Knox's Little Annie

2

The second that I entered my first class, history, I had already lost any last bits of confidence I thought I could retain.

The short-lived triumph of having made it through the hall and into this room was trumped by the intimidating men that already lingered in their picked seats. I eyed the row in the back, but luck was not on my side when my eyes met the group of boys who occupied them. I was then forced to opt for a seat closer to the front than I wanted.

I hoped being far away from the other boys in the back would make this choice worth it, but I was quickly found wrong.

The seat in front of me was taken within seconds. He was a dark-haired lanky boy who sat crookedly slouched. His shaggy hair gave away the, what I could only assume was unintentional, heavy tilt of his head.

He had no issues leaning as far back into his seat as he possibly could. The wisps of his long strands of hair danced across the edge of my desk as if taunting me.

I wiped my sweaty palms on my jean skirt and tried to follow his lead in leaning back in my own chair so as to create as much distance between the two of us as possible.

This didn't last long.

Another boy filled the seat behind me only a moment later. He moved so quickly, I could not catch more than a red blur and I was definitely not willing to turn my head even half a centimeter to subdue my curiosity in knowing what the rest of him looked like.

All that seemed to matter was the dull tapping of his foot against the leg of my chair, successfully managing to keep me on edge from the constant reminder of his presence throughout the entire class period. I couldn't even lean back in the chair any longer in fear that I would continue to feel his breath hitting the back of my neck. Instead, I sat stick-straight and rigid, afraid that any movement in either direction would bring me unbearably closer to either one of the two boys.

To say that I was distracted was an extreme understatement.

I was so caught up in my own internal struggle, I was still not even sure I caught my teacher's name correctly. Not to mention anything he was actually trying to teach us. Every word he spoke seemed to die just before it was supposed to reach my ears.

When the boy behind me finally stopped tapping his foot on my chair, I thought I would finally be able to gain some sense of awareness. Next thing I knew, everyone was filing out of the room even quicker than they had arrived.

I gripped the edge of the desk closest to me while everyone walked by. I kept my eyes concentrated on the grain, following the pattern of the wood as a way to distract myself. I wasn't sure how long I did it for but I suppose the whole exercise had worked a bit too well.

I nearly jumped out of my seat when two hands came down on the corners of the desk, a boy leaning down over me. My lips parted in an almost gasp and my eyes shot up to meet that of Knox's.

We kept eye contact for several endless moments, me just gaping up at him, until he finally spoke, "Are you going to stare at me all day or are we gonna go?"

"Go where?" I asked instinctively. As soon as the question left my lips, I blanched. It slipped off my tongue before I could stop it. I must have been so disoriented, or at least so mentally exhausted, that I forgot the entire reason I was enduring this torture to begin with.

"Your next class, no?" Knox asked, his tone and eyes laced with amusement.

I nodded but made no effort to move. I was still very much reeling from the past hour.

"C'mon, Annie."

Knox released his hold on my desk before leaning down and picking up my backpack that had been sitting next to the desk chair.