Passing Glances (Okoro and IndefiniteEnd)

[IndefiniteEnd]

Charlaine held her books tightly to her chest as she wrestled her way through the crowd of high school students. It was always the worst on the way to lunch, that was a lesson the seventeen year old had learned her very first day here only a few months ago. Had she had it her way, she never would have transferred here. The only reason she did was because her idiotic parents had decided that her old high school 'wasn't in a good neighborhood' or some such ridiculous thing. So there she was, a high school senior at a brand new school with no friends. And if that wasn't bad enough, they had to wear uniforms. Charlaine didn't even know that schools still did that! Needless to say, she hated every minute of it.

Finally able to jostle her way out of the thick throng of students, she turned right where everyone else turned left, headed for the library. Sitting alone in the cafeteria was boring, and if there was one thing she loved about this new school, it was their giant library. Taking a seat in a desk chair, Charlaine pulled out her peanut butter and jelly sandwich, along with her current reading choice, Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. With her lunch in one hand and her book in the other, she could think of no better way to spend her lunch hour. Tilting back as far as the chair would go, her shoulder length brown hair fanning out over the back of it, she flung her legs up to rest on the desktop and began to eat.

 

[Okoro]

Charlaine held her books tightly to her chest as she wrestled her way through the crowd of high school students. It was always the worst on the way to lunch, that was a lesson the seventeen year old had learned her very first day here only a few months ago. Had she had it her way, she never would have transferred here. The only reason she did was because her idiotic parents had decided that her old high school 'wasn't in a good neighborhood' or some such ridiculous thing. So there she was, a high school senior at a brand new school with no friends. And if that wasn't bad enough, they had to wear uniforms. Charlaine didn't even know that schools still did that! Needless to say, she hated every minute of it.

Finally able to jostle her way out of the thick throng of students, she turned right where everyone else turned left, headed for the library. Sitting alone in the cafeteria was boring, and if there was one thing she loved about this new school, it was their giant library. Taking a seat in a desk chair, Charlaine pulled out her peanut butter and jelly sandwich, along with her current reading choice, Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. With her lunch in one hand and her book in the other, she could think of no better way to spend her lunch hour. Tilting back as far as the chair would go, her shoulder length brown hair fanning out over the back of it, she flung her legs up to rest on the desktop and began to eat.

Marcus A. Ragazzo "Mr. R" was a teacher at this school. He was young, attractive, and quite. He, like Charlaine, enjoyed removing himself from the sounds, the people,and the pace of the high school. Many of the students liked Mr. R, they identified with him because he was only a handful of years older than them, at 25.

Marcus was sitting in the library, eating his lunch and grading papers. He had taken a liking to the new girl. She seemed kind, despite her outward attitude about her new school, caring, and cute. He also couldn't help but notice her lack of friends, her lonely existence.

 

[IndefiniteEnd]

Charlaine's sandwich didn't last her long, and, shortly after she finished that, she had reached the end of the book. With a forlorn sigh, she rose, book in hand, to toss the remnants of her lunch before stepping to the library's checkout desk. The librarian glanced up at her and, without a word, took the book from Charlaine's hand. They had only ever talked a couple of times, but after she spent every lunch in here, the elderly woman was well aware of her schedule. Draping her backpack over one shoulder, she then headed over to the rows and rows of books kept there, all of them anxiously awaiting to be read.

After a few minutes of searching, Charlaine grabbed hold of Great Expectations. She'd read it at least a dozen times before, but that hardly mattered to her. It was a beloved book of hers, and at this point in time she felt like reading something familiar. Gently lifting the hard cover, she instantly turned to the first page of text, unable to wait. And as she read the opening lines, she also walked back in the direction of the desk, which led her right to the back of a chair. That was more than enough to get her to break her steady gaze with the book, and gasp in surprise, "Mr. R! I'm so sorry!"

