Holding On (16 page)

As
my
last
class
approached
on
Friday
afternoon,
I
decided
that
I was
going
to
break
free
of
the
shell
I
had
encased
myself
in
my first week of school. I walked in a few minutes before the bell rang
and sat in the same seat I had been all week. Instead of opening my
physics textbook
and
staring
at
the
pages
to
try
and
remain
invisible,
I
turned to the pretty brunette who was sitting behind me and tried to strike up
a conversation. Her name was Natalie, and she seemed friendly
enough.

The
last
bell
rang,
and
I
turned
back
around
in
my
seat
just
as
Ethan walked in. I heard Natalie say something to the girl next to
her.
I
think her name was Jill. Ms. Phillips took role, and people started to
scatter
to begin their work. I walked up to Ms. Phillips’s desk to find out
what she would like for me to do. I was assigned to take some photos of
the campus from my “new” perspective earlier in the week, and we
went
through the prints yesterday, so my plate was
clear.

“Why
don’t
you
partner
up
with
Natalie?
I’m
sure
she
can
use
some
help wrapping up the editorials for the sports pages.” She never
looked up from her desk as she spoke, and I could see that she probably
never even
noticed
me
talking
with
Natalie
earlier.
I
was
starting
to
reply
when
she motioned for me to get going by moving her hand through the
air.

I
went
into
the
computer
lab
to
find
Natalie.
She
was
tucked
in the corner talking to Jill and staring at the pictures on the screen.
She
would move them a bit left or right before stopping to ensure they
were
where
she
wanted
them
and
then
would
start
to
move
them
again.
It
was
obvious that she was a bit of a perfectionist, maybe even a little
OCD
like
me.

“Hey,
Ms. Phillips wants me to get with you and lend a hand
with
the sports editorials. What would you like for me to do?” I asked
trying not to sound overly excited.

“Well,
I
have
everything
printed
out
over
there
if
you
want
to proofread
it.
The
player
stat
sheets
are
in
the
pile
too,
and
the
professional sports
stats
we
are
including
this
year
are
at
the
very
bottom
somewhere.”
Natalie stated plainly. Her tone was warm and polite, but her smile
was
not, and when I realized she was not looking at me, I felt a bit of
relief. She was staring over my shoulder at someone. “I will be right back
if you
want
to
get
started,”
she
said
as
she
got
up
and
walked
out
of
the lab.

I sneaked a peek over my shoulder as she walked past me, but
no one was there
now.
I grabbed the stack of papers and started editing
the articles.
They
were
really
well
-
written,
and
I
enjoyed
reading
them
more than I thought I would. As I got down to the bottom of the stack, I
see
stats about each athlete, and then the last few pages fascinated me.
The information
they
planned
on
including
about
each
sport
was
unique. They
were
including
things
like
who
won
the
World
Series
this
year, how their local college teams performed, and who from the
school’s
teams were most likely to go
pro.

When I reached the stats about tennis, I knew them already,
most of them
anyway.
I read who of my favorite players were doing well
and who were not. I wondered if they were going to wait for the results of any
more
big
tournaments
before
getting
the
book
published,
and
as
the thought crossed my mind, I saw
his
name.

Most likely to go
pro:
Ethan
Green

I
dropped
the
page,
and
it
floated
to
the
floor
in
slow
motion.
I thought back to Monday when we played after school. He kept up
with
me,
and
most
people
can’t.
He
had
some
really
strong
volleys,
and
I would kill for the power on his backhand. He kept the ball in
play,
no matter
how
hard
I
tried
to
get
it
past
him.
He
was
good,
really
good.
Crap!

I
should
have
noticed
it
sooner.
He
was
a
great
player,
but
his amazing
looks
seemed
to
distract
me
at
every
turn.
He
said
that
he started
playing
at
a
young
age,
just
like
me,
but
that
didn’t
always
mean that
you
turned
out
to
be
a
great
player.
All
the
practice
in
the
world
won’t make you a great player unless you love the
sport.

I
should
have
known
that
someone
who
just
happened
to
have
a racket with him at school would be able to keep pace with me.
It’s
the offseason,
so
why
would
anyone
be
bringing
their
equipment
to
school
unless
they
had
ulterior
motives?
He
didn’t
just
want
to
play
tennis
after school—he wanted to play
me.

I
picked
up
the
piece
of
paper
on
the
floor
and
scanned
it
again
just to
be
sure
I
read
it
right.
His
name
was
there
in
black
and
white,
and I
still
couldn’t
believe
my
eyes.
The
bell
ringing
pulled
me
from
my thoughts,
back
to
reality,
and
I
tried
my
best
to
pull
myself
together. Everyone was shuffling out the door as I placed the stack of papers
on Natalie’s
bag
next
to
the
computer.
I
accidentally
hit
the
mouse,
and
the screen
popped
up.
I
saved
her
work
for
her
and
closed
the
computer down,
but
not
before
I
adjusted
the
picture
to
the
exact
spot
it
needed
to be to make the page
symmetrical.

I grabbed my bags and headed for the
door.
I may not have
found my new BFF
today,
but I felt like I could be friends with Natalie.
She
was
nice
and
friendly
and
seemed
to
be
an
all-around
good
person.
I wanted to get her number before I left for the weekend, but she
never came
back
to
the
room.
I
guess
I
could
try
to
see
if
I
could
find
her
at lunch on Monday and maybe eat with her and her
friends.

I step out into the deserted hall to find Ethan standing against
the wall.
Was
he
waiting
for
me,
or
was
he
surprised
to
see
me?
His
eyes didn’t give much away as he pushed himself off the wall and started
to approach
me.
I
heard
a
door
slam
in
the
distance
and
look
toward
the stairs to see Natalie approaching from the other end of the hall. I gave her
a
small
wave,
and
she
smiled
before
entering
the
far
door
to
the computer lab. I turned my attention back to Ethan, but he was gone.