Johnson Hearts Carter

The Guilty Makes New Friends

Travis Johnson came to school early and made it in time for Mr. Matters class. It was not that he was turning over a new leaf, he was just really eager to see if Alexandra Carter was all okay. He really felt worried a bit bad for almost running her over. The least he could do was find out if she’s able to come to class today.

He had trouble sleeping last night as his old nightmares began plaguing him once more. He had managed to come to terms with the few tragedies in his life but when something causes him to be anxious, the bad dreams come flooding back.  

It would have been better if he had the girl's phone number, at least he could have called to apologize. He projects a bad boy image in school but he is not totally heartless or ruthless. The situation that happened with Alexandra might be small but still, it added unnecessary weight on his conscience. He was not sure he needed more reason to lose interest in life.

"Mr. Johnson, what a surprise!" Mr. Matters called out just as the class was settling down. 

The teacher shot an incredulous look towards where he was seated. Travis didn't say anything and maintained a bored look. He wished the girl would come to class already so he could get over the whole thing and move on. 

The class droned on and to Travis' surprise and disappointment, the redhead he maimed yesterday did not make an appearance. He frowned and decided to talk to the student by his right side.

"Hey, do you have any news about the Carter girl?" he leaned over and whispered to the guy in a striped sweater who was hunched intently reading his book.

The guy blinked and looked at him as if surprised that someone like Travis was talking to him. Travis raised his eyebrow indicating that he was waiting for an answer.

"No. I-I mean- I haven't heard anything" his classmate stammered in a whisper that Travis barely heard.

"Well, do you know who her friends are? Maybe I can ask them?"

"Um- She usually has lunch with Verna Callum" the guy replied, pointing at the girl with straight brown hair who was seated beside the empty seat in front of the room.

Travis nodded and thanked the guy who was now beet red. 

Really, what was with some of these high school kids? They were the same age but he did not act like a frightened rabbit when someone talked to him. Travis shook his head in disbelief before making a mental note to approach Verna after class.

Finally, the bell rang and Travis shot out of his chair hoping that Verna had not left the room. He worried for nothing since the girl decided to hang a while with Mr. Matters. He approached them just in time to overhear the conversation they were having.

"Sure Mr. Matters, I'll take these worksheets to her. Don't worry, she's just a bit banged up. Bruised arm and all" Vera informed their teacher, a bright, friendly smile on her face.

"Well, tell her I hope she recovers soon and not to worry about class. So far her grades are superb and nobody's going to take it against her if she can't come to class yet."

"Excuse me, but are you talking about Alex Carter?" Travis interrupted and was given a a surprised look by Mr. Matters and a suddenly sheepish smile from Verna Callum.

"Yes, Mr. Johnson. Hopefully you learned your lesson about being careful when backing out of the school parking lot. Driving is a privilege and not a right.” 

Travis could detect a bit of detestation in the teacher's voice but he decided to just ignore it. He was not there to ask for good graces or approval from anyone. Instead, he turned to address the girl beside him.

"Can I talk to you for a second, Verna?"

If Travis had a quarter every time a girl would gawk and turn into a statue whenever he attempted to speak with her, he would be almost as filthy rich as his father would be right now.

When Verna did not show any signs of speaking or returning back to earth, Travis placed both hands on her shoulder, turned her around and marched her out of the classroom, ignoring Mr. Matters’ protest and surprise.

God forbid you to start hyperventilating! He thought with mild amusement as he and Verna stepped out of the room. He stopped a few feet away from the door and held the girl in place, not letting go of her in case she would run away.

"Hey Verna, right?" 

The girl managed to do a small twitch that Travis interpreted as a nod of agreement. He grinned and noticed that the color was slowly returning to her already pale skin. Verna Callum was definitely someone Alexandra would hang out with. They had the same plain Jane look to a tee with that awkward sense about them.

"Do you mind if I take those to Alexandra after school?" he asked, pointing at the worksheets she clutched in her hand.

Verna continued staring at Travis until he slowly pried the papers from her hands. He gave her a wink and a grin before turning around and leaving the poor girl flabbergasted and speechless, staring at his retreating back.

Travis was not really familiar with all of Alexandra's classes so he had no other choice but to keep following Verna Callum in hers. Good thing they had almost the same subjects. It was probably a surprising day for most of his teachers since it was the first day in the semester wherein he was present in all of his lessons.

Finally, after the last class, he waited for Verna to come out of the room. He was about to ask her for the worksheets but to his surprise, Verna was already handing them to him before he could say anything else. This time, it was the girl who half-ran away from him, obviously embarrassed. He could not help but laugh at how absurd the whole thing was.

"What's so funny, Johnson?"

