Quinn

For as long as I can remember, I have stared at Nova Edwards. At first, I didn’t know why. My eyes just gravitated to her, when our teacher, Ms. Kimmy, was teaching something I had already learned. She had two close friends, Solace and Jenna, but other than that, she never talked to anyone. I would have been overjoyed if she even looked at me, (and I didn’t even know why) but she always kept her eyes down in the hallways between classes.

Most of my days were like this. I knew what the teacher was teaching, she paid attention, I stared, and she took no notice of me. But our freshman year of high school was different. One day I saw her and her friends studying in the library. I sat at the table next to them and listened. They were studying for our ELA final and talking about a sophomore who I never paid attention to. I gathered my courage and walked up to their table. I forget what I said, and it was probably stupid, but all I know was that it got her to talk to me.

Before I knew it, I was a part of their little group, I guess. They sometimes talked to me between classes, and whenever we were all free for lunch we sat in the cafe together. It was heaven for me. I noticed a lot about Nova. For one, she was loving and giving to everyone. Even if she didn’t talk to people, she helped people in the hallways who were lost or had dropped their books. Secondly, she had a boyfriend, Michael. That crushed me at first, but it was then that I realized I loved her, and I was still mesmerized by her, and I knew I could live with the fact she loved someone else. Just being near her made me feel good. Another thing was that she had the nicest brother. They have lived together in a little apartment ever since their parents died and they got out of the orphanage. And she loves him like he’s her life.

Jenna is probably the closest to him out of all of us, but not in a creepy way. Once, when Jenna was upstairs, I excused myself to use the restroom and snuck up to Reagen’s room. I heard crying, and Jenna was saying something weird, something like, “She doesn’t notice you because you’re too special.” Then the subject changed and Reagen started laughing. Jenna seems like she spends more time with Reagen than Nova spends with him. Sometimes we all play a game together or something, but it’s usually just Nova, Solace, and me.

Usually, we just turn the lights off and watch a movie, and I love it because I can stare at Nova and nobody will notice. But sometimes, we just talk, and as her name implies, Solace doesn’t talk much. It feels magical, like just Nova and I are there talking, alone, but together. I promise I’m not a creep. I awake from my daydream when my phone dings. I shiver at the sight of her name. It’s so beautiful; so perfectly carved. Nova. I open the message in our group chat. She’s inviting all of us to her house. I’m free! Jenna’s message pops up almost immediately, and soon after Solace agrees too. I type a reply and grab my car keys. Like saying no is an option for me. We’re talking about Nova. I’ll take any chance I have to be with her.