Auburn.

“How much longer?”

“He’s still right there, I don’t know what to do!”

“Well if you want to hang out here all day, you can. Move aside so I can get to class!”

“Kirsty no!” I panickedly try my best to keep her from bursting out of the dark closet. “We’ll both get caught, and I know you’ll get away with it, but I’ll get into serious trouble!” I realize that I raised my voice too loud, and quickly peek out of the door to see if the Janitor heard anything. Luckily, he still seems engrossed in mopping the floor outside. I silently sigh with relief.

“My lord, now you’re saying it’s my fault I won a scholarship thanks to my brilliance,” Kirsty whispers back indignantly. “Fine, I’m gonna wait for 5 more minutes and then I’m getting out whether you like it or not. I don’t want to miss Biology!” And she silently pulls out her make-up box from her bag and positions herself so that the light from the crack of the door falls on her face. She pulls out a tube of lipstick and starts applying it generously on her already-rosey lips.

“How do you have make-up? Didn’t it get confiscated this morning?” I ask her quietly.

“They never saw it.”

“You sneaky genius.”

In the light coming from the crack of the closet door, I can see her trying not to smile as she opens her mouth wide to see her lips better. “Shush, Penny. Keep watching so we know when to get out.”

“Right.”

I turn back around and press my head to the gap left by the door, trying my best not to move it with my fumbling. The Janitor is now humming, loud and deep, along to some tune. It sounds like the same thing he’d been humming when he first came into this corridor with his mop and bucket, when Kirsty and I had to run into his closet. Where we are now, stuck, hiding.

Why are we hiding, you ask? Well, we aren’t actually supposed to be here. We don’t have a hall pass, and the only reason we aren’t in class in the first place is that I wanted to spy on someone, and since Kirsty had no class, I made her come with me.

Don’t ask me who I was spying on. That’s personal. I’m not telling you.

Fine, I’ll tell you. Basically, there’s this really cute girl in my year. Okay, she’s more like drop-dead gorgeous. Not that I care, I don’t like people because of how they look. But this girl, Auburn, had been really nice to me when I was new here, and she’s just so kind, caring, compassionate, fearless, confident, amazing, beautiful, radiant … Okay you get the point. I really like her. Like really really. It’s just, I DON’T KNOW IF SHE’S INTO GIRLS. And I’m terrified because I feel like she’s dating one of the jocks in our class, Ricky (ew), since they’ve been hanging out a lot, and he seems really attached to her and sits with her all the time and holds her hand and ARGH I have to calm down.

So yeah, I was spying on Auburn and Ricky, because they were alone in a classroom for some reason, and I had to know for sure that they weren’t making out or something.

Kirsty and I had tried to see what they were doing through the window, but it was no use. They were too obscured. I hadn’t even realized how late it was getting, and suddenly I could hear the Janitor’s loud humming coming from around the corner, and we had to hide. The classroom was obviously occupied, and the nearest door had been the Janitor’s closet itself. We had no choice.

Now that I think about it, this was a terrible idea. Not only hiding in the one place we’ll definitely get into trouble for being in (and if our bad luck holds up, we’ll get caught soon enough), but also spying on Auburn. It’s really none of my business if she wants to make out with her boyfriend in an empty classroom. Heck, I don’t even know if she’s at least bisexual, I don’t even know if I’m her type. And now we’re going to get caught, and I’m making Kirsty, the school’s favourite student, miss her class. Just because I was … well, because I’m jealous.

I’m still watching as the Janitor stretches his arms way up, and sighs heavily. Then, he picks up his mop and moves to lift his bucket. Not a moment too soon, I realize what’s happening.

“KIRSTY,” I whisper to the person in question, louder than I intend, “He’s coming! We’ve got to hide, WE’RE GONNA GET CAUGHT!” My knees start shaking as I become frantic. Kirsty, however, looks around smartly and points to the shelves.

“Let’s climb up! It’s less likely that he’ll look up there, we’ll just have to stay really quiet. Come on!”

She’s obviously right. She helps me clamber onto the top shelf as fast as I can, and I crouch there awkwardly as I lend her a hand in climbing onto the shelf below mine. And just in time, because suddenly the door of the closet creaks open and the looming figure of the Janitor lurches inside. I watch him in bewilderment as he clumsily shuts the door, turns on the dull light-bulb, and sets down the bucket and mop. Then, to my confoundment, he reaches into the shelves (the ones that are thankfully on the opposite side of the room from us) and pulls out a dusty glass bottle.

Is that … Vodka? Gin? Rum?

Whatever it is, it’s obviously the source of the Janitor’s clumsiness. He plops onto the floor and drunkenly opens up the bottle and starts drinking.
Argh. I don’t know how long we’ll be stuck here watching him drink. Kirsty needs to get to her class and I’m no different. And my next class, Math, is the one with Auburn in it. Perfect. After I walk into class late (if I ever do walk into class), her impression of me will be so wonderful.

But after a few minutes, I realize I shouldn’t have worried so much. The Janitor was so intoxicated that he started snoring after half of the bottle. I glance down at Kirsty and ask with my eyes if we should leave silently now. She nods. Together, we get down again, and carefully maneuver around the sleeping man until we reach the door.

“Well, one of us is going to get into trouble today,” She remarks, smirking at the sleeping figure of the Janitor below her. Oh, I know she’s going to have a lot of pleasure in anonymously getting the Janitor checked for forbidden alcohol on school grounds.

