Johnson Hearts Carter

Accidents Do Happen

Alexandra dropped her bike on the front porch. She sighed while fishing her keys from her stained backpack. She was not angry at the kids who pranked her locker because it was useless to spend too much emotions on stuff like that. What irritated her was the fact that she had to go through one full year before finally having to go to college and escape the immature high school students.

Ever since first grade, Alexandra knew that she was a bit different from the other kids in class. She loved reading and could comprehend most of the instructions quicker than most of them. It helped that she had learned most of the things taught during first grade through the books that her parents collected at home. Her parents knew she was going to be outrageously smart when she grew up.

True enough, Alexandra or Alex is considered one of the smartest students in Ridgemont High. She could have skipped a grade or two but her parents wanted her to live normally as much as possible seeing how the smart kids were sometimes treated badly in the schools that they taught in.

Alexandra's father is a teacher in the nearby high school while her mother taught music in another school across town. They did not have huge salaries but just enough to be considered as a middle class family. However, they did not worry about Alexandra's college dreams because with her GPA and high IQ, she was going to be a shoo-in for a full scholarship in most Ivy League schools.

Well, at least, her parents were confident she would be.

Now, if only I did not have to go through the motions of a regular teenage life. Alexandra thought as she went inside the house and headed straight for her bathroom. It was no use trying to save her paint soaked shirt but, the overalls would survive.

Alexandra washed up as fast as she could, calculating the time it would take her to dress up and pedal her way back to the school. It was no use, she was not going to make Mrs. Gretel's class. Might as well take my time and eat lunch at home to save money, she mused.

She quickly decided to change into her old faded jeans and an old shirt (in case someone decided to throw paint again as a surprise.) She was drying her hair when she noticed that she had taken the handkerchief that Travis Johnson dropped on her desk. 

It was a confusing situation. 

Did he do it on purpose? Why would he give her this? Was it an accident?Alexandra snorted at herself after thinking about it. There was no way that Travis Johnson would deliberately give her his handkerchief. 

Plus, what type of delinquent carries a hanky in his pocket? And a clean white one at that! She thought as she looked at the handkerchief once more. She groaned as she saw red, finger stains on the cloth.

"Great, now I need to get him a new one!" She muttered out loud.

She stared at the piece of cloth for a little while more and then decided that maybe Travis Johnson did drop it by accident. After all, he was not the type to feel sorry for the ladies much less a nerd. Who knows? Maybe it was even one of his friends who pranked her locker! She still could feel the sting of his joke on her account. With a smirk, Alexandra picked up the hanky and threw it in her trash bin.

"I could always feign ignorance when he asks about it,” She said out loud, grinning proudly at herself ”Not that he would ever talk to me or I, him."

Satisfied with her shot at being vindictive towards Travis through the discarded hanky, Alex went downstairs to fix herself a quick sandwich before heading back to school. She would keep her head low, force herself not to talk that much and just nod and smile like a mechanical doll. It was easier than to get into confrontations or fights.

She has proven to herself that being invisible and uncommitted to how society dictates teenage platonic relationships should be in high school got her through the day. She highly believed that a wallflower was better than dumbing down to some of the bullies' level.

Meanwhile, back in school, Travis wanted to bang his head on the wall just so he could fall unconscious and stop listening to Eliza Foster's annoying accent. She had been nothing but clingy since they left the principal's office. Apparently, she had come up with this dumb idea that since they were both punished together, they could just comfort each other and hook up.

On a normal day, Travis would never pass up on a make out session with a hot, sexy blonde especially if she had a sexy accent. Besides, he knew that if he made a mistake of giving Eliza Foster a sliver of his time, he would forever be hounded by her and her posse. He would be labeled as her boyfriend as quick as lightning.

"Can you believe Mr. Matters? I don't think we deserved the detention! Ugh! I can't believe I have to wipe all the mirrors in the gym girl's locker room!" Eliza shrilled for the nth time before clutching Travis' arm so she could attempt to lay her head on his shoulder as they walked down the hallway.

The action pulled him closer to her and Travis knew she was brushing her chest against him hoping to get a rise or something "It's a good thing you're here, Travis. It makes everything so bearable."

Travis gritted his teeth but, smiled all the same. No need to get violent over some ditzy chick like Eliza. She could be smart when she wanted to but she prioritized popularity and fun at the expense of others. Typical, he thought, just like every single cliché in his life.

Travis knew they had that in common however, that was not reason enough to actually start something with her. Well, not that Eliza did not try very hard to get inside his pants ever since he came to this school.

He pried his arms from her death grip and stopped walking "Listen, don't get the wrong idea or anything, Liz. You're hot but I'm just not into you." 

He turned around and left a shocked Eliza in the middle of a deserted hallway. He smiled and reveled at the sound of the lunch bell before he headed out to the parking lot, to freedom.

School bored Travis. He knew he was smart and since his father and mother both went to an ivy league college, he could get into any of them if wanted to. He had money and connections, that was enough especially if you know the right people.

