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My sister and I went to the same private school but we were in different classes. Our senior year had just started and summer was still going strong with only a few weeks left to it. I left the house earlier than my sister and walked for 20 minutes all the way to school with my headphones on, trying not to let my anxiety choke me.
Why the hell had my body changed overnight? Why did I feel better than ever? What... What would people at school say? Would they look at me funny? Would they be surprised? I couldn't even hear the music with how loud my thoughts were.
I entered the classroom and silently went to my seat at the very back, middle row. I was the first to arrive. I watched as all my classmates came in, greeted each other with smiles, laughs, handshakes and hugs. I made myself small in my seat out of nerves, worried about what they might say about my new appearance.
But nobody even looked at me.
I felt pressure in my chest, and thought myself stupid for thinking anything would actually happen. I wasn't close with any of my classmates, so of course they wouldn't bother with me. And if I went up to them and asked, they'd just cringe and ask why I was even talking to them. Maybe I was just imagining things and nothing had really changed. They'd just laugh at me.
Then I saw the three girls I always paid attention to. The same three I had the dream about. The same three I'd been aware of since freshman year. The school was funded by a Japanese man who brought over many features of the educational system they use over there and mixed them with ours. One of the most notable is that every new school year we get randomly placed in different classes with different classmates. Supposedly it's to encourage students to socialize and meet new people, but to me it just made things even more difficult. That said, it did allow me to be in the same class as the three girls I liked this year.
The first one to enter was Sarah West, a tall, slender blonde of blue eyes. What I got about her watching from afar was that she had a... confrontational personality. She tended to wear her school shirt with a couple of buttons undone, showing some of her amazing cleavage, and didn't care when teachers asked her to button up, asking why she should.
The second was Grace Valentine, the girl who I had a serious crush on until the end of sophomore year. She had the biggest chest out of the three, perhaps even in school. She had clear green eyes and wore her light brown hair tied into a long, loose braid. She always wore her uniform properly, one of the things that, along with her soft demeanor, made her look like a very gentle person. What killed my crush on her was that I once caught her at the back of the school extorting money out of another student. I think I heard something about incriminating photos. Still didn't take away from how damn hot she was, with her voluptuous hourglass figure, but seeing that made me believe I was better off looking at her from afar.
The last one was Milana Aliev, a Russian girl of long silver hair and dark green eyes. Her face was almost like a doll's and her body as sexy as her friends'. I'd heard she had been scouted to be a model once she graduated, and I could totally see why. She had that foreign aura that just attracted people's gazes to her, and she was incredibly hot. Her chest was about as big as Sarah's and her thighs a little thicker.
At one point in my mental observations, Milana's eyes turned to me, which made my heart jump to my throat. Scared of being called out for staring, I turned away and laid my head on the table, pretending to be asleep. Great tactic, I know.
When the first period ended, I made my escape. I was feeling too paranoid to be in the classroom, and since I wanted to be alone, I knew exactly where to go. The music room used to be on the west wing of the second floor, but after getting more equipment they moved it to a bigger room on the first floor. The old music room was now a storage room for things nobody cared about, like broken desks and chairs that were supposed to get fixed but never did, boxes with equipment for clubs that no longer existed and other stuff like that. It had become my own little safe space that no one knew nor cared about.
Only one day someone did find out.
"Oliver, you here?" I groaned internally as I heard his voice along with the door opening.
I looked at him from my sitting spot, a forgotten gym mattress beside the windows overlooking the yard. Yep, that was Thomas, a guy that had no business being my friend, and openly claimed to be despite me thinking he was just taking the piss. I mean, could you blame me? It was high school. The sociable people make friends and are admired while those of us with communication issues get forgotten even when people look at their yearbooks when they're adults.
'Who is that? He was in my class?' Things like that.
Thomas Pierce was the guy picked to be this year's captain for the basketball team. He was a tall, athletic dude with a bright personality that everybody loved. Diligent, fun to be around, reliable and attractive. He had short, auburn hair and a big build. His one flaw was that his brown eyes were a little small for his face, but I bet that was just me looking for something to criticize. Why would he want to be friends with a guy like me, who couldn't even hold a proper conversation with him?
"Why are you here, man? I told you to look for me during the first recess," he said, walking up to me and casually taking a seat beside me.
"..." I grimaced. With all my anxiety, I'd forgotten.
"Never mind. You're coming to my place tonight, right? We made a bet and you lost, so you're coming."
He was talking about a big party at his place. His parents were out of town, but he was an upstanding guy, so he had permission. He had invited about 30 people, and one of those people was me. I didn't go to parties, so I had declined. Then Thomas came up with a bet, saying that if he was made team captain this year, I had to go because we'd have two reasons to celebrate.
Believing I would come to regret it, I nodded. I'd go to his party that night.
"Cool. Believe me, you'll have a good time. It'll be good for you. I have a pool, so bring a swimsuit if you want. We should take advantage of the last days of summer, don't you think?"
Again, I nodded slowly. Though I wouldn't be caught dead wearing a swimsuit in front of so many people.
"Also, I wanted to ask you one last time. Are you sure you're okay with me inviting your sister? Are you sure it won't make you more uncomfortable?"
I gave it one last consideration before I answered. "Invite her if you want," I said in my usual low, quiet voice.
"Alright. I'll tell her not to bring her boyfriend though. I can't have my house be filled with people I don't know." The incredible thing was that everyone would honor Thomas' condition of no extra guests. He was that much of a charismatic guy. No wonder his parents let him throw such a huge party. "You pretty much know all the people I'm inviting then. Any of them catch your fancy?" he asked with a big, teasing grin.
I flinched, and my mind immediately went back to my three classmates. They'd be there.
...
My sister would also be there, but I forced myself to push that thought away.
I lifted three fingers up to Thomas without looking at his face, and the guy burst out laughing.
"Hey, a man's gotta have options, right?" he said, giving me strong pats on the back. That, however, made him frown all of a sudden. He stood up and gave me a look over. "Hey, Oliver? Stand up."
Blinking in confusion, I did as he asked. He looked me up and down before he said, "Have you been working out? You put on some muscle. You're looking a little taller, too. Why didn't I notice it sooner? Did you get fit over summer? What the hell, man? You should've told me! We could've been working out together!"
Thomas noticed there was something different about me. Everyone else ignored me, but he noticed. It meant I wasn't imagining things.
"Actually, you're looking great," he said, nodding with his fingers holding his chin. "You might have a bigger shot at any of those three girls than you think. Try talking to them tonight. Even if it comes out as a stutter, you won't know until you try, right? Have some damn confidence in yourself, man." With a neck stiff from imagining myself talking to them, I nodded. "Good! Now, I have some stuff to do. I promised to have lunch with my girlfriend today, and you know you can join us if you want. I get that it makes you uncomfortable, but the invitation is there if you want to take it. See you tonight, Oliver!"
Thomas turned to leave, and I watched him silently. Only when he was at the door did I manage to make the words come out. "T-Thomas...! Happy birthday."
Thomas grinned and waved at me. "Thanks man!"