“Let’s leave, Kirsty. Your class!” I urge her to go outside before me. She nods again and slips out of the door, and I’m about to follow her when my foot accidentally hits the bottle he’d set down, with a considerable THOMP! I freeze and turn around slowly, wondering if my streak of misfortune has held up after all. To my eternal relief, he hasn’t woken up, I only hear him grunt slightly.

Cursing myself for being so goddamn clumsy, I get out of there, gently shutting the door behind me, making sure that he’s still asleep. Only then do I breathe a huge sigh of relief.

“Penelope?”

Holy shi-

I jump and turn around, my heart beating so hard that I swear even the sleeping Janitor could hear. I’ve done it this time, I’ve messed up, I’m gonna get detention for a month, Auburn’s impression of me will be completely ruined… Wait.

Is that…


Is that Auburn? Standing at the turn of the corridor, staring at me dumbstruck?

What’s she doing here?

Suddenly I feel really self-conscious. Is my hair still fine after messing around in the Janitor’s closet? I KNOW I should have worn that cute outfit I bought last weekend. Ugh, everything is a mess right now. I have no choice. I have to face this right now. I have to do this. I can do this.

“Oh, hey! Auburn,” I try to say casually, perhaps leaning on the wall next to me like a cool person. Nope. Never mind. The wall is too far away. I catch myself before I stumble. I laugh nervously, all the while panicking so bad that I almost didn’t hear what she asked me;

“What are you doing here?” She’s frowning at me as she approaches me. I can’t tell her that I was spying on her. That’s the biggest no-no in the history of no-nos.

“I was, uh, I- I left something in the classroom during History, I just came back to get it. My blue pen. Yeah.” I got this.

“Kirsty too? Because I just saw her leave from here.”

Oh shit.

“Yeah, haha, Kirsty too,” I teeter out nervously. Oh god, I do not got this.

Auburn stops in front of me, maybe a couple of centimeters taller, and narrows her eyes at me, sending my mind and heart into a frenzy. “You both left your pens in History?”

“...Yeah, we’re really dumb, right?” I try going for a light-hearted laugh, but it sounds like I’d just swallowed a frog, so I quickly stop.

She stares at me. “The History classroom is two floors up, though.”

“… Ah.” Shit. What am I doing? I’m messing this up completely. I have got to get this under control.

Suddenly, I see someone in the shadows, hiding around the corner of the passage. It’s Kirsty, and she’s … smirking at me. And then she disappears. What?

Oh god. This is so embarrassing.

I turn back to Auburn, who’s raising an eyebrow, her beautiful green eyes looking at me curiously. Her gaze is so warm and comfortable. I want her to look at me like that all day. Math can wait.

Wait a second.

“Wait, what are you doing here?” I ask her suddenly. Isn’t she supposed to be at Math?

Her eyes widen. “Oh! Um…” Hold on a second. Is she blushing? “Well,” She tugs awkwardly at her hair. I raise an eyebrow too.

“It’s just, I saw you in the corridor after our last class, and you were talking to Kirsty about something, and you seemed really, I don’t know, agitated, and worried. Then I saw that you didn’t turn up for Math, so I …” Yep, she’s definitely blushing. “I came looking for you, to make sure you were alright.” She looks away from me. Why on earth is she blushing?

I am speechless. “Why … would you skip a class to look for me?” I’m so confused. Why does she look so nervous if she found who she was looking for? And WHY WAS KIRSTY SMIRKING AT ME?

Unless…

I look at Auburn, who’s now shifting around, looking really awkward. Her beautiful, tawny brown hair shines and tumbles over her shoulders, cloaking her glowing pink face, making her look like she’s descended from the skies. Oh my god, I like you so, so much.

But she’s dating Ricky.

Right?

I clear my throat. “I mean, I didn’t think you’d notice me acting weirdly, that’s all.”

“Why is that? Don’t you think I care about my classmates?”

“You do! That’s not what I meant-” Keep it cool, me, “It’s just, I saw you with Ricky after our last class, and generally, you know, when you’re with your partner, you tend to not notice what’s going on around you.” I watch her expression nervously.

She, for some reason, seems genuinely confused. “My… partner?”

“Yeah?” Oh my god. Oh boy. “Aren’t you and Ricky dating?”

Her eyes widen really large at that. “Wha- No! We’re not dating, we’re just friends! Well, we were…”

What? “Wait, so you’re not anymore? What happened?”

She starts shifting uneasily again. “Well, during last period, he kind of … Well, he kind of tried to make a move on me. I’d really thought we were just friends but he … Well, he didn’t really take rejection well. He’s not talking to me anymore.” She shrugs. “I don’t mind too much, it was getting really uncomfortable with him. I might have some fresh air to breathe now.” She grins at me warmly, making my heart light up.

Oh my god. She isn't dating him. She’s totally available for me. I’m starting to feel hopeful.

“Yeah,” I smile back at her, “So … I think we’re late for class right now?”

She laughs. “Yeah, I think we should hurry back. Catch whatever’s left.”

Together we start walking in the direction she came from.

“By the way, do you know what’s happened to Mr. Cooper? Like, the amount of assignments he’s been giving out this month, I swear something’s happened to him, he was never like that before!”

“I know, right? Last Sunday I had to stay up so late to finish the last one, I couldn’t sleep at all…”