ALAYNAEleven years ago…“Shut the hell up!” My algebra teacher’s voice reverberated throughout the room of two dozen sophomores. All eyes and attention swung to the front of the class, and next to Mr. Hill was a tall, gorgeous guy. He stood about six feet like my adoptive brothers, Jason and Chris, who were also paired with chiseled jaws, dark blond hair, and light green eyes that were so enthralling you could get lost in them. Yet, he was also so familiar.
Mr. Hill cleared his throat. “This is Drake Mallory, and he’s going to be joining us in class starting today.”
The murmurings echoed within the classroom were becoming a vibrant noise. I heard my classmate, Phil, sitting at my back, whispering, “Mallory? Mayor Mallory’s son?”“Is that him?” another voice said.“Why is he in our school?”“Oh my gosh. He is freaking hot.”“But isn’t he supposed to be a senior?”I covered my mouth in shock as I remembered. I saw Drake when Dad visited the mayor’s office a long time ago. That was how I knew him! We had only met once, but I still couldn’t help wondering if he remembered me.
I glanced in Arianna’s direction, her attention already toward me. She shrugged, knowing we were probably thinking the same thing.
“Okay, students. Listen up,” the teacher called. “Mr. Mallory here was supposed to be a senior, but he stopped going to school two years ago because he was out of the states getting treatment from…” He whispered in Drake’s ears, and he nodded.
“Thank you, Mr. Hill.” Drake stepped in front and flashed a friendly grin. “I suffered from an eye illness, but I can see clearly now. Don’t worry. I hope to get along with everyone.” He grinned after the brief speech, showing everyone a charming smile that would make every girl swoon. He was just too gorgeous, and from the growing heat in my cheeks, I was now blushing like the rest of the girls.
“Thank you, Mr. Mallory. You can take a seat next to Mr. Peters.”
“Thanks, Mr. Hill.” He shifted his backpack from left to right and walked towards the back of the class. Every single student followed his movement, including me. My eyes lingered on his soft features. His eyebrows were thick, with a pink etched mouth, and his hair was slightly unruly.
I liked his hair. I wanted to run my fingers through its silky waves.
“Now, eyes on the board.” Mr. Hill called once more, but I was utterly mesmerized. After looking interested in Mr. Hill’s class for a few minutes, I glanced at the back of the classroom. Drake Mallory was scribbling down on his notes, never minding his surroundings.
Lunchtime flew by fast. Before I knew it, I’d spent every class period daydreaming about Drake. He seemed to even get along with the tenth graders too, and since he was older than the rest of us by two years, he was practically like everyone’s big brother.
“Laynie!” Two fingers snapped in front of my face that brought me back to reality. “Are you even listening?”
“Oh, A, I’m sorry. What is it?” I looked down at my almost empty tray, thinking about how I had already eaten everything.
“I said, I’m trying to get into the judo club.”
I frowned, grabbing my cup of juice. “Is that even your thing? Isn’t that hard? What’s wrong with the tennis club?”
“I just found it interesting. I passed by their club the other day, watched a little, and I was amazed.”
I chuckled. “Whatever you like, A, I’m sure Mom and Dad will support you. But is that the onlyShe sighed hard. “Okay, maybe I watched them a little more than normal. I wanted to try something different this school year.”
“No, no. That can’t be the only reason. Was it Melanie?” Melanie was in our class, and she wasn’t in any important sports club, but she was the current leader of the cheerleading squad and a huge bully. The last time, she stole Arianna’s tennis shoes and threw them in the girl’s restroom, knowing there was an important game that day. We found one pair of shoes soaked in the toilet bowl and couldn’t find the other one.
There was also one time Melanie and her bitch friends locked me up in the janitor’s closet. I couldn’t get out until nine in the evening because the janitor was still working the halls.
We didn’t tell Jason, of course. He aimed for the top student of the year spot last year, and we didn’t want his name to be involved in any mess that happened on our behalf. There were other little things, like Arianna’s backpack ending up in the trash, but he only knew about the shoe incident, and that’s the way we wanted it.
Arianna paused for a moment, and I could already see the sadness in her eyes. “Jason’s graduating this year, Laynie. I can’t always rely on him. The only reason they’re leaving me alone is because of Jason. When he graduates, we’ll be on our own.”
“Then why not apply next year? J will be here until the end of this year.”
“It’ll be too late. We’ll already be juniors by then.”
“And do you think she’ll leave us alone if you become a martial artist?” I teased. It wasn’t exactly a bad idea. I knew she could do it.
“Maybe, but I won’t be using that on her, but if her friends try to hustle me, I probably will.”
“I’d love to watch a good show. Who cares about detention, right?”
