Honesty Read online

  Honesty

  Angie Foster

  Chapters

  Table of Contents

  Chapters

  Copyright

  Justin

  Jealousy

  Kristina

  A White Rose

  Project Partners

  The Football Field

  Copyright

  Honesty

  Copyright: Angie Foster

  Published:

  The right of Angie Foster to be identified as author of this Work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system, copied in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise transmitted without written permission from the publisher. You must not circulate this book in any format.

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  Justin

  The buzz of the alarm clock was Alena's least favorite sound. It meant another day of trudging through school, trying to pretend that she did not notice him, fawning all over her. So much had changed since the beginning of the year. Summer had been fantastic as the budding romance she had with Justin looked to become a real life love story. They had spent every minute of every day together; laughing at each other’s jokes, talking for hours about the hypocrisy of politics. It had been simply, amazing. Then summer had come to a crashing end. It was the last night of summer and the neighborhood was having a party to celebrate all the students going back to school. In the little subdivision she lived in all of the backyards were open and connected. Everyone took to the backyard to grill.

  It was a beautiful warm night with the stars filling the sky. To Alena it was a magical night. It was the night she had planned to share her first kiss with Justin. She had been waiting all summer for it to happen, but something would always come up to interrupt the opportunity. That night she hoped things would be different, she would make things different. Music was playing, and everyone was having a great time. Alena was patiently waiting for Justin to arrive. She glanced at her watch again, to find that only a few minutes had passed since the last time she checked.

  “Where is he?” she muttered to her best friend Sheila who was sitting on a picnic table beside her.

  “Don't worry so much,” Sheila assured her. “He is probably just running a little late late.”

  Alena nodded, but she wasn't so sure. Alena did worry. She worried all the time. She worried that her raven hair was not straight enough, that her light blue eyes were too pale. She worried that she was too tall as her willowy stature put her inches above other boys in her class. No matter how much her mother, her father, and her friends, told her how beautiful she was, Alena still worried.

  But she was not just worried about her looks. She worried about the fact that people were homeless. She worried about whether her grades were good enough for her parents.

  One thing she had not worried about all summer was how Justin felt towards her. She was sure that he would not have been around her so often if he did not feel something more for her, like she did for him. Still the fact that they had not even kissed had left her a little bit on edge. She had decided that night that it would be the night they shared their first kiss. That was if he even showed up. After waiting for about an hour, Alena decided she had waited long enough. If he doesn't want to be with me, I don't need to be with him, she thought.

  “Let's go find some food,” she announced to Sheila.

  “Sounds good,” Sheila agreed. Sheila had been her friend since they were in grade school. She was the quiet type who always had something kind to say. But Alena knew her better than anyone else. Sheila had a great sense of humor, and she always had a smart remark to make. She was pretty with thick blonde hair, and dark brown eyes, but she wasn't very interested in boys.

  “Why would I want all that drama?” she would always remark with a shrug.

  Alena however, did want all that drama. Specifically she wanted Justin's drama. He was a year older than her, and hot too. His short brown hair was long enough on the top to wear swept over, which always allowed a few strands of it to fall into his baby blue eyes. Just the thought of those eyes made Alena giddy with anticipation of seeing him again. When she did see him again, however, she was not the least bit giddy. Right there, in the middle of Crystal Myers' backyard, was Justin, with his arm around Kristina. Kristine Lucas had been Alena's rival since they started high school. Everything that Alena did Kristina did too, only she claimed to do it better. As Alena watched in horror, Justin, her Justin, leaned over and kissed Kristina. That's my kiss, she thought as she continued to stare.

  Jealousy

  From that last night of summer on Alena had dreaded going to school. Now every day she was faced with their constant displays of public affection. It was enough to make a sane person crazy. Still, Alena, like every other high school girl, had no choice but to go to school. So she did her best to ignore the couple, even though it seemed as if they went out of the way to rub it in her face.

  That morning when she arrived at school, Justin and Kristina were cozy on one of the benches in front of the school, with their arms wrapped around one another. Sheila caught Alena glaring fiercely at the pair.

  “Why don't you just tell him how you feel?” Sheila suggested, as if it were that simple.

  “Oh he knows how I feel,” Alena insisted with a frown.

  “Are you sure?” Sheila asked. “You were the one that said you didn't even kiss. You're way prettier than Kristina could ever hope to be. I bet if you just told him you were interested, he would dump her in a second.”

