.  I needed to know how long it would take me on foot to get each place on the map.  The only unfortunate part was that the road to James’ place ended about a half mile down from here so I had only one way for a fast getaway.  I would have to figure out some other ways later; one good thing was that there were a lot of snowmobile and ATV trails around here and I could easily run on them as well.  I had seen a trail map on the counter at the gas station when I arrived so I knew I had to get one of those too.  I decided to run to the store by the highway cut off which was a good ten to fifteen minute drive from here.  I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and headed out.

            Feeling invigorated and alive, albeit a tad sweaty, I arrived at the gas station by the highway and I picked up a snowmobile/ATV trail map and another bottle of water.  As I was paying for my purchases I noticed Alexander Foxworth at the pump filling his car.  I shook my head and rolled my eyes I could swear he’s following me, there’s no other explanation for his constant appearances!  I ducked out of the gas station and cranked the tunes on my iPod so that I couldn’t hear anything other than the music.  When I got to the road I looked both ways to make sure no one was coming and jogged across the street heading for home.

            A black BMW slowed and honked at me while I ran, I ignored it and kept moving.  The driver honked again, I glanced over and my eyes met the amused eyes of Alexander Foxworth. God could he not take a hint? I mean honestly, get over yourself.  I thought. I narrowed my eyes at him and shook my head in exasperation, and turned my attention back to the road.

He lowered the driver side window and called “Anastasia, hold up would you?” 
“Alexander bugger off, I’m busy.” I said continuing my even pace.

“Aw, Anastasia come on! Talk to me!” Alexander pleaded then winked at me.

“No, if you want to talk to me you’re just going to have to wait, I’m running” I replied trying to focus on my breathing and my stride.  But he was distracting me and I was starting to lose my rhythm which made my ribs start to ache more than they already were.

“Are you stalking me?” I asked trying to get him to go away.

“No, I was going to ask you if you were stalking me! Everywhere I go you show up” he retorted.

“God, you are so full of yourself!” I snapped at him. I stopped running and stalked over to his car.  He stopped his car and leaned out the window.

“Really, for someone who keeps saying they want to be left alone you always seem to be trying to talk to me” he said his eyes full of mischief.  Now I was so angry I couldn’t even think of a snappy retort.  I glared at him, spun on my heel kicking up dust and started running again.  I turned up the iPod to full blast and used my anger to push myself faster and ignored my aching ribs.  I didn’t look back and I didn’t stop running until I reached James’ house.

“Hey kid” James waved as I jogged up the porch.

“Hey, yourself” I puffed, smiling at him.  He just makes me feel comfortable and happy.

“Enjoy your run?” he asked

“Actually, no!  This guy from school won’t leave me alone.  How hard is it to get a restraining order?” I asked scowling and only slightly joking.

“Who’s bugging you?” he asked concerned.

“Alexander Foxworth! Everywhere I go he always shows up and today on my run he had the audacity to accuse me of stalking him!  I mean really, how lame can he be! I hardly know this town and I sure as hell don’t know him.  I’m trying to keep to myself and he just won’t go away.  What do I have to do to get him to leave me alone?” I asked hotly.

“Hmmm, I think he’s just trying to figure you out” James answered, there was laughter in his eyes.

“What by annoying me to death? I swear I’m never dating boys they are just too annoying and so not worth the aggravation.” I grumbled scowling.

“So I guess that means you like him huh.” James smiled at me, raising an eyebrow.

My mouth dropped and my eyes bulged at his statement. “WHAT?” I yelled, stunned.

“That’s what I thought” he chuckled.

“I-I don’t” I stuttered “He’s annoying!”

“Kid, if you want him to leave you alone either start acknowledging him, or become his sister’s best friend and then you’ll have an excuse to say no to him.  Or you can just say yes and go out with him.” James laughed shaking his head.

“I will never date that pompous, egotistical, hero-complexed moron even if he’s the last guy on the planet!” I fumed as I turned and slammed the bathroom door.

James laughed quietly to himself and left me alone for the rest of the night.

            The next day Lizzy met me by my locker when the bell for lunch rang.  I noticed her brother and his friend with the Sapphire blue eyes just down the hall watching us.  I clenched my jaw tightly as I opened my locker and dumped my books in.

“Anastasia are you okay? You don’t look too happy right now.” Lizzy observed.

“It’s nothing.  I just have a stalker issue and I haven’t figured out how to get rid of him yet” I replied as I grabbed my wallet and jacket.

“Who’s stalking you?” Lizzy asked confused.

“No one worth discussing, I’m thinking about getting a restraining order against him” I said as we walked by her brother.  I noticed that the boy with Sapphire blue eyes was trying not to laugh as I smirked to myself. Perhaps he’ll get the hint now.

            Lizzy and I went to a small restaurant just off the main street.  As we were placing our order for lunch her brother and his friend entered the restaurant.  My eyes narrowed in annoyance as they picked a table on the opposite side of the room.

“What is it?” Lizzy asked

I figured I may as well cut to the chase “Why is your brother following me?”  Her eyes widened.

