Color Blind Page 3

  “Cam? Short for…?”

  “Short for Camryn.”

  “It’s nice to meet you Cam Short For Camryn. I’m Cooper Goode. Don’t let the last name fool you.”

  His wink leaves me slightly dizzy. Has anyone winked since 1956? Seriously? Why does he look so delicious doing it?

  “Does Cam come with a last name, or do you one-name it like Rhianna?”

  I giggle. Giggle. God, I need to get a hold of myself. This is getting embarrassing.

  “Grimes. Camryn Grimes. I’ll be your tour guide for the next thirty seconds. On your right, you’ll see the species we like to call lazy high-schoolers. Don’t feed them, whatever you do. Where’d you transfer from?”

  “I just moved here from Maryland. Moved in with my aunt last week. My mom is still back in Maryland. Long story,” he explains, smiling at my humor. Which is my only defense against his ridiculous charms.

  We arrive at our Literature class. Cooper opens the door, and gestures for me to enter first. I do, noticing twenty-three pairs of eyes rivet toward us as we enter.

  I walk up to Mr. Taft’s desk and hand my pass to the short, chubby teacher. He nods. “Take a seat, Camryn. Ah! Mr. Goode. It’s nice to have a new face in the room. I’ve been expecting you. Why don’t you take the seat behind Camryn, since you two are already acquainted? She’ll be a good advisor for the new material. One of the best literature analysts in the class.”

  Cooper raises an eyebrow at me, and I shake my head to firmly deny Mr. Taft’s claim. He walks down the aisle and takes the seat behind me. I also notice about twelve sets of eyes still glued to his six-foot-one frame as he folds himself into a seat.

  My Lord. Every girl in the classroom is up in arms about Cooper Goode.

  And I can’t really blame them.

  “Remember, don’t feed them,” I whisper, leaning back in my seat. I hear him snort, and it turns me into a sizzling pat of butter.

  I hear a giggle, and turn to see the redhead sitting across the aisle from him smile and wave. As he returns her smile, I feel a pang of annoyance stab my chest.

  Well, that’s ridiculous.

  Why should I care who Cooper Goode smiles at? I don’t even know the boy. I turn around to concentrate on Mr. Taft’s lecture about romance in the eighteenth century, frowning at the irony.

  ***

  At lunchtime, I walk into the cafeteria absently, swaying to the beat that always plays in my head. As I head toward my usual table where I will see Dara, Brandon, and whatever athletes from the basketball team decide to join us today, I feel someone fall into step beside me.

  “Hey, beautiful,” Luka says. “Having a good day?”

  I smile at him. It’s good to see Luka after having such a great time with him over the weekend. And having someone open a conversation by referring to your state of beauty is always good for the ego.

  “Hey, stranger. Haven’t seen you in a month of Sundays,” I reply, using the southern slogan my mother spouts way too often.

  His laugh booms through the cafeteria. “I had fun Thursday night, princess. I thought I might hear from you this weekend. I waited by my phone.”

  “Luka! You did not. I gave you my number. I figured you’d give me a call if you wanted to hear my boring old voice. And yes, I’m having a great day.”

  “Princess, I’m hurt. I couldn’t scare you away by calling you the next day after our date.” Luka’s eyes meet mine as he says the D word.

  I feel my face grow warm under his direct gaze. “Oh, was that a date? I remember being under the impression that we were just hanging out with our friends on a group outing.”

  He pulls out my chair and I sit down. He takes the chair next to me and leans in to speak into my ear. “I guess I have to ask you out for a real date, then. Can I call you tonight to make it official?”

  I pull back and stare at him.

  Luka is asking me out. I take in the serious expression on his beautiful chocolate face. A future as his girlfriend flashes in front of me. Holding hands in the hallway, sitting next to him at lunch every day. Sitting shotgun in his car in the parking lot for all to observe. It’s a pretty picture. With it will bring acceptance from two different worlds at my school. The black girls would let up on me for acting white. The white girls would accept that I had a black boyfriend that looked great on my arm.

  But the truth is, I like being with Luka. It will be nice to see where one real date could lead us.