She laughed. “No, seriously. It’s because I’m amazed at their techniques, too. I can also use that for self-defense, don’t you think?”
“You’d be a badass, for sure.”
“Hey!” Jason suddenly appeared, holding a tray of his lunch, and slumped next to A. “Have you seen him?” He looked around. “I can’t find him anywhere.”
Arianna frowned. “Who are you looking for?”
“Drake.My heartbeat sped up at the sound of his name. “Do you know each other?”
“Ah, of course. You probably didn’t know. Drake’s mother was super close to mom. J and Drake used to play together until his dad took him to Europe. Years later, he came back, but he went to a different school, and then he left again for his eye surgery.”
Ah, that was before the adoption. “I saw him once, actually. He wore these thick eyeglasses. That’s probably why I didn’t immediately recognize him,” I say.
“That’s him, yes,” Jason added. He picked up his club sandwich and took a huge bite.
I noticed Melanie from across the cafeteria, looking in our direction, glaring at me. Like, what the hell was wrong with her? I ignored her, shaking my head, and finished my lunch.
Just as the lunch break ended, Arianna and Jason walked to their classrooms while I fetched my biology textbook from my locker. Before I had a chance to react, someone grabbed a large clump of my hair and shoved me aside.
“Ouch! Hey!” I shouted, trying to catch myself against the lockers. By the time I turned to look, I found Melanie and Leticia glaring in front of me.
“Nice book you got there, Hart. I didn’t bring mine, so do you mind handing out yours?” Melanie held out her palm.
Crap“Um, Melanie. I’m not sure if it’s my problem if you didn’t bring yours.” I stated as confidently as I could, tightening my hold on the book in my arms.
“You don’t get to say anything, Hart. Hand it over before this gets ugly, mmI stepped back and hid the book behind me, but they only matched my every step. “Leave me alone, Melanie.”
“I said, give it to me!” She pulled my hair again, but a tall figure appeared behind her and caught her hand. I looked up and found Jason’s face. I touched my chest and sighed in relief.
“Hey, girls. Are you bullying my sister again?”
Melanie grunted and pulled her hand away. “Jason Hart.”
“Yes, and do you know what will happen if I still see your face in the next minute? Should I count? One, two, three…”
She squealed in annoyance. “I’m telling my brother about this, Hart!” she warned, then stomped away with her friend.
“Yeah, go ahead. I don’t give a fuck,” he murmured, shaking his head. “Her brother? Tanner is a pipsqueak anyway. She’s still bothering you?”
“She’s probably bored with her life.” I exhaled. “Thanks, by the way. Why are you here? Didn’t you have to leave?”
“Yes, but I forgot to tell you something. I’ll invite him to come over for dinner. Dad would probably want to see him. Come on, take me to your classroom.”
“What?” I felt my face go numb. “Now?”
He frowned. “Of course, now. You’re in the same class as Drake.” He checked the time on his phone. “We still have a couple of minutes. Come on!” He flung his arm on my shoulder, squeezing me to his side, then dragged me with him.
“Ouch!” I shoved him away. “Fine, fine! I’ll walk you there.”
He burst out a laugh, then pulled me back against him. “Man, when did you get so sensitive?”
I blushed. “I’m not a child!”
He sniggered. “Oh, you still are.”
I rolled my eyes and marched towards the classroom.
“Hey! Wait for me.” He ran after me until we reached the biology lab, and as usual, the students scattered in the classroom, still without the teacher. Then I spotted Arianna looking over at us and waved her hand. Drake Mallory was sitting quietly by the window with his chin resting on his palm. It must be annoying catching up with his supposed-to-be underclassman. He was supposed to be in Jason’s class.
“Wait here, J.” I walked into the classroom and moved toward Arianna.
“What is J doing here?”
“He wants to talk to his friend.”
“Drake?”
“Yeah.”
She shrugged. “What for?”
“He’s inviting him over to the house.” I casually strolled to the back and stood in front of Drake, thinking he would notice my approach, but he was staring into space. I cleared my throat. “Um, hello?”
Finally, he looked up. And God, he was even more handsome up close. He smelled of mild soap and spicy cologne too. “Oh, hi, yes?”
“My brother… He’s looking for you outside.”
He slightly assessed me with his gaze, then his eyebrows knit together. “Who?” He glanced over at the door, and his eyes gleamed in recognition. He then looked back at me. “You’re Jason’s sister? You’re Arianna?” he asked, confused.
“Oh, it’s actually Alayna.”
“Ah.” His expression brightened, nodding. “I know. It’s Hart, right?”
“Right,”He sprang up attentively and held out a hand at me. “I’m Drake Mallory. Nice to meet you, Alayna.”
