Wonderstruck
Chapter 4
NOELLE'S POV
I had to say sorry to Molly soon, or I'd only become half
popular. That was all I cared about at this point. I got up after
first period, walking up to Molly. "I was wrong. I'm
really sorry, Molly. Brandon's yours."
She smiled. "Knew you'd come to your senses,
girl."
"Yeah, I know, Molly. I apologize." I sniffed seeming
innocent.
She nodded. "So are you trying out for the fall soccer team?
Because we try out for that and we smoke..I mean, not in that
way! I mean we're really good."
I froze. Athletics weren't my strong point. "Yeah
totally." I squeaked.
"Great! You're good, right?" she asked.
"Uh, yeah," I lied through gritted teeth, "I
mean-"
"You mean what? You were either good or you sucked."
Molly sneered.
"I-I don't know. That's fo-for you to decide, I
think." I stuttered.
"Mmm." she said, flipping her hair. "Well,
I'mma go."
"Where are you off to?" I hurried up to her, asking
quickly.
"Gym. Ew." she said. Her face twisted. "Ew. I
don't wanna go. How bout you?"
"Um, it says chorus on my schedule..." I said
awkwardly.
Molly looked me up and down. "You sing?"
I blushed. "Yes."
"And you're good?"
"Yes."
"Better than at soccer?"
"Well, I'm good."
Molly smirked. I didn't know what that meant, but I smiled.
"It's nice to have a singer." she smiled.
"Yeah." I said, laughing, kinda. I walked away from
her, right into Brandon. I spilled his books everywhere, and the
late bell rang.
"Oh my God, I'm so sorry!" I cried, leaning down to
pick up his books. He got down next to me.
"Nah, it's fine." he said, stacking up the books
elegantly. Just like how we met.
We both stood, and knew it was time to go. He stared into my
eyes, and we started to walk. I found out he had chorus next,
too. I stopped to get a drink, and I stood up with my back to the
lockers. I saw Brandon putting his books down.
"What're you doing?" I asked.
"Just be quiet, it's better like that." he
informed.
"What's better like what?" I demanded.
He took my books and put them on the ground, leaning over me,
smiling. He put his forehead to mine. Oh my God, was this finally
happening? "Noelle, have you ever kissed anyone
before?"
I needed to be honest, so I looked at the ground and shook my
head.
"It's okay. It's not embarassing." he touched
my shoulder. His touch sent tingles up my spine, making me feel
so good.
"What are you doing, Brandon?" I asked.
"This," he said, leaning in. His lips crashed into
mine, but it wasn't just that. It was much more, a hook
up.
I felt his tongue on mine, as his arms wrapped around my waist. I
went along, Frenching back. This was what it felt like.
I felt so powerful at that moment. I pulled away, and Brandon
said, "Did I do something wrong?"
I smiled. "No, it was perfect."
"Good, because I need to ask you something." he
said.
My heard pounded.
"Will you be my girlfriend, Noelle Penskoff?"
Wonderstruck
Chapter 3
The next morning, I decided to call
Molly. I mean, what could be so bad about that? She seemed nice
enough...especially to a loser like me. I dialed her number and
pressed call.
"Is this Noelle?" asked Molly, in an almost too nice
way.
"Yeah, Molly. I need a ride to school." I lied. I just
wanted an excuse to talk to her, and look popular.
"Hell yeah, I'll be around in like ten minutes."
she said enthusiastically.
The line clicked, signaling she'd hung up. I think I
just wanted to go one-on-one with her, mainly about Brandon. I
knew he didn't like her. I didn't like her. I think I was
just gonna use her to get to Brandon, then when I had him,
I'd ditch her group. Then I'd have a whole army of
followers.
I'd be...popular.
I heard a knock on the door, and I ran outside. Molly was
standing there, smirking. "Let's go, beyotch."
"Yeah, don't call me that." I muttered, getting
in.
"I wanna discuss Brandon." she said, smiling.
Great, here we go.
Hanna's POV.
I saw Molly pulling up to school screaming at some other girl. I
think it was Noelle, but I couldn't be sure. I yelled hello,
but I only got an eye roll. Jeez, Molly was such a bossy girl.
When Molly pulled in closer, I noticed it was Noelle she
was screaming at. Was this over Brandon?
Brandon totally liked Noelle. He'd even confessed it to me
through ooVoo last night. I jogged over to the car to attempt to
break up the fight.
"Get out of here, twit!" Molly growled, waving her arms
at me. Someone ate b*tchflakes for breakfast.
"No. Stop yelling at Noelle, Molly." I said.
She gave me a death stare. "I'll stop when I'm done.
You wanna stay? Fine by me! But Noelle, Brandon's
mine.. Get out of here." I watched in shock as
Noelle simply replied-
"Know what, you're right. I'm very sorry." Then
she trotted off to her first class.
"The hell?" Molly uttered.