  As I open my mouth to answer him, the chair across from me scrapes loudly on the cement floor. I look up, startled.

  “Hey Cam Short For Camryn Grimes,” Cooper says with an easy smile.

  As he sits down, Dara and Brandon arrive.

  Dara’s eyes immediately find Luka, sitting so close to me, and then Cooper, making himself comfortable at our table.

  “Well, hey there Cam,” she says. “Looks like we got here just in time to meet your new friend. Hey, Luka.”

  “Hey,” Luka and I reply together. Luka shoots a frown across the table in Cooper’s direction.

  Cooper stands and holds out his hand for Dara. “I’m Cooper Goode. I met Cam this morning on our way to first period. She was kind enough to show me the way, and inform me about the exhibits while she acted as my tour guide.”

  “Did you feed any of them?” I ask seriously.

  “Nope,” he replies. “Not a single one.”

  Dara looks from Cooper to me and back again. “That sounds like my girl. Yes Cooper, I think we all saw your grand entrance this morning. I’m Dara, and this is my boyfriend Brandon.”

  Brandon shakes Cooper’s hand. “Hey man, the Ninja you rode in on this morning is sick. I was jealous.”

  Cooper shakes his head. “Nah, dude, don’t be. I won it in a poker game. It’s not like I can afford something like that on my own. Do you ride?”

  “I wish,” Brandon replies. “My parents would flip if I mentioned the word bike. My dad is always saying that “we” are working for a D-1 basketball scholarship in the ACC.”

  “Whew,” Cooper whistles. “You must be pretty good then. I wouldn’t want to risk that, either.”

  “Yeah, but still…” Brandon looks wistful.

  Dara smacked him on the back.

  “No bikes, superstar,” she said.

  “I’m sorry,” I pipe up. “Did you just say you won it in a poker game? Did you move here from Vegas? And are you forty-five?”

  “Yes, no, and no,” Cooper answered, grinning at me. “My mom hangs out with questionable characters. Which means I get dragged to places not appropriate for teenagers. Which means I learn how to gamble and other unsavory things.”

  He was so nonchalant. I don’t even think he noticed our jaws dropping lower with each word he uttered.

  Luka speaks up.

  “What’s up, Coop? I’m Luka Caliper. Brandon’s teammate, and Cam’s…” he trails off, glancing at me.

  Is he expecting me to say boyfriend? Because we have only been on one group date, so that wasn’t happening.

  “Date for this Friday night,” I finish, smiling reassuringly at him. I can tell Luka feels threatened, even though he has absolutely no reason to be. I know I’m not Cooper’s type. I just happen to be the first person he met at Oceanview. He isn’t actually interested in me. I glance around the cafeteria. It’s quickly filling with students. A couple of tables away, a group of cheerleaders sit starting at Cooper, not at all worried about being discovered. I’m sure they are wondering how much of themselves they have to offer him to get him to sit at their table.

  Luka grins back at me, and settles in his seat with his arm draped loosely over my chair.

  I turn back to Cooper. “So, how is your first day going so far?”

  He shrugs. “It’s alright. Everyone seems nice. School’s not my favorite place in the world. But Oceanview will do.”

  He smiles and glances at me. “I’m kind of into music, though. How can I get in on that fall musical you’re choreographing?”
<
br />   “Are you serious?” I ask in surprise. Cooper looks athletic and cool, with his tall, lithe build and his black leather jacket. I’m shocked he’s interested in joining “Mamma Mia.”

  “You guys have already had tryouts for that, right Cam?” Luka asks, taking a bite of his cheeseburger.

  “Well, yeah,” I reply, nodding. “But I could talk to Mr. Laffy, the theater teacher, if you want me to, Cooper. There might be a spot left for you, or he may let you audition for an understudy role. Do you sing?”

  Cooper gives me a friendly smirk, turning up the left side of his mouth. “I’ll let you be the judge of that, Camryn.”

  My mouth drops slightly. When I recover from the little spell I’m under, I unwrap my sandwich and begin to eat my lunch.

  “So, Cooper,” says Dara. “Tell us where you moved from.”

  As Cooper explains how he came to be in Virginia, the rest of us continue to eat our lunches. When the bell rings to signify the end of our lunch period, we gather our bags and rise to exit the cafeteria.

