WANTING YOU

Dreamer

Astrid's POV

Trent Ambrose.

I found myself thinking about him more, daydreaming about him more and even as far as fantasizing about him too.

"Miss. Beltown, are you with us?" a voice asked and immediately snapped me out of my daydreaming.

"Yes, I am," I answered with a lie. I had zero clue on what Mr. London was talking about in the Social class, and I counted my lucky stars that he didn't ask me a question about the topic.

~

The bell rung a few minutes after and I scrambled to get my book and notebooks into my bag. It was the last period of the day and I had to get to the pallor.

"Miss. Beltown, one moment of your time please," Mr. London stopped me in my tracks as the other students dispersed.

"Sure," I answered and stepped up to his desk.

"Let me start by saying that you're an excellent student. You've never failed one of my exams, as a matter of fact, your grades are exceptional."

"But?"

"This is a Social class, which means that I would need you to participate more on the topics, speak up more and volunteer for group leaderships. I don't just want to see you at your best on the exams, I need to see you at your best in discussions too. Okay?"

"I understand. I'll do better," I answered.

"Thank you. Enjoy the remainder of your afternoon."

"Thanks. You too, Mr. London," I responded and walked out of the classroom feeling scolded for the first time by a teacher.

~

Keri was waiting for me. Together, we walked out.

"Are you in trouble with Mr. London?" she asked.

"Nah. He just wanted me to be vocal," I answered.

"Oh, I can agree with him on that, especially today."

"Why... why "especially today"?

"Because it looked like you were in really deep thoughts about something... or someone," she answered and gave me a playful shove on my shoulder.

"Don't get any ideas. I was only thinking about my life," I covered. I knew I would always get a pass with that excuse. Keri was very sympathetic when my father left, about my nightmares and sleepless nights, and about my mom's hunt for a job.

"Hey, you'll be okay. You got me and your mom, and I'm never leaving your side," Keri said. She then offered me a ride in the new car her father surprised her with over the weekend.

~

It was quiet at the ice-cream pallor. I took my place at the tubs counter as a kid and her mother came up to me.

"One waffle cone with chocolate, please," the woman spoke.

"No, mommy, I told you that I wanted Cookies and Cream with nuts on top," the child corrected.

"You're allergic to nuts, and I swore it was chocolate you said in the car," the mother responded.

"Then I changed my mind. I want Vanilla."

"You just said it was Cookies and Cream!" the mother rose her voice and the child broke into tears. In frustration, the woman ran her fingers through her hair and looked at me with a sorrowful expression.

"How about a mixture? One scoop of Cookies and Cream and one scoop of Vanilla, and instead of nuts we can add sprinkles, how does that sound?" I asked and peered down at the crying child who was now wearing a smile and nodding in agreement.

"Thank you. It's been a really long day. I'm currently acting CEO at my boss' firm while he's on a business trip, and my incompetent secretary just cost us two major clients. I had no choice but to fire her and it's been chaotic...and here I am rambling to a stranger who doesn't give a damn," she said and finished with a sigh.

"Hey, I completely understand. Sometimes we need to vent and get it off our chests, even if it's to a stranger," I spoke. She flashed a smile.

"I'm Jennifer.. and this is Alex," she introduced.

"I'm Astrid Beltown."

"It was nice meeting you and thank you for your assistance with the ice-cream situation."

"My pleasure." I handed her the cone, she paid at the cashier then left.

Silence once again, until the door opened and the bell chimed. In came Trent Ambrose with his usual smirk. I avoided looking in his direction that was until he came up to my counter.

"Hi," he greeted.

"What can I get you today?" I asked him.

"A small tub of ice-cream please," he answered.

"Flavor?" I asked.

"Surprise me," he said and I looked at him with surprise. After gathering myself, I retrieved the small tub from its stack and filled it with Pistachio.

"Interesting, would you tell me why Pistachio?" he asked.

"No," I answered and gestured for him to pay the cashier who was beginning to look at us with raised eyebrows.

Trent took a seat by himself in the far corner. I watched as he retrieved his cellphone and earphones and started looking at football plays and jotted down notes as he ate his ice-cream.

"You like him, don't you?" Sunshine, the cashier asked me when she caught me looking ever so often at Trent.

"No, I don't," I answered and averted my eyes.

"Well I couldn't help but notice that you cannot take your eyes off him."

"Trust me, there's nothing there. We attend the same highschool and he's the biggest jerk there," I told her.

"Sometimes it's the jerks who make the biggest impact and lasting memories in our lives. I cannot tell you how many times I fell for the bad guy," Sunshine stated.

"I'm not interested," I said to her in reference to Trent and my eyes found him in the corner again. On cue, he looked over at me too and I flushed and quickly turned towards Sunshine who laughed at the act.

"You're blushing," she teased and went to answer the phone that was ringing.

~

Sunshine insisted to close the pallor earlier than usual. There was going to be heavy rain and strong winds and we needed to get home before we got stuck in here for the night.

I helped with closing up and waited outside for the uber. A thunder rocked the skies and a lightning flashed angrily afterwards. People screamed and scurried away to their cars and shelters as the wind picked up so strongly that I staggered backwards the pallor's door.

My cellphone buzzed.

"Great!" I said aloud when I read that my uber was stuck in traffic and due to the weather conditions I should feel free to cancel the ride or wait an extra thirty minutes until arrival.

A car pulled up and its glass rolled down.

"Get in," Trent commanded.

"No. I'm fine. My ride is on its way," I answered.

"I can bet its stuck in traffic. We're having a sudden storm. Get in the car before the wind blows you away."

I was hesitant but the wind was about to toss me around like a ragged doll had I refused and it was at that moment, I got into Trent's car.

It was a luxury car. Keri's car couldn't be compared to this and I was certain that my future first car wouldn't either.

I directed him to my home address and didn't make any other conversations with him other than providing directions. He got there, I thanked him for the ride and ran up the porch just as the rain started. When I reached the threshold, I looked back and Trent was looking right at me.

I waved, crossed the threshold and closed the door behind me.

My butterflies erupted and I slide down to the floor all giddy and light-weighted.

"Who am I kidding... I like him."