High School hadn't been easy.
I was just beginning my senior year at Templeton High. Throughout my entire time here, I never truly found a place I belonged. I wasn't one of the popular kids, in fact, I wasn't even close. Most of them wouldn't bat an eyelid my way, I was physically invisible to them.
But I wasn't a complete oddball that everyone laughed at because there were plenty of those around.
I was incredibly smart, I studied hard and had fantastic grades. But that all went unnoticed.
I was your typical inbetweener.
Instead of playing sport in my free-time, I'd rather spend time at home, playing video games. Adding to what many would describe as an 'embarrassing' daily life, I liked to write so I kept a diary.
I would write in this diary all the time, sometimes day to day, sometimes at the end of the week. The diary wasn't something to hold back on. I used it as a way to get out all of my thoughts on paper.
I would share my deepest secrets, my hopes and desires, my...
Oh god, just writing this down made me cringe.
It wasn't just that I included though, I would write down my sexual frustrations of being an untouched virgin. Writing about girls I went to high school with, what I wanted to do with them, what I wanted them to do to me.
So basically, I was fucked if anyone ever saw it.
Life in general was tough and lonely.
However... in the space of a day, that would all change.
***
It all started one day after one of my classes, I was told to stay back by one of our teachers, Miss Holland, she was one of the senior year teachers at the school.
"I've got a task for you Leonard," she said in her serious toned voice, putting down a bunch of test papers on the classroom desks as I stood up the front, waiting for her to finish what she had to say.
"We've got several kids falling behind," she stated honestly, "Seniors that won't be graduating at the end of the year if they don't get their act together. I trust you enough as a student and as a genuine human being that you can really help these people out.
I nodded, knowing where this was going.
"I don't expect you to help them all but I want to pair you up with one person that I know is capable of more than what she is achieving right now. Annie Rowland."
I knew a lot about Annie and she knew nothing about me, not even my name.
Part of that was due to an obsessive social media stalking over the last five years. That and the fact that she was a part of the Saturday Night Five. It was a group of five girls, arguably the most popular group of high school girls going around. Nicknamed the Saturday night five after the 'Saturday Night Live' television show, the girls were all known for their antics out on the town on a Saturday Night.
The girls all had incredible reputations, Annie was no exception. She had beautiful blonde hair, these incredible long legs that led to a heart shaped backside that I had spent my own Saturday night's staring at in bikini photos she posted online.
Yes, I had wrote about her in my diary before, quite frequently to be honest. Major crush alert...
With the threat of failing her senior year at high school because of her poor grades, Annie had become desperate. She wouldn't dare spend extra time at school if she didn't have to so I knew it was serious.
I accepted the teacher's request in a bid to help out and spend a bit of time with a girl I had always dreamed to be with.
When I saw her walking my way, about to meet me at the library that afternoon, I knew she was taking this studying business seriously. But boy, I didn't know how much I could really help considering how distracted I was about to be. Annie came walking my way in a very tight black crop top that covered her breasts but revealed her midriff. Her hair was done up into a neat ponytail and she had spent plenty of time doing her make-up just as she did every day.
"Leonard?" she asked as she approached.
The blonde girl was squinting at me, but the slight smile on her face at least told me that she was pretty certain who I was. It took me a second to get my words out, "Um, yes.. uh yes.. I'm Leonard but you can call me Leo."
I stood up and pulled out her seat.
I would have loved to say that it would have looked like a nice genuine gentlemen-like action but instead, I looked like a bumbling mess as I dropped one of my books in the process and fumbled with her chair as I moved it for her.
Annie giggled as she took the seat, at least she knew what my intentions were.
"So I'm sure Miss Holland filled you in on everything?" she said to me as she opened up her expensive Mac book at the table.
"Uh yes, yeah I'm aware," he replied, "You need a bit of help to get your grades up."
She nodded, looking directly into my eyes, "I really can't afford to risk failing, I want to go to college next year, I really don't want to be stuck repeating these classes while everyone else graduates."
"Well I hope I can help you out," I told her.
"Oh I'm sure you can," she grinned, "I asked Miss Holland for her best student and you're who she chose."
The next hour and a half flew bye. As nervous as I was at the start of our lesson, I was feeling a lot more comfortable by the end of it. She had a cool calmness about her, suddenly I wasn't so afraid of her because of her social status.
She would ask me questions about the work while also asking me things about myself, wanting to know me better, "So you want to go to college in Houston?"
"Yeah, they have this really amazing IT program there that I think would suit my strengths, I'm not exactly talented in many areas," I admitted.
"Aww don't be like that," she said, brushing that aside, "I'm sure you're great at a lot of things, you're just being modest."
I blushed in response, smiling back at her. There was really something about her that got me going.
Before we knew it, it was half past five and the library was almost empty.
"Oh fuck," she quietly said to herself as she checked the time on her phone.
I looked at her a little confused, "Everything okay?"
"Oh sorry, I just didn't realise how late it was already," she said as she packed up her stuff, "Declan's house party's tonight, I've got to go right now, get changed and do my make up and everything."
I was about to ask why she needed more make-up considering what she had on already look good enough to me. But I didn't understand girls or know really anything about them to intrude.
"Oh I better let you get going then," I smiled, turning back to my own laptop screen.
Standing up with her belongings in hand, she looked down at me with a puzzled look, "You're staying longer?"
"Ah I mean... I haven't really got much else to do so I might as well get a bit more studying done before I waste the next five hours away playing PlayStation."
"Wait, you're not going to Declan's tonight?"
"No," I said straight away.
"You're kidding, everyone's going," Annie huffed.
That hurt a little knowing I definitely didn't get invited and Declan wouldn't know who I am. I had always found parties hard to get an invite for, I had basically given up trying to be noticed.
I just shrugged my shoulders, knowing there was nothing that could change the fact that I hadn't been invited.
Little did I know, Annie was already getting her phone out to make arrangements. She put her mobile up to her ear before I even had a chance to say anything.
"Hey Tay... yeah I'm good."
Tay... I was sure that was Tayla, another member of the Saturday Night Five.
"Declan doesn't care if I bring along another person tonight does he?"
Listening to her soft voice say that made my eyes widen, she was actually talking about me. I felt a little awkward if I was being honest, almost thinking it would be worth telling her not to bother.
"Leo," I heard her say before repeating it, "Leo... Leonard... Leonard Hawkins."
Ugh... Tayla certainly had no idea who I was.
"Okay awesome, I'll see you soon!"
Annie put down her phone and pulled her chair out to stand up, "Done... all sorted, you can come tonight."
I sat there a bit speechless, I had so many questions, when? where? what?
Seeing the blank look on my face, she raised her eyebrows as she looked down at me, looking a little intimidating, "You do want to come right?"
"I uhh... I dunno, I guess so... I just..."
"Oh come on Leo, you're coming," she cut me off, grabbing my hand and pulling me up from my chair.
Just the soft touch of her hand on mine made the hair on my skin stand up. We were now face to face, even closer than at the table, the smell of her perfume even stronger, her smile so infectious. She had such beautiful white teeth.
"But Uhh," I started to speak again, trying not to be sucked too far into her beauty, "I don't know when to get there or..."
Annie was quick to take her phone off me, entering her number into it.
She passed it back with that same smile, "I'll text you the details... you come and find me when you get there."