  “Hey, Camryn,” Cooper touches my arm. “Can you put your number in my phone? You know, in case I have a question about all that literature I’m supposed to be analyzing tonight.”

  I nod, taking his phone and programming my number into his contacts. I pretend I don’t notice Luka’s watchful eyes taking it all in.

  “What class you got next, dude?” Brandon asks Cooper.

  “Spanish with Gonzalez,” he replied.

  “That’s me. Let’s go, man.” He gives Dara a quick kiss on the cheek.

  Cooper turns to Dara and Luka. “Thanks for letting me crash your lunch, guys. Nice meeting you.” He flashes me another cheeky smile before heading off with Brandon.

  Luka squeezes my shoulder and heads off to his next class, leaving Dara and I alone to walk to the Arts wing. I have dance and she has choir.

  “So, Cooper seems super nice. And he’s obviously beyond hot,” Dara remarks.

  “Uh-huh,” I reply, refusing to bite.

  “And I noticed that Luka had his arm around you at lunch. How’s that ‘just friends’ status coming along?” she teases.

  “Oh, just great,” I laugh. “He officially asked me out for Friday night.”

  “I knew it!” Dara screeches. “You guys look so great together, and he’s into you, Cam. I could tell. All I had to do was get you two breathing the same air at the same time!”

  She frowns. “But Cooper seemed to find you basically mouthwatering. I was surprised he didn’t drool onto the table. Do you think he’s into you? Are you into him?”

  I shrug. “I don’t know D, I just met the guy this morning. He’s cute. And nice. And apparently he’s into music, which makes him even more interesting. But ‘into me?’ I don’t know about that. You know his type doesn’t usually find my type attractive.”

  Dara’s frown deepens. “Cam. Are you talking about the whole race issue again? Because there are people in the world who don’t think that matters.”

  “There are,” I agree. “But there have been white guys that I crushed on who wouldn’t even see me as more than a friend. Why should Cooper be any different?”

  “Cam, I saw the way he looked at you at lunch. The guy is not thinking of you as just a friend. He already is different.”

  Cooper

  Pulling up to the new high school on my motorcycle is easy. Getting off my bike and going inside? Not so much.

  I hate school. With everything in me, I hate walking into some drab building every day and pretending like I care. Pretending like I’m just like the rest of them. A happy well-adjusted teenager.

  I’m not.

  I’m a teenager who has seen more in my short lifetime than any of the rest of them could even dream of. The liquor store runs my mother got me involved in, walking into whichever dump we lived in to find lines of white powder laid out on a table…over and over again. Those were life experiences I’d trade with these spoiled high school kids any day.

  That was my reality.

  But my aunt insisted I enroll. She’d said I needed the normalcy.

  Whatever.

  I think about my guitar, sitting in its box in the closet in my room at my aunt’s beach house.

  Or should I call it a beach mansion? She’s done well for herself. I can’t help thinking…what if my aunt had been my mom, instead of my actual mom? My life would be so different right now.

  I don’t care about the part where we never have any money. The part where we live in small apartments and don’t know when our next meal is coming, or where it’s coming from. I care about the part where I can’t always be sure where I’m sleeping every night. I care about the part where I don’t know who will be coming home with my mom from one night to the next. I care about the part where she doesn’t care if I go to school or not, or where I am from one hour to the next.

  So, needless to say, as I pull up to Oceanveiw High I’m not looking forward to a long day in a building full of strangers who I have nothing in common with.

  One thing I can count on, I know I’ll have the only bike pulling into the parking lot. I’m right. As I pull into a spot, the roar of my Ninja causes a stir, and everyone outside turns around to stare at me.

  Very satisfying.

  When I walk into the school building, I find the office. I know I’ll have to sign in there to get my schedule or figure out what the hell I’m supposed to do with myself all day.

  “Can I help you?” the lady behind the large formica countertop asks me. She peers at me over her glasses, and a smile brightens her dour features.

  “Yeah,” I answer. “I’m new—today’s my first day. I’m Cooper Goode.”

  The secretary reaches back onto her desk and grabs a folder with my name on it.