Besides, he thought as he pushed the exit doors open, he wasn't sure if he wanted to go to college anyway. He had enough money to start any business or live a life of a bachelor until he can figure what he wants to do for a living. He had been contemplating the thought of being a chef but even that was starting to feel like a drag.

His grandparents left him a pretty hefty amount of money that he can access fully by the age of 18, which happened a month ago. He could actually start squandering the amount but, he knew better. He might be cocky, uncaring even nonetheless, he certainly was not stupid. Travis is still trying to figure out how to invest and make the money work for him instead of him working for more money.

Also, with his parent's recent divorce, their guilt was making them give in to his every whim as much as possible. All he had to do was play the hurt and troubled teenager part, torn apart by a broken marriage and he was golden. He could get a free out of jail card anytime.

The only hassle was that he had to spend different semesters in different schools since his parents decided to live far away from each other. However, for senior year, he wanted to just be in one location. After a lot of guilt-tripping and bargaining, his mother finally allowed him to move back in with his father.

Travis smiled as he neared his car. He had nothing to worry about except some unwanted memories in their old house. His father did not change anything when his mother up and left. Yes, staying with his dad this whole year was a drag but he would survive.

He reached into the pocket of his jacket to get his handkerchief but he realized that he had given it to the paint coated geek in Literature. He had no idea why since having a white hanky has always been a quirk he had since a kid. 

It gave him an odd sense of security and order. He sighed. He knew why he left it. It was a way of apologizing to the girl. He could be a jerk most of the time but he was never a bully or someone cruel to other people. He had been raised better than that.

He did not intend to make matters worse for her either. In fact, he had no interest in the girl or her suffering at all. It was just those kinds of moments when a jerk had to open his mouth and redirect attention away fro him. He hoped she realized that he wanted her to use the cloth to wipe some paint off her face.

He had to smile while recalling how she looked though. Whoever pranked the poor nerd was mean but, one had to admit, seeing her come to class all messy and painted, chin up with pride was hilarious. Travis realized that he admired her gumption.

Who would be so nerdy enough to go to class only to be humiliated some more? He thought with a shake of his head as he got inside his car. He gunned the engine and backed up slowly without looking at the rearview mirror. 

A loud scream and an even louder bang made him step on the breaks hard. He cursed and got out of the car, praying that he did not do any serious damage to the car or to the person that he accidentally hit.

He saw a bicycle under the back of his car and cursed loudly again. He rushed to the fallen person realizing that he had hit a girl who was on her bike. He prayed that she was not seriously injured. He did not want that on his conscience. as he had enough to deal with at the moment.

"Are you all right? Are you hurt?" He asked while rushing towards the girl.

He was thankful that he backed up slow so, he knew there wouldn't be that much impact. Still, there was that possibility that the girl could have hit her head on the pavement and ended up suffering a concussion.

A soft groan told him that the girl was conscious. He breathed a sigh of relief and knelt down beside her. He was not sure if he should move her. She was lying on her side, her back to him. 

"Can you move? Did you hit your head or something?"

He touched her arm and he heard her yelp with pain.

"Okay, I think I shouldn't move you,” he replied. There was already a small crowd gathering and someone had been smart enough to run and get some help.

Travis stood up, his heart beating faster than usual. He prayed that the girl did not suffer anything major. He watched helplessly as the school's nurse and some teachers pushed through the crowd and attend to her.

He breathed a sigh of relief when they managed to get her to sit up. There was a bump on her head but, it seemed like her shoulder and arm had taken most of the impact when she fell down. He watched more closely and realized that it was the same paint-splattered girl in class.

"Mr. Johnson, please report to the Principal's office, now!" One of the teachers yelled at him. "How can you be so reckless?"

"It was an accident- I didn't see her-" He replied helplessly as he gestured to his car then the injured girl "I'm sorry- I- Can't I go to the infirmary with her?"

The nurse shook her head "I just called an ambulance. I don't want to move her and it's best that she gets a CT scan to make sure she's got nothing to worry about but a broken arm or dislocated shoulder."

"Oh- okay. I'll just go to the hospital with her then" He murmured, attempting to kneel down and check up on the redheaded girl.

"No, you go straight to the office and wait for your father. He has been informed."

Travis sighed and hung his head. He was pretty sure his father will not make a huge fuss about it still, he did not want to get any more of his attention. It was bad enough that his father's guilt was making him extra attentive to Travis' welfare when all he wanted was just to be left alone.

Travis stubbornly remained rooted on the spot and waited until he heard the sound of the ambulance. He watched in silence as the medics arrived and they carefully placed the student on the stretcher. She looked a bit shaken up but none the worse for wear. 

He knew he should go to her and apologize but he could not move. It was like being in another time and place all over again. A part of his memory that he did not want to remember or be in at all. He closed his eyes and let the teacher grab his arm and steer him towards the direction of the school. It was turning out to be a bad day for both him and the girl.