I knew something was very wrong, but I didn't wanna tattle on
Noelle for something I wasn't even sure of yet. "Maybe
she's in a jolly mood?" I suggested.
"Do you know what was going on, there, Hanna?" she
snarled.
I shrugged. "Beats me. But I don't care."
Molly slammed her car door, picking up her purse and book bag.
She locked the car, signaling for me to follow her into school.
"Hey, Hanna, where the hell is Trixie?"
"I dunno," I simply replied, shrugging again. Why did I
wanna hang out with this loser? I put it aside and followed her
to first period. Noelle waved at me, and not caring what Molly
thought, I waved back.
"Come sit back here, Hanna!" Noelle called. I saw Molly
take her special spot in front, next to Trixie who had gotten
here early for extra help. My seat was left open as I trudged
past Molly toward Noelle.
"Hanna! Sit up here," Trixie said, catching Molly's
attention.
"Excuse me, Hanna? Little bit rude of you to ditch us like
that." Molly said, rolling her eyes. Everyone was staring.
Usually we didn't fight. But Noelle joining with us kinda
screwed us over.
"I'm sitting here today," I said proudly, taking a
seat in front of Noelle. Everyone thought I was one of
Molly's Little Dollies, or whatever they called us, mainly
because Molly was a control freak.
"Well, then," Molly turned and took her seat, talking
to Trixie.
"Thanks," Noelle smiled.
"No problem. Molly can be a b*tch sometimes, and I don't
care what she thinks anymore." I said.
Suddenly, she looked happier. "You think so too?"
My eyes widened. "Brandon likes you. He told me so last
night. He thinks Molly's too mean."
Her cheeks flushed. "Oh my God, no he doesn't!"
"Yes he does." I smiled.
Noelle smiled and rested her head on her books. And for once, I
felt like a good person.
Wonderstruck
Chapter 2
I opened my car, letting that loser
get in the back. Now I know people must be wondering; why the
hell did I take in Noelle Penskoff? She looked pretty cool, and
she was attracting the love of...my week. Brandon. I mean, who
the hell does she think she is? Brandon's totally got eyes
for me. So when we got in the car, the first thing I said was,
"So Noelle? Got eyes for Brandon?"
Her cheeks flushed. "Um, no."
Trixie opened her mouth, "Dude. I was at the end of the hall
when he as helping you pick up your books. Your eyes were glued
on him as he picked them up!"
I rolled my eyes. "Again, Trixie? Must I glue your mouth
shut?"
"No, Molly." she answered.
"Now, Noelle, let's talk about Brandon." I
said.
She looked up. "So what if I like him?"
I rolled my eyes, motioning for Hanna to speak up. When she
caught my view, she said, "Oh! Noelle, don't you know?
Molly's totally got the hots for Brandon. And she's
totally the most popular girl in our school, hah. Brandon also
walked past her today! He totally wanted to touch her
butt."
Noelle looked up. Her face was so perfect, that was why I was
worried. Oh, I was gonna welcome her into our group alright. See
how she likes being sabatoged.
"Yeah, whatever. No problem with trying, right?" she
smiled.
"Yeah, totally, Noelle," Hanna said.
"Hanna! Do I have to ask you to shut your mouth? Surprised
it isn't Trixie this time." I yelled.
"Kay, chill," Hanna said.
"Ugh whatever!" I growled, "Oh, um, Noelle. Do you
want to be in our little clique?"
She hesitated. "Um, okay, I guess."
I faked a smile, and decided I didn't want people over.
"I'm taking you home. I'm too tired."
"Yeah, okay," everyone agreed.
I dropped them off, and then I blasted One Direction so loud that
people were giving me looks on the road. I just ignored them, and
went right home. When I walked in the front door, I yelled,
"Yo Mommah, I'm home."
She walked in towards me. "You're ten minutes late.
Where are your friends?"
"Dropped them off. I'm gonna go take a nap." I
said, walking towards the stairs.
"No, you're late. Go do your chores, then homework, then
shower. Then it's time for bed." she said sternly.
I sighed really heavily, walking away to clean the toilets.
Time to text--no, call Brandon. I punched in his number,
456-555-7765.
"Hey, it's Molly." I said in a sweet way.
"Molly? Oh, hey. What do you need?"
I smiled. It was going along just the right way. "Yeah,
well, you know Noelle, right?" Silence on the other line.
Hm, that can't be good. "Yeah. Well, she's in my
clique now. I just want you to know, maybe she's too out of
your league." I cooed.
He sighed. "I don't even know about her right now.
It's not up to you. It seemed like maybe she liked me a
little more than enough. Maybe enough to go out."
Damn it, I think he was into her.
"Well, you know, I kinda like you," I whispered in a
sweet way.
"Yeah, sorry Molly, but I'm not interested. I like
Noelle." he said loudly.
Oh, Noelle was gonna get it. Just in a discreet way.
