Johnson Hearts Carter

Not All Favors are Favorable

Alexandra stood in front of her house’s open door, gaping at Travis Johnson's tall frame filling the view. He was not as bulky as most of the jocks in school but, he was lean and muscular enough to cast a shadow over her. 

She knew she must look like an utter fool with the granola bar stuck in her mouth but somehow, her brain and limbs were not connecting right. She was rooted on the spot despite wanting very badly to spit the hanging food from her mouth.

Travis was trying his best not to laugh at the sight that welcomed him. He knew that Alexandra might be one of those girls who did not really give much care about how other people thought of how they looked, but, he was surprised at how disheveled she was when welcoming guests at their house. 

Not that I was expected, he mused to himself as he eyed her up and down.

Recognizing the sign that she was not moving anytime soon, Travis grinned and reached over to pull out the granola bar from her mouth. It was either that or lose himself into fits of laughter. However tempting that was, he was not sure she would appreciate his presence even more. After all, he did hit her with his car after  he made matters worse when she was covered with paint in class.

"I hope I did not catch you at a bad time?" he asked, trying not to laugh while pulling the granola bar from her mouth. 

She was still speechless and looked rooted on the spot. Frankly, the situation was getting ridiculous. Her red hair was in a messy state that he admitted to had found a tad adorable, which was weird and her eyes were round with surprise.

"Wha-what-wah..." 

Alexandra can hear her mind screaming coherent sentences but again, her mouth seemed to have been disengaged from its connection with her brain and refused to utter a single phrase that made sense.

Really! How hard can a conversation be? It was not as if it was Johnny Depp standing in front of you. Snap out of it! She rallied against her mind as she heard herself wonder Was this what people would call an out of body experience?

"What am I doing here? Is that what you're trying to get at?" 

There was a smirk and a hint of suppressed laughter in Travis voice that helped Alexandra's brain finally connect with her entire body. She blinked and took a deep breath before being able to move. She did not even bat an eyelash as she closed the front door in Travis Johnson's face.

Now that she was over her initial shock, Alexandra looked down at the space between the door and the floor to see if he had left. Nope, his shadow is still there. The shadow belonged to forest green eyes, dark cascading hair and by Eliza's description, a face belonging to a god! 

Not that it mattered to Alexandra. 

Travis is a typical bad boy, swoon worthy guy who could have anybody he wants. Yes, in most teen novels and chick flicks, the plain nerds have had their share of getting the prince in the end however, Alex is too realistic and practical to even consider such notions for herself. Besides, she is a strong believer that looks should never be enough reason to fall head over heels with a guy.

Also, the guy almost killed her with his reckless driving and now ruined her perfect school attendance! Another couple of knocks on the door jolted Alexandra from her musings which automatically made her scowl at the wooden partitions in front of her.

"I've come to give you your worksheets. I got them from Verna Callum.” Travis called out from the other side of the door. He sighed and rolled his eyes at the inconvenience of it all.

Alexandra took a deep breath and cracked the door open once more but only wide enough for her arm to squeeze through and reach for the paper. She could hear a chuckle from Travis though she ignored it. It did not bother her if he thought she was weird. 

I happen to be a very, very, very shy person. She declared internally with pride.

Travis could not fight the urge to laugh and a chuckle escaped from him as he saw her slender, white arm stretch from the tiny opening of the front door. This girl was really something else. It was the first time he had been thoroughly brushed aside and rejected. 

It highly amused him.

He rustled the papers just so that she could hear them before he deliberately brushed it on her open palm. He pulled it away as soon as her hand would close  around on it. He repeated this a couple of times wondering if she would eventually give up and open the door wide enough to really grab the worksheets from him. 

He laughed when he heard a loud, frustrated sigh. Travis thought that teasing the sheepish girl behind the door is indeed worth the trouble. 

"You're worse than Verna. At least the girl managed to stand in front of me and listen while I talked. Come on, Carter, come out" he teased, shaking the worksheets louder.

Alexandra knew she was being ridiculous at the moment. It was only some dumb guy giving her her worksheet. What did it matter? It was not like they were going to be best buddies and start hanging out! So, she opened the door a little wider, just enough for her to see where the papers are and she snatched them from his hands. 

