I was sifting through my locker, searching for my books, when I suddenly turned around and found Jeremy standing there, his face mere inches from mine.

   "Hey there, pretty Jessica," his breath carried the scent of mint.

   I got lost for a moment, just admiring him.

  "Hello, pretty Jessica," he repeated, snapping me out of my reverie.

   "Huh?" I stammered.

  "Too lost in my beauty?" He quipped, a smirk on his lips.

   "No, dream on," I retorted, trying to sound tough.

    Yet, he began to inch closer and closer until he whispered into my ear, his breath tickling my neck.

    "Join me at the park on Saturday?" he breathed.

   "Um, yeah," I managed to respond.

   "Good," he replied, raising his head to lock eyes with me.

   After he left, I realized I had been holding my breath.

   I couldn't believe I had said yes. The real challenge would be leaving the house without my father noticing.

    During lunch, I was fortunate enough to run into Jeremy.

    As he took a seat, I explained that I might not be able to go to the park with him, as my dad didn't allow me to go out with boys he didn't know. I could sense he wasn't thrilled with my response, but he didn't appear angry either.

   "Then I can prove to him that I'm a boy he can trust with his daughter," he suggested.

   "Um, no. You know what? I'll try to talk to him," I replied nervously.

   "Okay, and before I forget, I need your number. Oh, and you look beautiful with bangs," he complimented, surprising me with his observation.

    We exchanged numbers, and he left my table to attend to something else.

    However, after he departed, I felt someone's gaze fixated on me. I assumed it might be that jerk, Dylan. But when I turned to investigate, I was taken aback to find Natalie Portman glaring at me as if she wanted to tear me apart.