Of course, the gym was on the complete opposite side of the school. I know it's my fault for taking so long, but damn. I swear this school was designed to be my personal hell.

I sprinted down the almost empty hallway towards my last class of the day - English. Mrs. Kirks would not let it slide if I was tardy...again.

As I raced down the hallway, I saw two kids - a boy and a girl - arguing in the courtyard. The girl was backed into a wall with the boy towering over her, his hand placed on the wall behind her. Now, that was a cool guy pose.

The boy in question was Matias Luca. He was a junior - one grade above me. Matias was an exchange student from Brazil. He had transferred to St. Vincent before the start of the new school year a little over a month ago. In that short time, he had already become one of the stars of the school. He was the ace of our sports teams - like all of them. Whether it was basketball, football, soccer, lacrosse, you name it - Matias was dominant. I don't even think they play football - like American football in Brazil; then again, when you're built like a professional athlete, I guess high school sports aren't much of a contest. That athletic star power coupled with his curly black hair buzzed in a fade, his emerald eyes, strong jawline, and Brazilian accent instantly made him one of the most popular kids at St. Vincent.

If you ask me, he was almost too perfect. It seemed like someone somewhere thought, "how do we create the perfect high school athlete", and poof Matias was born.

The only thing that seemed off - a slight irregularity, if you will - was a guitar case he always carried but never played. I thought it was weird, but no one else seemed to mind. Heck, the air of mystery it gave him further enhanced his coolness factor.

The girl he was arguing with was Lisa Marie Mizuno. Believe it or not, Lisa also transferred to St. Vincent before the start of the school year. She was in my grade and even in my next class with Mrs. Kirks. Lisa was beautiful. She had high cheekbones framed by long black hair. Her most distinct feature had to be her piercing blue eyes. There were some blasphemous individuals in our school, like June, who had the nerve to think that Lisa was cuter than Heather. Those individuals were obviously delusional, of course. Heather objectively is the best. Objectively.

Lisa seemed like a kind person, at least from my few interactions with her. But she had this air around her that unsettled me. A disposition that seemed to say it doesn't matter how good you are, I'm ten times better - and honestly, she was. Whether it was grades, sports, or even navigating the highly volatile social minefield that is high school - Lisa was flawless.

Even right now, most girls in her position - their backs against a wall and a 6'3, muscle-bound guy towering over them - would be intimidated. Heck, I know I definitely would have been! Lisa, however, was different. Instead of looking around frantically for help or a way of escape, she stood unfazed, her cobalt eyes daring Matias to try something. Those eyes locked onto mine as I passed by.

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Did she need help? I thought. I slowed to a stop by the archway entrance to the courtyard.

"Uh," I started, trying to say something to intervene when, with a strange quickness and surprising strength for a girl her size, Lisa suddenly pushed past Matias. The stunned boy wheeled around and grabbed at her, trying to pull her back, but stopped when he noticed me watching them.

"Uh, we'll be late for class if we don't leave now Lisa," I said as she approached me. "You know how mad Mrs. Kirks gets when people are late - well when I'm late."

"Yes," she laughed politely. "You do seem to annoy her with your constant tardiness." She joined me at the courtyard entrance and waited. "Well?"

"Well, what?" I asked.

"Let's go," she said as she walked off.

"Oh right, Yeah."

As I followed her, I couldn't help but turn to look back at Matias. I half expected him to be angry because, in the tv shows, that's usually how it goes. Big scary jerk is being a creep to a pretty girl when suddenly the scrawny nerd, against his better judgement, swoops in to save the day. That scenario usually ended in one of two ways. 1), the bully immediately beats up the poor brave nerd for trying to be a hero, or 2), the bully leaves but lies in wait for the most optimal time to beat up the poor brave nerd for trying to be a hero. Considering I was still in one piece; that only left option 2.

To my surprise, Matias didn't look angry or even a little pissed off. Instead, he looked sad. No, that's not right. It was more like a look of quiet resignation. He sighed as he kicked up his guitar case and jogged off in the opposite direction. I thought that was weird but didn't dwell on it.

I walked in silence with Lisa for a couple of moments when a thought popped into my head. Lisa was an A-plus student and never got into trouble or broke any rules. If 'teacher's pet' had a picture in the dictionary, it would be a picture of her. So, if we were both tardy, or better yet, if I got to class before she did, then maybe Mrs. Kirks would be so shocked that she'd let my tardiness pass. Yes, it was the perfect plan.

Immediately, I broke into a sprint, leaving Lisa shocked as I flew through the last stretch of the empty hallway. I barely made it before the late bell rang.

"I'm here," I said as I barged into the class gasping for air. I wasn't sure if it was because I was winded, but the air tasted metallic and smelled of ozone - like how it did after a lightning strike.

"Yes, Mr. Dale, we can see that", Mrs. Kirks said dryly as she wrote the word 'Gerunds' on the whiteboard. "Now, please kindly take your seat."

With a nod, I walked to my seat in the back left corner of the room, and to my surprise, Lisa was already there, seated in her spot behind me. She didn't even look winded, not even a strand of her raven black hair was out of place.

Weird right? Like what the hell? Did she teleport?

"How did yo-"

"Mr. Dale, your seat, take it!" Mrs. Kirks ordered as she turned to face the class. From her tone, it was clear that I was already beginning to test her patience.

"Yeah, sorry."

As I took my seat, I could have sworn I saw a satisfied smirk play across Lisa's face.