Travis was caught off guard and the next thing he knew the door was closing again on him. He quickly placed his foot in the open space to prevent her from shutting it. Honestly, is this girl some kind of a teen experiencing a hermit complex?

"Hey, hold up! Seriously, I'm not going to hurt you or anything. I just want to say something,” he called out. "Please, Carter?"

Alexandra sighed. She winced as she felt the same pain shoot up from her arm to her shoulder. She needed to lie down and stay still otherwise, she would go through her painkillers like a junkie on c***k. She should just go ahead and face the guy so that he could leave. 

"Ah- there she is..." Travis announced with a huge grin as Alexandra opened the door wide enough for him to see her "here, do you want this back?" 

She looked down at his outstretched arm and saw the granola bar he had pulled from her mouth earlier. She stepped out of the door and snatched it making sure he could see the irritation written across her face.

"Wow, you're quick. Are you interested in a life of crime by chance? I could use a partner-"

"What do you want?" She snapped, cutting him off. 

Alexandra could not understand it but, there was this instant sense of repulsion and annoyance that emerges from her whenever popular people try to talk to her and act all chummy. It just somehow felt pretentious and fake.

"First, a show of gratitude would be perfect. I got you your worksheets after all” he retorted, rolling his eyes at her.

Alexandra raised her brow at him in response "you probably terrorized poor Verna just so you had a legitimate excuse to come here. Cut the crap and just be out with it, okay? We were never friends in middle school and we're certainly not friends now. What do you want?"

"Uh- well, that's correct,” he stammered, caught off guard with her hostility and the fact that she was not getting buttered up by his charming jokes and comebacks. He stood straight and jammed his hands inside his pockets, quite uncertain about how to act.

He looked at her and saw her try to hide a wince of pain. Again, guilt shot through his mind making him step forward with concern, his hand going directly towards her sling as he asked "Are you okay?"

His sudden movement caught Alex off-guard and she stumbled back, hitting the back of her head on the door. She hissed just in time for Travis to fumble and step on her bare foot. This solicited another yelp from both of them.

“Ouch!"

"Jesus!"

Alexandra closed her eyes, steadied herself then stretched out her left hand, shooing him to move away from her. It seemed like the best option to remain unharmed and alive.

"Honestly, don't you think you've done enough damage?" She finally grated out, her cheeks reddening with irritation and pain. "Just leave, okay? Whatever it is you want or need to say, it doesn't matter."

Travis watched helplessly as Alexandra turned around and began closing the door for the nth time on him. He sighed and proceeded forward to knock again but decided against it. He could sense that she was still on the other side of it, waiting for him to leave the house. He cleared his throat, hesitating a bit before finally speaking out.

"Listen, I just really wanted to come and apologize for what happened. I was reckless and I didn't check if my rear end area was clear. I just want to say i'm sorry for everything,” he hated having to speak to the door, but he hoped that she was listening behind it.

Travis also hoped she understood that he was also apologizing for the comment he made in Literature. It was not really his intention to tease her about the paint. He was more annoyed at the teacher then. He hoped she would somehow get that. He waited for her to say something but, all he heard was the creaking floor as Alexandra walked away.

He shrugged and with one last look at the wooden partition, he turned around and headed to his car. Well, at least, he had the balls to come and apologize which was more than what the usual bullies did in school. Whatever that girl's issue was, it was none of his business. He already had other things to feel terrible about and he did not need an endless supply.

Alexandra watched from her bedroom window as a hunched up Travis Johnson walked back to his car, got in and sped off. She sighed with relief and decided to look over the worksheets he gave. She felt bad about her behavior but she pushed it aside. She did not owe anything to the likes of Travis and the people who thought they were above everyone else.

He seemed really genuine with his apology, a voice in her head responded.

She sighed and abandoned the schoolwork. It was useless to even try answering since she could not hold a pen. Seriously, she should consider learning to become ambidextrous. She tucked herself in bed and prayed that the days would go quicker so she could go back to school and then graduate for college; to finally leave everything behind and start something new.