Socially Distanced

Chapter 6

I walked into class first thing in the morning and glanced at Brett down at the other end of the row. He was wearing black skinny jeans and a grey shirt with a jean jacket over it. I smiled to myself. He looked so content staring at his phone screen. His hair looked especially vibrant today. Maybe he got it dyed again. It was surprising how well purple hair suited him. I thought he looked absolutely perfect with it.

I looked over at him again, wishing that he wasn't so far away. I wish that I could talk to him before class started. I wish that I could see his cute smile. He was so charming.

Beep, beep, beep. Beep, beep, beep. My alarm jolted me out of another germaphobic night- wait a minute. I sat up in bed. It's rare for me to dream about anything besides my fears. I was so preoccupied thinking about what I didn't dream about that it took a minute to register what I did dream about. Brett. It all came back to me. No, no, no, no, no. I shook my head.

I jumped into the shower to wash away my feelings. Calm down, Mabel. I told myself. It was just a dream. I don't actually have feelings for Brett.

I rushed out the door after grabbing a quick bite to eat. I threw my book bag in the car and hurried to class. I was running late today. When I finally arrived on campus it was almost 8:00. I knew I was going to be late today, but it was only syllabus week. Besides, I sat all the way at the back of the class. I could easily sneak in and the professor probably wouldn't even notice me.

I made time to stop and wash my hands before hurrying to my classroom. I quickly sat down in my seat, rummaging through my book bag before I even realized that Brett was now sitting right next to me.

"She finally rolls in," he remarks with a smirk.

I practically jumped out of my skin. I checked my phone. "It's only 8:06. I'm not even that late." I paused for a moment before adding, "I thought you sat down there." I pointed to the opposite end of the row.

Brett crossed his arms with a smug look on his face. "Well, if you had arrived on time today, you would've heard the professor say that we're going to be starting a paper soon, and that we needed partners. I figured I couldn't work with you..." He paused before added a very dramatic, "down there."

I felt the heat rush to my face. Great, Mabel. Just great. You thought Brett wanted to sit next to you, didn't you? And now he thinks you're rude!

I was actually relieved that he didn't originally plan on sitting here with me. I heard Brett shift in his seat, and I looked over at him as he leaned over to speak up again.

"I'm glad to know that I'm welcome here," he joked.

"No, no that's not it-" I started.

He interrupted. "I'm just kidding around with you, map- Mabel."

Aw, I actually didn't mind when he called me maple syrup, I thought. I sat up straighter in my seat. Was I starting to like Brett? No, can't be. Besides, he definitely wasn't interested in me. Then again, why did he choose to sit next to me in chemistry?

My professor interrupted my thoughts. "If you guys don't have anymore questions regarding this semester's syllabus, we can start working on our first assignment today. Would that be alright with everyone?" She was met with silence. "You guys sure don't speak much for a speech class," she joked. More silence.

"Probably because we're all here against our will," mumbled Brett as he stared at his phone screen. I snickered

"What was that, Brett?" She asked.

He quickly looked up and spoke confidently, projecting his voice loudly across the room. "Oh, I said 'it's probably because we're all here so early,'" He ended his sentence with an innocent smile.

"Very early indeed," agreed Professor Williams. "But you know what they say? 'The early bird gets the worm.'" She gave him a warm smile.

"You got that right," replied Brett. Once he could see that he was off the hook, he leaned over to me and spoke quietly. "How the heck did she hear that?"

"I have no idea," I said while trying not to laugh. My mind wandered to my dream last night and I processed it all over again. My subconscious mind was correct; Brett is very charming, I thought. Then I remembered that he was sitting right next to me. Suddenly I felt butterflies in my stomach and I could feel the heat rush to my face again. You cannot like Brett, I reminded myself. You can't... but you do.