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She herself didn't like him very much at the moment, because Sammy wanted to hide in a corner and be sad, and Doyle stared at her insolently and frankly, sitting opposite. Everything in him - posture, manner of bearing, look - spoke of extreme self-confidence. He was clearly trying to embarrass her with his gaze, but Samantha was not at all interested. She put on her headphones and leaned back in her chair, closing her eyes. She smiled a little as she imagined Doyle gritting his teeth in annoyance that another victim would not yield. In her opinion, Travis was not worth Jasper's fingernail.

They say that if the mood is not very good, you should not feed your sadness with appropriate music, sad films and the like. It's better to focus on something positive. Sammy, of course, agreed with this, but in practice she never succeeded in this. The mood was already spoiled, and she went deep into her own experiences. To some, they might seem stupid, but what could be more serious than first love for a seventeen-year-old girl?

Especially if the object of this love is constantly next to her, which only fuels her feelings and hopes. And the directness of outsiders, such as Leah, cuts to the quick with a sharp knife.

You'd think Sammy didn't want to date a guy and be happy! Only now she did not need a relationship with anyone except Jasper.

She knew that she would see him after school - Jas had promised to bring her a disc with the game - and was already looking forward to the meeting. In the afternoon, he went on an excursion to the zoological museum with the class, so they did not see each other at lunch. Imagining Jasper smiling at her, his brown eyes warming, Sammy could hardly sit still. How she missed...

A small phone conversation could not bring her satisfaction - Samantha needed to see him, at least once a day. She was rereading his last messages when the teacher's voice distracted her from this exciting activity:

- Miss Wiley, are you with us today? Shakespeare awaits your attention.

Sammy didn't often argue with the teachers, but now something just hit her. Without looking up from her phone, she muttered:

- Shakespeare is no longer waiting for anything, he died a long time ago.

Some of the students giggled, and Mrs. Kent seemed to get angry, because there was a shrill note in her voice:

- Maybe so, but no one has yet canceled the school curriculum in literature! So you have to write an essay. And now I will ask you to put away your cell phone, otherwise it will go to the director's office, along with you.

Shrugging, Samantha tucked her phone into her bag. She was a little ashamed of her behavior, but there was no desire to show remorse. As she straightened up, she suddenly caught Doyle's eye again. The handsome man looked at her with slightly narrowed blue eyes and smiled slightly, as if he liked her behavior.

Well, Sammy won't fall for that. Let her build eyes for at least a year, an unfortunate footballer. She buried herself in her textbook, pretending she didn't care. In fact, Travis annoyed her a lot.

But that lesson was over, and Sammy was already in a hurry to train, and to be honest, to meet with Jasper. She was afraid that he would not have time to come, because she did not have much time, but in vain - Samantha saw his tall, thin figure from afar.

As she got closer, she couldn't help but smile. What a joy to see his face again, his eyes...

Jasper was tall, thin, but broad-shouldered. His movements always seemed to Samantha a little soft and slow - except for the moments when he broke away to his favorite music. His face, quite pleasant and pretty, Sammy adored to trembling in the legs. However, Leah believed that there were thousands of people like Jas, and there was nothing special about him. Sammy was of a different opinion - just looking at Jasper she was overcome by a mixed feeling of happiness, lingering attraction and even admiration. He was her idol along with her favorite musicians.

Her friend smiled at her too, but rather serenely. He was half-sitting on the fence at the edge of the stadium and, at the sight of her, rose to his feet.

"Hey, Sammy," Jas clapped her outstretched palm. - What's up?

- I got everything, - Samantha grimaced and plopped down on the seat. – I don’t want to study, I don’t want to listen to teachers, I don’t want to talk to my classmates. What to do, huh, Jas?

The guy grinned and sat down next to me, stretching out his long legs in tight dark jeans and massive sneakers on his bare feet.

- What are you doing today? What is a public challenge?

"Who knows," Sammy muttered. - I want to go home. And this workout...

"Forget it," Jasper suggested, but Samantha shook her head.

- No, you have to go. Then it becomes a habit, a good habit. And if I go home, I will spit at the ceiling, eat all sorts of rubbish and watch all sorts of nonsense.

Are you quoting Kevin? Jasper laughed. Removing his backpack from his shoulder, he unzipped it and began rummaging through it while chatting with his girlfriend, “We need to do a Home Alone retrospective sometime.”

- It's better for Christmas. Sammy yawned and laid her head on her friend's shoulder. - When it's winter outside, snow near the house ... And garlands 

- Hey, you're falling asleep! Jas hugged Samantha, causing her to wake up instantly. “You should go home, Sam!” You need to sleep, what are the workouts now!

- Yes? Sammy chuckled almost calmly, though the heat from his touch ran through her body. “I don’t think my parents will like this idea… By the way, how are yours doing?” Did they find dad's store?

- Everything is fine. Jas stepped back a little. Yes, your father helped a lot. Thank you.

"Nothing," Sammy shrugged, sensing a change in her friend's mood. - Get in touch. Okay, I'll go to practice anyway. Let's write tonight, okay?

- We'll write off ... - Jasper echoed and immediately started up: - Hey, take the disk!

"Really," Sammy smiled. - Thank you! She put the disc back into her backpack. - OK, bye!

Jas waved at her and left, while Samantha followed him with her eyes. An ordinary guy - an unbuttoned plaid shirt over a dark T-shirt, jeans and sneakers, but there was something about Jasper that made him seem simply beautiful.

Objectively, it cannot be called beautiful, but there was a certain attractiveness in it. Broad, slightly thin shoulders always awakened in Sammy a desire to hug them, brown eyes hypnotized, and even a smile ... Samantha could sell her soul to the devil for her. His game disc in her backpack felt like a piece of warmth. The physical presence of Jasper in her life.

Suppressing a sigh, Sammy went to practice. On the way, a message caught up with her, but it wasn't Jas, it was Leah.

"I'll pick you up at eleven o'clock. Let's have some fun!"

This time Samantha sighed for real. The quest idea seemed terribly stupid to her, especially the one for which everything was started. Going into the woods at night looking to find some stupid box in order to get into a cool company for it ... It sounded doubtful, but in fact it was so. It was to be hoped that everything would go well.

"Damn Abi Blair and her whole gang," Sammy muttered under her breath. And why only Leah all this ... But she promised to help, so there were no options.