  Alena smiled at her friend for trying to cheer her up, but Alena knew better. Kristina was one of the prettiest girls in school and she had set her sights on Justin, probably just because Alena was interested in him. Alena was determined to not let it get to her though. No matter how hard she tried she always found herself staring at him. English class was the hardest, because he sat only three desks away and one to the left in front of her. It was the perfect view of his perfect jawline. She sighed as she stared at him endlessly. She was so focused on Justin that she barely noticed anyone else around her, including the boy who sat right behind her. Shawn Travis was not someone that she easily overlooked. He dressed to blend in, with no specific style, and his shoulder length blonde hair was always pulled back in a short ponytail in a very dated hairstyle. The only thing remotely attention grabbing about him was his striking green eyes. Those most people did notice, because they were a bit large for his face, and deeper in color than most of a similar shade. However, the color did nothing to ease the annoyed expression he almost always wore. He was one of those teenagers that saw the high school world around him intolerable. He had a few friends, but he mostly kept to himself.

  He leaned forward and whispered just beside Alena's ear. “Stare any harder; you're going to leave a mark.”

  Alena was surprised by how close he was, and turned quickly in her desk to face him.

  “Excuse me?” she said as she swept her light blue eyes over him.

  Shawn looked down shyly at the words he had been scribbling across his paper. He was not so brave when she was looking right at him. “Did you have something to say?” she asked in a more arrogant tone than she had intended. His cheeks burned with heat as he stole a glance up at her. He slid his notebook carefully off the desk so that she would not see the words he was writing.

  “It's a little pathetic,” he said defensively. “To stare that hard.”

  Alena
gasped at his words as she was offended by them. “How dare you?” she hissed and flipped her dark hair back over her shoulder. “You have no idea what you're talking about.”

  He leaned forward again, now that she was facing the front of the class once more, and whispered beside her ear again.

  “He doesn't deserve you,” he promised, his voice full of honesty. Alena ignored him and pretended to be paying attention to the teacher, but his words soothed the hurt his previous statement had caused. Maybe he was right. Maybe it was pathetic the way she stared at Justin. But he's so cute, she thought to herself. Her mind returned to that last night of summer when Kristina had stolen the kiss that belonged to her. She sighed as the jealousy and hurt surged up through her again. When class was over, she turned around to see if Shawn was still there, but he was already gone. She studied the desk where he had been sitting with some curiosity. She had never really met Shawn, even though they had been in school together for some time. Their friends ran in different circles, and to her he was nothing more than a shadow in the hallway that she passed by. But the memory of his whispered words meant more to her than she wanted them to.

  Kristina

  After school there was a football practice. Justin was the star player on the team. The year before Alena had attended every practice, and every game just for the chance to see him play. It was such a habit to head for the football field after school that she found herself walking toward it without even realizing it. When she reached the bleachers she smiled as she saw Justin out on the field. He looked so handsome in his uniform that she had to clear her throat to cover the sigh that escaped her.

  “Hey Alena,” Kristina said from where she sat on the bleachers. She smirked smugly at Alena. Alena realized then what a mistake she had made by coming out to the football field. Just then Justin ran by, doing laps with the rest of the team. He slowed down in front of the two girls.

  “Hey Kristina,” he smiled at her, and then glanced over at Alena. “Lena, where have you been?” he asked with a playful pout. “Didn't you get my text?”

  Alena's lips tightened into a stern line. She had received a few texts from Justin but she ignored them. He was trying to act like they were still friends.

  “Must have missed them,” she said coldly, making Justin's eyes narrow slightly.

  “What's wrong?” he asked as he continued to jog in place.

  “Oh she's just busy,” Kristina gushed as she stepped down from the bleachers and stood close to Justin. “You know, with Shawn Travis.”

  Justin stopped jogging as his expression darkened. “Yeah, I saw him talking to you in class today,” Justin muttered, his voice carrying a little annoyance.

  Alena stole a glance at him. Was that jealousy? She wondered. Was Justin really pissed that Shawn had been whispering in her ear?

  “I barely even know him,” Alena said dismissively. “And I don't want to know him,” she added, in case Justin was wondering.

  She did not realize that Shawn was only a few steps behind her. He liked to sit out on the bleachers after school and scribble in his notebook. When he heard her words he started to turn the other way.

  “Oh Shawn,” Kristina called out before he could escape. “Come on over,” she invited. “We were just talking about you.”

  Justin's eyes narrowed even further as he looked over Shawn. Alena winced as she realized that Justin must have heard what she said. She turned slowly to face him, and his stormy gaze locked to hers. Alena normally did not talk bad about anyone, except for maybe Kristina. She didn't like to hurt people's feelings. But Shawn didn't look hurt. He looked angry.