 

[Okoro]

(gtg for tonight. I'll post tomorrow)

 

[Okoro]

Marcus hadn't noticed that the girl had entered the library, he was to busy working and eating his lunch. He couldn't help but think to himself, 'Jeez some of these kids are stupid.' he was busy reading one particularly bad paper. A sigh escaped his lips just as Charlaine walked into his chair. He glanced over his shoulder, a smile coming to his lips. "Oh, Charlaine. No, no, it is quite alright. Becarful though, watch where you are walking.

Marcus stood and smiled sweetly at her, he seemed to be one of the few people who paid attention to her at school. "Ah, Great Expectations, one of my favorite Dickens books." he says "Is it your first reading?"

 

[IndefiniteEnd]

She couldn't help the light blush that dusted her cheeks - from the embarrassment of running into someone, she told herself. Not because Mr. R was close to her age and happened to be rather attractive, or anything. Charlaine would die before she admitted that she might just have a schoolgirl crush on one of her teachers, "Oh, no," She replied in answer to his question, "I've read it plenty of times before, it one of my favorite books, but I've seem to have lost my copy... so here I am, borrowing it from the library." The brunette smiled slightly, praying to whatever god was out there that she didn't do something to make her look more like a klutz.

 

[Okoro]

Marcus smiled sweetly at her, "Ah I see... I agree, it's not a book you can read just once." He soon took his seat again and motioned for her to sit in the chair next to him. He seemed to often show her a great deal of caring, always willing to speak with her. "Please sit... there is still about 10 minutes left in the lunch break." He said, stacking the papers before him. "Why are you in here anyway? SHouldn't you be in the lunchroom like everyone else? I thought you would want to eat with you friends." Marcus knew she didn't seem to have many friends.

 

[IndefiniteEnd]

She took the offered seat without a second thought, and couldn't help staring at him as he spoke - maintaining eye contact, that's what she was doing. Not staring like a creeper, or anything. "The lunchroom is overcrowded and disgusting." Charlaine answered, "And no one at this school seems to care for me enough to be considered anything close to a friend." Her blue eyes traveled to look adoringly at the book still in her hands, "Now books... Books are always there for you. Books don't leave you when your parents decide to transfer you to a different school, books aren't always too busy for you, books will stay with you for as long as you want them too and no less. Books are real friends." It was only then that she realized she'd been ranting, and looked back up at the teacher with an almost horrified expression, "I'm sorry, I didn't- I just... got carried away..."

 

[Okoro]

Marcus listened closely to her words, her voice echoing in his ears. He nodded slowly, looking concerned. "I.. I wouldn't say that no one cares to consider you a friend." he says. As Marcus replied he reached out and placed his hand on top of her's, patting the hand lightly. He seemed to be surprised by the smooth texture of her skin. As she apologized for ranting he laughed. "It's alright, I don't mind." he tells her, "I like speaking with you." he say. "I understand that it's hard to move in your last year of school.

 

[IndefiniteEnd]

Charlaine laughed bitterly at Mr. R's first comment. "They're already settled down to their nice little groups, they look at me and see nothing but change." It was painfully true. The first month of school she'd tried desperately to fit in with other people, starting by talking to those sitting around her in class. And while chatting in class seemed to go okay, no one wanted anything to do with her outside of there. Those dark thoughts were chased away in an instant, however, once his last statement was fully comprehended in her brain. I like speaking with you. At least there was someone here who would admit that. "You're a teacher, though." Charlaine pointed out, "You're supposed to like your students, and are expected to talk with them."

 

[Okoro]

Marcus glanced down at his hand and squeezed her lightly "No... It's not because I'm just a teacher. You are an intelligent, friendly girl, you deserve to have lots of friends." He told her. Marcus knew the girl was lonely, vulnerable, ripe for the picking. There was a small voice in the back of his head that told him to stop this, she was his student, but he pushed it aside. He was going to make her his. He smiled sweetly at the girl. "Now... I shouldn't do this, but you seem like you need to be able to get out a bit, unwind. On the weekends, I play with a small local band of guys. All around my age." he tells her. "Well, On Friday, we have a show at Mohawk Place. It's a cool little joint, you only need to be 17 to get in." this was crossing a line, but it was all a part of his plan.