Notes of a Eleventh-grader Chapter One

"Here you go," The Mcdonald's employee handed me my paper bag and flashed me a brilliant smile. I noticed how shaggy his hair was and how melancholy his eyes looked. I mentally shook myself, because I had a boyfriend and I should not be noticing how cute the employee was. And how long his hand was, and the beautiful olive color of his skin, and how his eyes were a light blue, and how he definitely made the employee uniform work, and... I snapped myself out of it just in time to receive a strange look from mystery guy. I thanked him quickly and drove away.
It was a beautiful April evening. With the sun still hanging low in the sky and the wind blowing my hair every which way. I smelled the delicious burger and my stomach rumbled at the thought. I only allowed myself to splurge once a week and this was necessary. I had just gotten into a fight with my best-friend Megan over a controversy with her bracelet. She had lost her bracelet for two weeks now and I was high on her list of suspects. I had borrowed it a week before she lost it and since I claimed to have given it to Laura, who doesn't have it, she doesn't believe me at all. Megan was all wrapped up in her little tornado of anger and malice, that she didn't listen to even one word that I said. I had a perfect reason, which wasn't even an alibi. It was the truth. I had given Megan's charm bracelet to Laura because she was enchanted at the sight. I had forgotten to ask Megan if I could give it to Laura, but I figured she would say yes. That was probably my biggest mistake. Megan was horrified when she found out I hadn't asked her. She inquired poor Laura for two whole days about the bracelet. But Laura claimed to know no such thing. Even though Laura is high on my list of trustworthy friends, she has a habit for "borrowing" other people's things. I pretend not to mind, but even I get annoyed sometimes. Megan hasn't had that experience yet and she isn't exactly floating on cloud nine. So I figured that since she doesn't know Laura that well, she hasn't figured out that Laura is probably lying and has just "borrowed" it for a week or two.
I sighed as I thought of a way to fix the problem. Megan was extremely stubborn when it came to controversies. That might explain why she's the star student on the debate team. She never loses a debate and turns the battle around with one statement that catches everyone's attention. She has never experienced losing before and she hopes she never will.
I was so caught up in my own thoughts that I hadn't realized that I'd stopped at an intersection and the cars behind me were all beeping at me to go. The green light beamed in front of me and I stepped hard on the gas pedal. The impala rushed forward and I saw a long line of cars behind me. I exhaled in frustration and continued on my way home.
McDonald's was a close drive. A few intersections lay between it and my house. It was nestled into a small plaza. It was a rare find and barely any people went. I loved to spent my weekends on it's brown booths, loving the smell of the mocha and the silence. I would finish my homework without any disruptions and could even take a nap when I was in the back. Since there were no Starbucks nearby, I had to settle for McDonald's.
The front door clicked shut behind me and the house was silent. Max was probably walking Poodle, our collie. Max had originally wanted a poodle, but everyone else wanted a collie. So he settled with naming our collie Poodle. Mom was probably in our greenhouse watering her plants. She had originally wanted to become a gardener when she was a kid, but she couldn't due to her parents. Dad was most likely out with his friends. Possibly at a restaurant or wherever he disappeared to in the evenings. I had the house all to myself and there were absolutely no disruptions. I set down my paper bag and went to the bathroom to clean myself up.
Fortunately, my mom's light brown hair had passed down to me, along with her playful curls. I was, basically, average. Average looks, average curves, average personality. I wasn't bubbly, like all the popular girls. I wasn't nerdy, like all the unpopular kids. And I wasn't beautiful, like Florida. Florida had that bubbly, nice personality. She was surrounded by this pink aura that attracted everyone, girls and boys alike. She possessed straight, strawberry-blonde hair which was teased to perfection. She always wore the clothes that were in style and could start a conversation with anyone. Even the nerds. Florida had all the boys kissing her feet and her boyfriend, Jake, was twirled around her little finger. The thing was, she was impossible to hate because she wasn't snobby or stuck-up like all the other popular girls.
I stared at my reflection through the smudged mirror. Max loved to draw things on the mirror when he got out of the shower. Sadly, my mom wasn't able to get the fingerprints off, so they stayed. I was lost in thought when the thought occurred to me that I should eat my burger. I rushed downstairs and peeled off the wrapper. I sniffed the amazing junk food and sank my teeth into it. It was full of calories and fat, but I didn't care at all. Sunday was my splurge day. All the other days I work out, so I'm in extreme need of a junk food break on Sundays.
I reached in the bag for a napkin and came up with my receipt. I glanced it over then realized there was writing on the back. I flipped it over and glanced at the scrawled words.
seen you here a couple times. u a bookworm? c u sometime?
I read it over several times before tearing my eyes from the paper. This couldn't be true. Such a hot guy interested in someone like me? It was too good to be true. I tried to decipher the "c u sometime?" with no luck. It could mean that he wants to see me at McDonald's. It could also mean he thinks I'm fat because I go there too often. The best case scenario was that he wanted to hang out with me. But with me? The plain old Norabelle? Impossible. He's way too out of my league. About a thousand "what if's" popped into my mind. Most ridiculous sounding.
I jumped as the door slammed shut behind my mom. "Hey, sweetie. Have fun?"
"Uh, yeah," I mumbled as I shoved the note into my pocket, "going upstairs. Homework."
"Sure. You better get it finished!" My mom yelled as I ran upstairs.
Five hours later, I still didn't fully understand the note. I didn't even know the guy's name! I only knew what he looked like. I sure wished that he was interested in me. I mean, I was definitely into him. But he might just want to be friends. After all, with a guy that good-looking, it's unlikely that he doesn't already have a girlfriend. Or he could be a playboy. And I'm just another one of those girls he flirts with.
Thoughts swarmed my mind as I tried to sleep, with no such luck. My alarm clock read 3:34 by the time I managed to fall asleep.