He turned around and found Kurt Corbin, his best bud since kindergarten. 

"Hey! You're back! How was vacation? I can't believe the school allowed you to leave for a cruise in the middle of a semester" Travis greeted his friend with their secret handshake. Yes, you were never too cool for those.

"If you started making good grades and stop pretending to be a dumbass, you could probably get the same privilege. How are you, man?" Kurt replied with a grin.

Kurt was the type of teen who was both smart and athletic so he definitely wasn't bullied as a nerd and he was deemed cool enough to be almost on the same league as Travis Johnson. He was the bad boy while Kurt was the all-American jock, who made the women swoon.

"I'm okay. Why haven't you been to class the whole day?" he asked as they trudged towards the school exit.

"Oh. I just came from the airport. I wanted to go check in with coach before tomorrow, so yeah- I'm here for the after school activities.”

Travis remembered his dilemma with Alexandra "hey, do you know the Carter girl? The nerdy red head?"

Kurt paused and thought for a moment "the teacher's pet?"

Travis nodded “yeah, her. Do you happen to know where she lives?"

"Why? What? Are you interested in her? You? Travis Johnson?" Kurt exclaimed, pushing the door open. They both paused just outside the door since both were going towards different directions.

"No. And what's that supposed to mean? I am not a picky dater" Travis interjected, punching his best friend on the shoulder.

"Hah!" Kurt exclaimed, laughing "come on, Alexandra Carter just isn't your type man."

Travis grinned then shrugged "yeah- you're probably right. However, that's not the reason why I want to know where she lives. I have to give her these worksheets.”

Kurt looked skeptical "I can't believe you haven't noticed her at all. She lives just across the street from Camille's house."

"What? Camille? Your girlfriend?"

Kurt nodded while smirking at his best friend "speaking of girlfriend, I have to go and pay homage or else she'll tear me into pieces."

"You're clearly whipped, dude."

"See you tomorrow? Maybe we can hang after football practice?"

Travis nodded and with a quick wave, both friends went off to their own different ways. He hurried towards his car, anxious to get over his mission as quickly as possible.

Alexandra huffed in frustration and threw the book on her bed. It was  tiresome to read, holding the book with just one hand most of the time. She also could not write her essays because she could not type on her keyboard. She tried doing it with one hand but it just made her want to smash her fist against the keyboard. 

Alexandra tried her best but could not write with a pen since her right hand was in a sling. If there was a best time to be ambidextrous, it would have been today. On the verge of going crazy, she thought that reading a book in advance would keep her head off the number of things she could not get done but, it had not been working.

She got off her bed slowly and sighed. The day was not over yet but she was already bored and anxious. There was supposed to be a chemistry quiz today and a bunch of worksheets to be answered. She hoped Verna did not forget to get her copies, Alexandra thought as she glanced out of her window.

Alexandra considered Verna as her only close friend in class although they've only just hung out a couple of times outside school and shared a regular lunch table. There was a quiet sense in Verna that Alex found comforting. They did not need to talk much but there was mutual respect and understanding.

The house was empty when Alex went down to get herself some Pop Tarts. She had trouble plating her wild curly hair so it was hanging loose and a bit in a disarray. With all the things she tried to get off her mind, her wild curls were the last thing she needed to get tangled with.

She thought that if she had Eliza Foster's sophistication and elegant beauty, she could probably pass it off as a very stylish and sexy bedhead look. Unfortunately, Alexandra thought as she saw her reflection on one of the kitchen's reflective surface, all she could pull off from her messy hair is a very good impersonation of a bird's nest.

"That's what you get for refusing your mom's offer to fix your hair before she left for work!" She mumbled aloud while trying to reach for the PopTart box. She managed to get it but found that it was empty. 

"Great. Let's see what's in the fridge” she announced sarcastically as she tossed the empty box in the trash bin before walking to where the fridge is. She scoured the fridge for snacks and settled for orange juice and a half eaten granola bar which she remembered having eaten the other day. 

Alex thought she could ride over to the grocery and get her favorite munchies but then she remembered she only had one arm to use. She was not sure if she could bike with one arm the whole way and back without causing a new accident for herself.

A quick, loud knock on the front door alerted her and Alexandra hopped down from the stool. She did not bother to change out of her periwinkle blue pajamas since she knew it would just be Verna with her worksheets.

Usually she would invite Verna to answer the worksheets with her at home but most of the time Verna refused since she had to take care of her younger brother who was also coming home from school.

Alex placed the granola bar in her mouth, holding it with her teeth and then yanked the door open with her free hand, ready to thank Verna.

"Hey!" 

Alexandra stared at the doorway, dumbfounded.

 What is Travis Johnson doing in her front porch?