Wonderstruck
Chapter 1
I opened my locker, a giant wave of
books and papers falling all over me. I fell over, letting my
classmates get the best of me. Senior year was already starting
out awfully. I gathered all my garbage into a pile, putting it
beside me and watching ninth graders kick them all over. The bell
rang and everyone cleared the halls. I had no friends at all, so
there was no one to talk to or ask for help. I saw one kid pass
by me quickly and scuff to his class. The late bell rang, and I
was still sitting gathering papers.
I stared at my locker, papers flowing out once more. I sighed,
and just threw them all into the garbage. I stood up, gathering
what remained of my books. Covers were off due to the other kids
kicking them all over, and textbooks were now even worse than
before. I gathered what I needed for the whole morning, closing
my messy locker. There were about twenty minutes left in this
period, fifteen of them already gone.
Walking down the hall, I saw the kid who had scuffed past me to
get to his next class. Suddenly, my books dropped. "Oh,
damn!" I screamed, bending over to pick them up. Papers were
already littering the hallway, again. Mostly from me. The kid
walked past me, but I heard his footsteps stop.
"Um, Noelle, is it? Do you want some help?" he
asked. How did he know my name? Wasn't he a popular kid?
"Um, that'd be nice. Sorry, but I don't know your
name." I stared at the ground.
"Brandon." he answered simply, gathering everything
into one neat pile and handing it to me. Why couldn't I be
like that? So swift and elegant.
"Thanks, Brandon." I whispered, standing up and walking
down the hall. I felt Brandon's eyes piercing my back, and I
didn't hear his footsteps. Something about him made me feel
so...so comfortable. I looked back, and right when I did, he
turned and walked away. "Bye," I said loudly, making
sure he heard me.
"Goodbye, Noelle." he cooed, strutting away in that
popular guy walk. My heart pounded, but I put it to the side and
walked around hopelessly, terrified to go into my classroom. I
decided to just go, and tell them what really happened.
Room 124 was ahead of me, math. I turned the knob slowly, and
opened the door quickly. The teacher turned to look at me, and
said, "Late pass?" I shook my head, looking for an open
desk. "I said, late pass?"
"I don't have one." I shrugged, walking towards an
open seat.
"Why don't you have one? Are you Noelle Penskoff?"
he asked.
I wanted to tell the truth, so I did. "I was at my
locker..and, um, my papers kinda spilled out everywhere. Then,
some idiot-I mean, classmates, started to kick my stuff all over
and I couldn't get it together. Then I was walking here and
the books I had fell everywhere. This kid Brandon helped me pick
them up. If you don't believe me, ask him," I finished,
sitting down.
"Nice story, where'd you get it? Nickelodeon?"
asked one of the jocks. "We all know you watch it!"
"You probably watch freaking Sponge Bob, and you're
seventeen!" I blurted out. Then I sank down in my seat, and
looked at the teacher.
"Very well, very well. Just sit down and get out a blank
piece of paper." he said. I did as he told me, and he turned
and started the notes back up. I didn't write anything, I
didn't want to.
The bell rang, and I looked up at the teacher. "Noelle, you
copied nothing the past ten minutes. Mind telling me why you
didn't?"
"I don't know what I was supposed to copy," I made
up an excuse.
"We made it quite clear, Ms. Penskoff." he said.
"Eh." I answered, picking up my books. Everyone had
left the room. "I don't remember your name, teacher
dude."
"Do not call me 'teacher dude'." he said
sternly. "It's Mr. Oren."
"Almost like oreo." I said under my breath.
"Would you like to go to the office, Miss Penskoff?" he
growled.
"No, Mr. Oreo." I said, walking out of the room.
"Noelle, I can tell this is gonna be a difficult year!"
he yelled, face red like a tomato. I waved my hand, walking out
into the hall.
I mean, I could be popular, right? I was normal looking enough,
and I wasn't quiet-at all. I walked into my last class of the
day--trig.
I blanked out the whole class, only thinking about Brandon and
wondering when I'd see him again. The final bell rang, and I
ran to my locker--legit, I ran. I got my backpack and
slammed the door shut.
I turned around to leave, walking into one of the popular
girls.
"Hey Noelle! That's your name, right?" she asked,
placing a hand on my shoulder.
"Yeah, why?" I asked, shrugging away from her
touch.
"Wanna hang out with us after school?" she asked,
twirling her hair and batting her eyes.
I looked around. "Is this like some sick kinda joke?" I
asked, wide mouth.
"No," answered one of the dolls.
"Shut up, I do the talking, Trixie!" yelled the blonde.
"Um, I'm Molly, and this is Hanna. The idiot is
Trixie."
"Kay cool." I answered, turning and walking away. Then
I realized I was walking away from poularity. "Um, on second
thought, let's do it. Now?"
Molly smirked. "Yeah, we'll take my car. Then let's
go to my house."
"Nice," I said, following them outside. Everyone stared
at me, walking with the popular girls.
It was almost like they were wonderstruck.