Chapter 2: Chapter 2
Elementary.
It's a new year. I enter the new class and look around for Hillary. She's nowhere to be seen. I guess she hasn't reached yet. My mother and I have checked the name list outside the classroom a few weeks ago and we saw that Hillary, Karen and Lucas Kennedy are still in the same class as me. I have no idea why but I find myself searching for him. I'd need to find a seat that's far from his.
I spot him talking to his group of friends on the corner. I walk towards the seat on the second column of the first row again. I don't mind sitting in front of the class. I won't be distracted easily.
In the next second, I saw Lucas walking to the middle of the classroom and takes a seat. Karen's still seated beside him. I turn away and decide to wait for Hillary to arrive. In five minutes, she comes into the class with a smile on her face.
"Hi, Jennifer!" she says and takes a seat beside me again, just like last year.
"Hi, Hillary! What did you do on your summer vacation?" I ask, smiling back at her.
She turns to me. "My family and I went overseas to Japan!"
I answered in excitement. "Wow! Japan! It must have been fun."
"Yes, it was!" Hillary counters.
The class suddenly gets quiet when the new class teacher comes in. He sets his books down and tells us, "Good Morning, class. My name is James Fennecky. I will be your class teacher and also teach History."
Everyone greets him. "Good Morning, Mr. Fennecky!"
"Before class begins, I would like you all to get to know each other. So, I will assign seats for you."
I feel surprised and anxious at the same time. The class starts getting loud with all the noise my classmates are making.
I look at Hillary in horror. "No, we're going to get separated!" I tell Hillary.
Her face mirrors mine. "No!" she whines.
Mr. Fennecky silences the class. "Quiet down! I'm going to give you the layout of the class. Your names are assigned on each table. I will stick the paper on the notice board and you will move onto your assigned seats within 10 minutes."
He pasted a paper on the notice board like he said he would and some of us quickly, while some hesitantly, got up from our seats and go towards the paper.
Hillary and I got up from our seats and walk towards the notice board. Searching for my name, my heart drops when I see that the person who would be sitting next to me is none other than -
Lucas Kennedy.
Frustration starts to creep up within me. Hillary turns to me.
"Are you okay, Jennifer? I saw that Lucas Kennedy will be sitting beside you."
I don't know how to answer. I just stare at her and then walk back to our original seats with dread.
Taking our bags, she tells me. "It's going to be okay, Jennifer."
I shake my head. I think, "No, I don't like him at all."
We go our separate ways. Despite being shocked, I still go to my assigned seat and just wait for Lucas Kennedy to move onto his seat next to me. I'm not looking at him at all. After what he has done to me last year, I've come to terms with it. That he's a mean boy and that he would never like me.
I could sense him sitting next to me and I just stare blankly ahead. I expect him to talk to me or something but I don't hear anything.
***
It has been two months since I have been sitting next to Lucas Kennedy. We haven't really talked but I noticed that he has stopped pestering me. I hear him speaking to his group of friends and they're talking about Slam Dunk, the comic that is quite popular. Our classmates soon left and I turn to look at him for a moment. I see him holding a comic book and I think it's a copy of Slam Dunk. He looks at me.
"Do you want it?" he asks.
I nod. I have another Slam Dunk comic book at home and it belongs to my cousin. I really like reading it, even though there are only two chapters.
He gives me the comic book to me and I put it into my bag.
***
My mother comes to fetch me home from school and when we got into the car, I say, "Lucas Kennedy gave me a comic book."
She smiles. "Really? I guess you both have come around."
I nod.
I reach home and read the comic with anticipation and excitement. I read it quickly as I decided that I like Slam Dunk.
"Thanks," I say to Lucas Kennedy, the next day I go to school.
Not long after, we have to move our seats again. I have felt a little uncomfortable when I was sitting beside Lucas Kennedy. He has tried to talk to me a few times but I only gave him short and flat answers.
Even though we do not sit next to each other in school anymore, I find it to be a coincidence that I meet him in my English tuition. What luck I have!
Although we have been sitting next to each other in school, I still haven't taken a liking to him. I don't talk to him much. Despite sitting on seats that are further from each other, we actually have the same circle of friends. Sometimes, I would overhear their conversations and get to know what he likes and doesn't like. I have also discovered his talent in English as he writes stories in class every now and then.
***
The Invisible Ink Pen has been quite popular in school recently. Catherine has one of them. It's a pen where the ink is invisible and to see anything that is written or drawn with it, a UV (Ultra-violet) light has to be shone on them. It's a built in UV light. Catherine brought both her pen and diary to school for us to write in.
Before she passes the diary to Lucas Kennedy, she whispers to me, "I think Lucas likes you."
My face starts burning and I realise that I am blushing.
When Lucas Kennedy starts writing in the diary, I take a peek at it but he takes the diary away. I feel a little ache in my heart. I also feel sad and disappointed. I think that he still doesn't like me. Initially, I thought that he would write something about me because of what Catherine told me, but I realised that I expected a little too much.
***
The year goes by in a flash and I have gained new knowledge and made many new friends. Before vacation starts and on the last day of school, my classmates brought board games to school. For example, Monopoly, Checkers and Chess. I play a few rounds of the board games with them and I have an interest in Chess. I don't know how to play Chess at first but a classmate of mine has taught me how to. I think Chess is a good strategical and fun board game. I will remember how to play it for the rest of my life.
I decide to go to the group of classmates who are playing Monopoly and Lucas Kennedy is one of the players. I also don't know how to play Monopoly very well so I ask and watch the others play a few rounds before I join.
"Hey, Jennifer. Think you can win the game?" Lucas ask, with a little hint of tease.
"I don't know. It's my first time playing."
From what I see, it's best to buy the unowned properties that you have landed on in the beginning. That is so that the other players would have to pay for rent whenever they land on your properties with their game pieces, even if the rent is low. Once I don't have enough many on hand anymore, I can choose to auction the unowned properties off and there is a chance that I can buy the property at a lower price because other players might have even less money on hand. Buying all the same coloured properties and then buying houses and hotels will then raise the rental price.
Although Monopoly is quite challenging, it's also fun as well. The rule of Monopoly is that the game ends once a player owns all the properties. I try playing the first round with difficulty. However, Lucas Kennedy always wins Monopoly.
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