Thunder: Part 1

Here comes part 1. Are you excited yet?

Part One

"Brian, what the heck is wrong with you? You've been staring at the same page for minutes, and you are READING, NOT playing basketball with your friends. What is with you?" Seth Darren said irritably. Brian Holdbar looked up from the same three words on the page that he had been staring at for ages, thinking he hadn't heard Seth right.

"What?" Brian said, lost in thought.

"That's what I mean. What, did your girlfriend break up with you?" Seth teased him, fully well knowing Brian didn't have one.

"How'd you guess?" Brian said dejectedly. He put the book aside.

"What? When did you get a girlfriend?" Seth asked. He walked over to Brian, dribbling the basketball. "Who asked you, since I doubt you'll ever get enough courage to ask someone."

"Amy." Brian responded. He looked up at Seth. "She asked me."

"Then why would she dump you? What happened." Seth asked, sitting down next to Brian.

"She asked me out yesterday, and we had lunch, and everyone noticed us sitting together, and walking together..." Brian shuddered. He hated attention. "So yesterday I ended it, I gave her a note explaining it, so no one would be staring...."

"That is the stupidest thing I ever heard." Seth said bluntly. Brian looked at him, annoyed.
"If you like her, and I can tell you do, then why do you care that people notice?" Brian shook his head at Seth.

"You don't get it, do you." Brian said. He stood up, grabbed his stuff, and left the basketball court outside the school, went inside school, and made his way to where his first period class was, and waited for the bell. He sat on the side of the hallway near the door. As the hallway slowly became more crowded, Brian saw Amy pushing her way through the crowd to her first class. Her eyes met his, for a moment. She turned away briskly and walked down the hall. Brian saw her brush a tear away from her eye as she walked away.

---

Amy sat down on the grass in the park behind the school building. She took out her lunch and sat there with it in her hands. She put it back in its bag and placed it beside her, and she put her head in her hands.

"Whats wrong, Amy?" It was Chelsea Ballie, Amy's best friend. "Are you okay, and why are't you with Brian? Didn't you ask him out, and didn't he say yes?" Amy sighed.

"He broke up with me, Chelsea. He gave me a note yesterday afternoon. Why, Chelsea, why?" Amy moaned. Chelsea sat down besides her. She made no attempt to say anything, she just patted her shoulder. Amy sat there, her head in her hands, and she cried. She quickly stifled the sobs, and wiped away her tears. "And I can't stop crying." She said sadly. Chelsea nodded silently. They sat there in silence for a moment, and then Chelsea spoke.

"Why?" She asked softly. Amy knew what she was asking about, but she asked, to make sure.

"Why did he break up with me?" Amy sighed as Chelsea nodded. "I don't know. I just don't know. I didn't do anything wrong, did I?" She asked, almost desperately.

"Of course not. Listen, I'll ask Brian why and I'll tell you later, okay?" Chelsea asked. Amy just nodded. She stared at her lunch, to sad to eat it. She put all her energy into not crying, and into looking calm. But she knew that would only last as long as she didn't see Brian, and didn't think about him. She shoved the thought of him to the back of her head and tried to eat her lunch. In truth, though, that was easier said than done.

---

"Brian." It was a girl. Brian could tell that much without looking up from his lunch. He ignored her, pretending he hadn't heard.

"Brian!" There it was again, more insistent. Sighing, Brian turned around. It was that girl, who was Amy's best friend. What was her name again?

"Brian, it's me, Chelsea. You know, from Math class? Amy's best friend?" She clarified. Just then, Seth came over. He looked between Brian and Chelsea, and assessed the situation.

"Yea, okay. Hi." Brian said to Chelsea. She had turned away from him, though, and was looking at Seth.

"Hi!" She said. Seth grinned.

"Hey, Chelsea." He said. She grinned back. Brian looked between them.

"You two know each other?" He asked stupidly. It was obvious they knew each other.

"Yea, we're lab partners." Seth said.

"Yea." Chelsea said absentmindedly. She had turned back to Brian. "I have a question." She said. He sighed.

"Yes?" He replied.

"Why did you break up with Amy?" She asked bluntly. He rolled his eyes.

"I'm not answering that." He said crisply. Chelsea frowned.

"Fine." She said, just as crisply, and she turned and walked away. Seth rolled his eyes at Brian.

"Why didn't you just tell her?" He asked, annoyed. He probably had wanted to talk to Chelsea more, Brian noted, annoyed at his friend.

"Because then she would tell Amy." Brian replied. He turned away from his best friend and walked away, head down. No one would understand.