  “I guess I was wrong,” he said in a cruel tone. “About what you deserve,” he added, and then turned away from all three of them. He stalked back off across the grass towards the school.

  “Ouch,” Kristina laughed. “I think your boyfriend is pissed,” she grinned as Alena glowered at her.

  “He's not her boyfriend,” Justin snapped sharply.

  “Uh, what do you care?” Kristina demanded as she looked him directly in the eyes. Alena's heart was fluttering as it was clear now that Justin was completely jealous.

  “I don't,” he stammered beneath Kristina's intense stare. “I just mean, Alena and I are friends, and she would never be with a guy like that. Right, Lena?” Justin asked.

  Alena forgot all about the possibility that she had hurt Shawn's feelings as she lost herself in Justin's baby blue eyes.

  “Right,” she replied in a warm tone.

  Kristina did not like the way the two of them were staring at each other. She stepped boldly forward and pressed her lips to Justin's in a sudden kiss, which surprised him.

  Alena winced as she watched the kiss deepen. By the time the two broke apart, Alena was halfway across the grass walking back toward the school. Justin stared after her with a frown. Kristina laid her head against Justin's chest and smirked up at him.

  Alena was so confused as she lay awake that night. One minute she was sure that Justin was completely into her, the next he was with another girl, and then he was acting jealous. None of it made any sense to her. Then she remembered what Sheila had said. Was it possible that Justin didn't realize that she had been serious about him? Did he really think that she just wanted to be friends? Alena turned over in her bed and buried her face in her pillow. Maybe she had not made her intentions clear enough; maybe all of this really was her fault. When she closed her eyes, she expected to visualize Justin in her mind, but instead striking green eyes filled her imagination. She was startled by the image of them so much that she sat up in bed. Her heart was racing as she remembered the way he had looked at her earlier that day. Alena tried to push the sensation down, but she honestly was worried that he was angry with her. It shouldn't matter to her whether he was or not. He had been rather rude to her, and she did not owe him anything. But there was something about the way that he had looked at her, not as if he was furious, but as if he was disappointed. The flutter of her heart when she thought of him leaning forward to whisper beside her ear made her stare hard at the ceiling. Was it possible that despite all of their differences she was actually starting to have feelings for Shawn? She closed her eyes tightly and tried to force the thoughts form her mind. It didn't matter. Right now she needed to focus on Justin, and the possibility that she might be able to win him back. Maybe if she just made it clear to him, he would realize the opportunity he had missed. She fell asleep imagining his slow smile that always left her dreaming of touching her lips to his.

  A White Rose

  When she woke to the alarm clock the next morning, she did not want to throw it against the wall. She was determined to let Justin know exactly how she felt. The entire ride to school she rehearsed exactly what she would say. She would explain to him that she had thought he knew how much she cared for him. That she wanted to make sure he knew.

  When she reached her locker and opened it, she found a single white rose laying on the top shelf.

  “Wow,” she mumbled as she reached in and picked it up. She sniffed its beautiful scent and smiled.

  When she glanced around at the other students in the hallway she expected to see Justin standing there. But he wasn't, instead Sheila walked up.

  “Where did you get that?” she asked with obvious envy.

  “I'm not sure,” Alena laughed as she held the rose out to let Sheila take a sniff. “I found it in my locker, someone must have left it there,” she winked as they began to walk toward their first class together.

  “Someone like who?” Sheila asked.

  “Someone like, Justin,” Alena whispered, almost too afraid to say it out loud.

  “Alena,” Sheila warned as she looked directly at her friend. “Justin is with Kristina.”

  Alena shrugged a little and sniffed the flower again. “Maybe, but he was acting really jealous at practice yesterday, and I'm starting to think you were right. Maybe I should just walk up to him, and tell him how I feel,” she smiled at the idea. />
  Sheila studied her friend closely. “And what if he doesn't feel the same way?” she asked.

  “He will,” Alena said confidently. “Who else would leave me a rose?”

  “I just don't want you to get hurt,” Sheila warned. “Kristina can be vicious, you know.”

  Alena smirked as she stepped into her English class. “Let her be vicious,” her smirk widened into a grin. “Won't change who Justin’s leaving flowers for.”

  When Alena sat down at her desk she laid the rose across the top of it. A few of the other girls in her class noticed it and remarked on how pretty it was. Alena smiled but she was busy looking at the classroom door, waiting for Justin to arrive. When he walked into the classroom he barely looked at her. Alena furrowed a brow as she wondered if somehow he had noticed that she was there.

  “Hi Justin,” she chirped and adjusted the rose on her desk. He looked over at her with a mild smile, until he noticed the rose. Then his smile faded.