“Yes, I know.” I chuckled. “Nice to meet you, too.”
“Okay, um. I guess I’ll excuse myself then.”
“Sure.” I stepped aside enough for him to pass me, but he still brushed my arm, sending a shiver through my body.
***Mom prepared a feast for dinner, which was something she rarely did. Drake Mallory was the mayor’s son, and Dad worked for the mayor, so naturally, she wanted to make a good impression. Currently, it was Dad who was managing—The Mallory Foundation. Dad’s first profession was as a pediatrician and then found his way to helping Mayor Mallory’s vision of helping orphan children find a new home and provide them with free medications.
Drake wiped his mouth with a napkin delicately and properly placed it back on the table. “Thank you for the delicious dinner, Mr. Hart,” he said politely.
“It’s not every day Donovan’s son visits our house,” Dad said, “the first time, actually.”
“Yes, sir. I would have come sooner if I knew Mrs. Hart cooks the most excellent food. Better than what our chef cooks, actually.” He smiled, and we caught each other’s eyes. I instantly blushed.
“Mommy, I want more cake! I want more cake!” Rosy, my four-year-old sibling, suddenly kicked her feet as she demanded dessert.
“You’ll get a toothache if you eat too many sweets,” Elman, my five-year-old brother, scolded. “Eat this.” He put a piece of carrot on his sister’s plate.
“But I don’t like that!” she screamed.
“Rosy! What did I tell you about too much cake? Your brother is right,” Mom reprimanded.
“Shh… Kids! We have a visitor. Just let her eat cake if she wants it,” Dad hissed, then looked at Drake. “I’m sorry about that.”
“It’s alright, Mr. Hart.” Drake smiled kindly.
“When did you arrive? You should’ve called,” Jason went on with the conversation.
“Oh, it was sudden,” Drake replies, shrugging. “I didn’t know I was coming too until four days ago. I just landed on Monday.”
“That’s exhausting.” Jason continued nibbling on his paccheri“Is Chris already in college?” Drake asked again.
“He’s attending Columbia,” Arianna answered.
“Great. An Ivy League school,” he praised.
“Is school going well?” Dad queried. “I heard you have to start over again.”
“Yes, it’s fine. Dad actually wanted me to skip two years and go to senior year, but my grandfather said it’d be unfair to the other students just because I’m the mayor’s son,” he spoke so slowly, as though he wasn’t convinced by his own statement. “My grandfather’s right, though. I’m perfectly fine with it.”
“Yes.” Dad nodded, agreeing. “High school experience is a very important part of life. You wouldn’t want to skip it either.”
He grinned. “Right.”
“We’re in the same class too with Laynie, so he won’t be alone,” Arianna inserted.
“That’s great. I can count on you to look after the girls, then.” Mom finished the last portion of her food.
“You certainly can count on me, Mrs. Hart.” Drake looked my way again and smiled.
“Laynie, could you get the dessert in the kitchen, please? It’s mango pie.” Mom asked.
“I love mango pies! Sure.” I stood up, and Drake curiously stood up, too.
“I’ll help you,” he volunteered.
“Really?” I almost caught my breath.
His eyes gleamed. “Sure.”
I walked into the kitchen first, and he followed. I tried to reach the pie from the highest shelf in the refrigerator, but it was so high I could barely reach it. Without missing a beat, Drake nuzzled me aside and grabbed the pie.
“Thanks.” I grinned, but it faltered when I noticed the pie still hadn’t been cut.
“I’ll do it,” he offered as I took the knife out to cut into the delicious dessert.
“No, it’s fine. You’re a guest.”
“It’s fine, really,” he said, chuckling and taking the utensil from my hand. “I’d like to talk to you, anyway.”
“Oh.” I bit my lip. “Why?”
“I didn’t introduce myself properly earlier.” He began slicing the pie into triangular shapes.
“You introduced yourself to the class.”
“But I didn’t introduce myself to you personally.”
“You still introduced yourself, though.”
He grinned, amused. “Right, but that was, yes, for the class.”
“And?”
His hand paused, then he stared at me as his lips curled into a very charming smile. I almost melted, but he didn’t answer right away. I blushed, though, and I wasn’t sure how many times I already had today.
He spoke after a long silence as he continued slicing the pie. “I’m glad you’re Jason’s sister.”
“Why?”
He chuckled again. “Because this makes it easier to approach you.”
“Are you typically… this smooth?”
He pinched my chin. “I was actually serious. Let’s get back then, Alayna.” He carried the tray and winked at me. “Come on.”
I held my breath, holding onto the sink so I wouldn’t fall. I let him walk first, and when he was out of sight, I couldn’t contain my excitement and almost squealed. That was the day I knew I had a crush on someone for the first time.