“Is he bothering you?” she asked with a ‘not again’ tone in her voice.

“My god, Lizzy, Everywhere I go he seems to appear out of nowhere! It’s getting tedious and annoying” I replied.

“I’ll talk to him.” She said as she shook her head and glanced towards him.

“You know, I’ve told him several times to leave me alone and that I’m not interested but I think he just finds that a challenge.  I just hope he gives up soon.” I said shaking my head.  Lizzy looked at me and stated matter of factly.
 “My brother is very stubborn, if he wants something he’ll get it no matter how long it takes.”

“Well, he’s going to be waiting an awfully long time to get me. I’m not interested in dating at all. I have way more important things to do.” I replied.

“Really? Like what?” Lizzy asked looking at me curiously.

“Oh, I was thinking, of finding some friends, or better yet, one best friend to hang with” I stated with a grin. 

Lizzy laughed “Well perhaps I can help you with that” she beamed.

“So what do you want to do on Saturday?” I queried of my new BFF with a grin.

“How about we go to a matinee movie and then we can drive around town, you know I can show you all the important places to go shopping, hang out spots and stuff like that” she smiled.

“Sounds good to me” I replied as the waitress placed our lunch in front of us.  We happily tackled our meals, Alex was forgotten as we enjoyed our new found friendship.

            As Lizzy and I took our time walking back to the school I felt a strange presence behind us. I stopped suddenly and spun around with my fists clenched looking into a startling pair of sapphire blue eyes.

“Hi” the blue eyed boy said in a friendly manner.  I was taken aback and blushed.

“Um, hi” I said and turned back.  He chuckled softly as Lizzy rolled her eyes.

“Will this is Anastasia, Anastasia this is Will, my cousin.  I think he’s going to bug you a lot now because you blushed” she gave me an apologetic smile.

“Great, two stalkers, just what I need” I sighed.

“Stalker?” Will asked amused.

“Ya, first Alexander seems to be infatuated with me and follows me everywhere, now you’re going to follow me too” I replied trying not to stare at him. Hey, what can I say?  This family is beautiful and they all have beautiful eyes!

“Funny, that’s what he said about you” Will replied slightly amused.  My eyes narrowed as my anger started to flare.

“What! Why that presumptuous, pompous, egotistical jerk!” I flared.

“Wow, he’s really gotten under your skin” Lizzy observed wide eyed.  I looked at Lizzy, and counted to ten in my head before I replied.

“I’m sorry Lizzy, I didn’t mean to be rude.  I’m just not used to people not taking no for an answer.”

“Don’t worry Anastasia, he’ll lose interest when the next new girl arrives.” Laughed Will as he ran ahead to where Alexander was waiting.

“Anastasia don’t worry about the guys, they love to tease people and your reactions are what keeps them going.  You just have to stop reacting to them” Lizzy sighed knowingly.

“I’ll try but I’m not sure how effective that will be.” I said looking at the ground in frustration.  Lizzy put a hand on my arm and I pulled away instinctively.

“Sorry” I said as I saw the hurt in her eyes.

“What happened to you?” she asked quietly.

“It doesn’t matter” I replied trying to think of something else to say, I wasn’t ready to tell her why I was so jumpy.

“I won’t tell anyone if that’s what you’re worried about” Lizzy said, concern in her eyes.

“Thanks, but I’m not ready to talk about some stuff. I need time, and we just met, and...”

“I’m here whenever you are ready” she told me sincerely.

I nodded and smiled tentatively “Thanks.”

            We walked into the music room together and took our regular seats.  Alexander was looking at his sheet music, he was concentrating on it so I took a moment to watched him.  I started to realize that not only was he gorgeous, he seemed to be so sure of himself and confident.  I bet he was smart too.  Why couldn’t I look away from him? Why did I want to stare at this annoying boy so much and why did I suddenly have butterflies in my stomach as he caught my gaze?  Those startling emerald green eyes seemed to burrow into me as if he could read my very soul.  My heart started to quicken and then suddenly through the fog of my thoughts I heard Mr Chang saying something.  I pulled my eyes away blushing and tried to pay attention for the remainder of the hour.  After class I stayed at the piano while everyone filed out and started playing a sad melody that Stacy had taught me.  Lizzy leaned on the piano listening until I was done.

“That was so beautiful and sad” she commented.

“I usually play that song on the harp, but I just felt like playing it for some reason” I replied wistfully.

“Hey, I’ll walk with you to the parking lot if you want” she offered with a smile.

“Sure, I’d like that” I smiled in return.

We got our home work and headed to our cars chatting quietly.

“I heard you’re going to do the exemption run.”

“Ya, I think it’ll be interesting” I replied contemplating what may happen.

“Well good luck. It’s not as easy as it looks” she said knowingly.

“Thanks.”

“Do you know when you’re going to do it?” she asked

“It would be great if it was during my lunch and spare but it’s after school” I replied with a sigh.

“Well maybe they’ll change the time” she commented.

“That would be awesome.” I agreed.

“Ok, I’ll see you tomorrow!” Lizzy smiled and walked towards Alexander and Will