  “I was expecting you today, Mr. Goode. Welcome to Oceanview.”

  She pulls a page out of my file and hands it to me. “I remember last week when your aunt enrolled you. Here’s your schedule. Would you like someone to walk you to your first class?”

  “No thanks,” I answer. “I’d rather find it myself. Do you have a map?”

  She points to the counter next to me, where several documents are standing in plastic organizers.

  “There you go,” she says. “The map is the yellow one. And I’ll call down to make sure Mr. Taft is looking for you.”

  “Thanks,” I say and turn my back on her.

  I study my schedule as I walk into the hallway, hoisting my messenger back up over my shoulder. I look up, and that’s when I see her.

  You know in books, when they say stupid shit like “When I saw her, my heart skipped a beat”? Yeah, well…I don’t think that shit’s so stupid anymore.

  This girl walks right into my path, and it doesn’t even feel like a normal girl is standing there. It feels like I’m looking at this ethereal being…she is otherworldly. She does crazy things to my body, and my heart literally does skip a beat.

  Who is she? She’s obviously a student here. She’s wearing a book bag, and she is carrying a pair of dance shoes. My eyes travel up her perfect body to stare at her face, and her beautiful chocolate brown eyes meet mine. I almost stumble. Her eyes are big and warm and slice through me like paper. The power of those eyes…they have the ability to see right through me. That scared me, because there’s a lot I don’t want people to see. Especially someone as perfect as her.

  I have to talk to her.

  “Hey,” I address her. “Do you know where D-112 is? It’s my first day.”

  She says she does, and that she has the same class first this morning. I should go and buy a lottery ticket after school, because today is clearly my lucky day.

  As we walk and talk, I study her. She’s African-American, with dark skin that looks soft enough to melt in the bright sunlight outside. I want to touch that skin from the first moment I see her.

  Whoa, dude. Get a grip.

  “Are you a dancer?” I ask. Idiot. Captain Obvious.

  I shake my head i
n disgust.

  She’s tall for a girl, but I’m tall for a guy, so she is still shorter than me by several inches. She would fit perfectly under my arm, if I ever get the chance to wrap one around her.

  What am I thinking? Of course I won’t get that chance. She just told me she’s a dancer. She has probably lived in this town her whole life, knows everyone who is anyone. She probably comes from this great wholesome family with two parents who love her and a dog.

  I’m not good enough for this girl. And I have a feeling that she is probably thinking the same thing.

  “I am,” she replies. “I was just working with my teacher this morning on some choreography for our fall musical.”

  “That’s cool. Smart, beautiful, and talented. I must have won a lottery in a past life that I didn’t know about.” I mean every word. I already know this girl is the most amazing creature I have ever had the pleasure of running into.

  And on my first day at a new school? Insane.

  She shoots me a weird look, and I decide I’d better take it easy on the creepy-guy comments before I scare her away.

  “Hey, you’re acting as my tour guide this morning, and I don’t even know your name,” I aske her.

  “Sorry. I’m Cam,” she replies, really meeting my eyes for the first time. She is either pretty shy, or she thinks I’m a jerk.

  “Cam? Short for…?”

  “Short for Camryn.”

  “It’s nice to meet you Cam Short For Camryn. I’m Cooper Goode. Don’t let the last name fool you.” I wink at her, and immediately want to kick my own ass.

  “Does Cam come with a last name, or do you one-name it like Rhianna?”

  She laughs, and my heart floats into the rafters. I made her laugh. I want to do it again.

  “Grimes. Camryn Grimes. It’s nice to meet your acquaintance Mr. Goode. I’m sure you’ll love it at Oceanview. Where’d you transfer from?”

  I answer her question, hoping she doesn’t ask any details about Maryland. I don’t want to tell her anything that would terrify her, and make her run screaming in the other direction.

  We arrive in Lit class, and she introduces me to the teacher, Mr. Taft. He directs me to the seat behind her (I’ll have to thank him for that later), and when I take my seat, the girl next to me smiles and waves. I return her smile politely, all the while wondering how I am going to get Camryn’s phone number. Because there is no way I am leaving this building today without it.