Page 3 of Already Falling

He whips back around and gives me the most beautiful smile I’ve ever seen in the entire world, those little corners of his eyes curling up with his smile. “Reid Parker. What’s yours?” he asks, slowly walking back to me.

“Annika Gomes!'' I shout back a little too loudly. I realize this when the kids on the jungle gym look over.

“Nice to meet you, Annika Gomes.”

I want the way he says my name to be permanently tattooed on my memory. He says it the way you’re supposed to say it. Ann-ika Go-mess. People always smoosh it together. I watch as he runs over to the kickball field to meet up with Isaac and some other boys from their class. Reid Parker.

Chloe rushes over to me from the drinking fountain. “Oh my gosh, he loves you, Anni! And you love him!” She jumps around me like a little bug. “I saw the whole thing. It was the most romantic thing I’ve ever seen. We have to plan your wedding!”

“You are obsessed with love. It’s a little scary.” She laughs and grabs my arm as we head over to our other friends by the playground. I’ve never been in love before and don’t know what it’s like, but ever since he touched my hand, that fuzzy feeling never went away.

TWO

ANNIKA

Three years later

“It’s the first day of the rest of our lives,” Chloe says as I slide into the back of her dad’s car.

I am a bundle of nerves. I changed my outfit four times and begged my mom to put on some of her lip gloss. Chloe’s dad is taking us to school before he goes to work since we go to middle school now. I’m sure my little brothers are going to miss me. I won’t miss them bothering me, but I told them they need to tell me if anyone is mean to them now that I can’t keep an eye on them.

Chloe’s dad pulls up to the front of the campus, and we shuffle out. We make our way to the middle of the school, which is a huge amphitheater. It feels so much bigger than it did on our orientation day now that all the students are here. It has two stories of classrooms, not like elementary school. Plus, there is even a track and an entire soccer field to the side. We even have to change into gym uniforms for PE class. Chloe is right. This feels different from everything we’ve been used to doing.

Chloe is on her tiptoes, scanning the crowd. I’m sure she’s looking for our other friends so we can secure our meeting spot for lunch.

“Hey, I’m going to head to the music room and see if Desiree is there. Save me a seat next to you in first period!” Chloe skips off, and I’m left to wander and try to find our first class. We only have three together, and one is the first class of the day.

I make my way over to the second floor, where the seventh graders have their classes. I enjoy being early and picking the best seat. I turn the corner to head up the stairs. At the same time, someone comes barreling down and knocks into my shoulder, nearly toppling me over, but not before they grab my arm to keep me steady on my feet.

“Whoa, whoa, my bad, didn’t see you there.” My heart skips a beat as I recognize that soothing scratchy voice. I look up, and a pair of twinkly green eyes meet mine, and the corners turn up as a smile hits his face. “Oh hey, Annika, aren’t I always there to catch you when you fall.”

“Only because you’re the one to knock me over.”

I try to regain my balance and pull away from him, still not comfortable with the tingling feeling he gives me. He’s grown at least two inches over the summer, and his face looks more grown up somehow. I was hoping I’d run into him but didn’t think it would be the first day, heck, within the first minutes of stepping onto campus.

“That is so not true, and you know it!” he says, giving me a soft pat on my shoulder and then flipping the end of my hair. “Hey, did you get a haircut? It’s really straight along the bottom.”

I’m speechless as he drags his finger along the bottom of my shoulder-length hair. My mom took me to her hairstylist last week to get a fresh trim.

He scrunches his eyebrows up and chuckles at my inability to speak. “You’re so silly. I’ll see you around.”

He walks off but pivots back around me to give me a fist bump.

I return his fist bump and stand there in awe, still mute, nodding my head, a goofy smile on my face, and my fist hovering in the air. He runs his fingers through his hair, flings his backpack around one shoulder, and bounces off to class. I replay the incident about five times in my head as I walk up to my classroom. Gosh, Chloe is right. I might be in love with that boy.

By the time the fourth period comes around, I find out Reid has gym class at the same time as I do. I see him across the gym, stretching with his class. There are four different classes in the gym. His class is across from mine, and we are facing each other. He looks so cute in his gym outfit, even though it is the same one I am wearing. He just makes it look so sporty. When he lifts his arms during shoulder stretches, the sleeves of his shirt fall, and I notice some arm muscles on his tan arms. Reid is turning into a man. Who am I kidding? I have such a crush on him. I should work up the courage to just ask him out already. I don’t know where we will go, but that’s what everyone says when they get a boyfriend or girlfriend.

Last period of the day is History class, and luckily for me, my best friend is in it. Chloe and I try to make a mad dash for the back row, but our teacher clears his throat, and we look over to the whiteboard, where a seating chart is displayed. We grunt and wander over to see where we sit. We are still in the back row but not sitting next to one another. No, instead, Reid sits in between us.

Chloe turns to me, wiggling her eyebrows.

“Will you stop it!” I say in a shouting whisper.

She sticks out her tongue and finds her seat. I find my own seat and turn to Chloe, putting my hands on either side of my head with my tongue sticking out to her. She returns the gesture by crossing her eyes and puffing her cheeks out.

The classroom door opens and interrupts our display of silly faces as I see Reid strolling in and heading to the whiteboard. He turns and scans the room to look for his seat and walks down the row. As he slides onto his chair, he looks over at me and gives me a big smile.

“Heyyy, Anni, I had a feeling I’d see you again today.” He reaches over to give me a fist bump. The sound of my nickname out of his mouth sends a wave of tingles down my back.