A short gasp bolted from Dawn's Sommers' lips when she shut her locker door and turned to see a grotesque face inches from hers. "Barry! Are you ever going to act your own age? it would be hilarious to see your face freeze up like that."
Her words summoned a scowl. "The next time you tell me to act my own age I'm gonna hurl. So where is my geometry homework, Miss Grown up? Unfortunately Juniper doesn't grade excuses." He gazed over her head at the digital clocks in between the third-floor restrooms, then smiled as a few of his friends walked by on their way to class. When he wasn't acting like a fool, he was one of the hottest seniors ar Twinleaf High. His light, straight hair and thin-lashed hazel eyes could charm the most poisonous of snakes. They had also charmed the last homework paper from his long time girlfriend.
Dawn pulled a numbered sheet from her notepad and handed it to Barry with a deep sigh. "I couldn't do your geometry homework. I didn't have enough time to do it."
The hallway traffic steadily slowed, which means that the tardy bell would be ringing any second. Eyes filled with rage, Barry snatched the sheet from Dawn and ripped it into sverel pieces that glided down to the black linoleum floor. "Thanks for nothing Dawn! You said that you were going to do it! Why didn't you have eboguh time?" He hollored, ignoring the gazes that his outburst brought. "Were you too busy playing chess with that nerd Ash, or have you too moved on to bigger and better things now?"
"How-" Dawn began, but she was cut off by the deafening tone of the tardy bell. She had an irresistable urdge to slap Barry, but something told her that if she did, he would more than likely slap her back, and hard. Maybe hard enough to knock her down. "You know that Ash never has been and never will be anymore than a good friend," she hissed. "To tell you the truth, I just decided not to do your homework last night. I was through doing your papers, and now I'm through with you, jerk."
"Thats just as fine, since doing my homework is all I ever wanted you to for," Barry sneered.
Dawn slapped him all of a sudden, unable to control herself; and sure enough, he immediately retaliated. The intense sting on her cheek threatened to bring tears, determined not to let Barry have the pleasure of seeing her cry.
'I'm glad that I didn't let you ruin mine and Ash's friendship." she said steadily, tossing a stray piece of her shoulder-length dark blue hair to her right. "he is one in a billion. if I want another guy like you, all I have to do is goo look inside dumpdters."
Before Barry was able to do a scathing reply, one of the mythology teachers, Professor Birch, walked out into the hall and told them to go to their classes.
Never again, Dawn thought as she rushed down the hard, stone staircase to the second floor. never again......
End of Page 1(Notebook Paper)
" I mean it, I'm swearing off guys forever," Dawn said emphaticallymoving her rook to capture one of Ash's knights. "All that lovey-dovey stuff is for the birds and the bess. I can do without all the migrains, and I sure can deal without jerks like Barry Mills. I don't think he really meant that he was just using me to do his papers, but what a jerky thing to say. That just goes to prove how immature he is."
She glanced up to watch Ash study the chessboard. Like her, he had blue eyes and a perfect complexion, but thats where the resemblance ended. Her nose was narrow ans slightly pointed, where his was pudgy like the rest of him. His lips were thin and hers was full; he had dirty-blond hair and wore thick-rimmed glasses. he was a far shout from a Hunk, but that didn't matter to Dawn. She sometimes wondered if they both would be as good at romance as they were at friendship, but always the idea was quickly dismissed. As she had truthfully said to Barry, that Ash and her have never been more than friends, the best of friends, and now she has reasoned that the longetivity of their relationship was due to that very fact.
Ash Finally moved, capturing Dawn's rook with his queen.
Dawn expelled a sigh. "Dang, I didn't see that. I guess my mind is still on the fight with Barry."
"You are too young to give up on guys," Ash said as he gingerly placed the rook with the other POWs. "you haven't hooked up with the right one yet, that's all."
