"Are you listening?" by Jamie M. Juett

"Jane? Jane?!"

Jane blinked realizing the screeching of her name had not been an evil fairy, however very close, it was in fact her teacher. Jane looked to her expectantly.

"Were you listening at all…?"

Jane looked out the window and then returned her docile gaze to her red-faced teacher.

"No…I don’t suppose I was."

"Well!"

Exclaimed her teacher and continued to lecture the class, glancing at Jane every few minutes. Jane hadn’t been mouthing off, she had merely told the truth. She hadn’t been listening, she had been thinking about him again.

She gazed at him longingly, studying his every face intently; his chiseled features making him appear much sterner than he really was. Or at least much sterner than she thought he really was, for her shyness and lack of self-confidence made it impossible for her to know him. His black hair and deep brown eyes convinced her he was a dreamer, like her, and the stubble on his chin made him look sophisticated.

She had told this in a dreamy sort of tone to her best friend Kalika, whose real name she would not tell, who had looked at her with a funny expression.

"What?"

Jane had inquired after she could stand no more of her friend’s strange gaze. Kalika smiled and said simply.

"I do believe you love him, Jane."

"Oh don’t say that!"

Exclaimed Jane who had privately thought the very thing. Hearing Kalika say it made it all too real, Jane believed firmly that 15 was too young to be in love. Which might be true, but sometimes these things cannot be helped.

"What’s so very wrong with being in love, Jane?"

Jane flushed.

"Oh nothing. But you see, I don’t KNOW him which would make it impossible for me to truly love him."

Kalika nodded.

"And you’ll never KNOW him until you talk to him…"

Jane laughed out loud looking at Kalika incredulously.

"Excuse me, but, me talk to him? I’d no sooner befriend the Barbie twins."

Kalika gave Jane a stern glance but couldn’t suppress the giggle that bubbled up within her and they both laughed at the mention of Lauren and Hannah. Kalika's gaze moved from Jane to Daemon, and Jane glared at her friend.

"What exactly are you DOING?"

She hissed. Kalika grinned.

"Why, Jane, he was looking at you."

"Don’t be ridiculous."

"I'm serious."

Jane glanced over at Daemon, who promptly turned, and blushed.

"I told you."

Remarked Kalika in a matter-of-fact tone. Jane frowned.

"That doesn’t mean anything, Kalika."

Kalika frowned and picked up her lunch tray.

"Look, Jane, I'm just trying to help you out. Don’t make other's suffer for your personal hatred."

And with that Kalika removed herself from the situation.

"Some people just aren't worth it, Kalika."

Jane seethed over the phone. Kalika held a new shirt she had bought up to her with a pair of jeans to see how it would look.

"What do you mean?"

"In English me and Daemon are paired up, we have to write the same story about two people only with different point of view's, you know? I'm writing about the girl and he's writing about the guy, it's a romance."

Kalika squealed with delight for her friend, dropping the questionable outfit.

"Oh that’s wonderful Jane!"

Jane sighed and leaned against the wall in her room, clutching the phone with one hand and nervously twisting the cord with the other.

"No. It's not. Daemon wont talk to me, Kalika, he won't smile. He just sits there and writes in that stupid note book of his."

Jane let a bitter tear trickle down her face, she couldn’t help it, she actually thought Daemon was the man of her dreams! Kalika sighed over the phone.

"Oh, I'm so sorry Janie… Meet me at Baskin Robin's?"

Jane sniffled and smiled.

"Your treat?"

"Of course."

Jane sighed and stared out the window; she had given up trying to make conversation with Daemon. She looked over at him and tried to suppress an irritable stare.

"The project's due tomorrow. Do you have your half done?"

Daemon glanced up from his notebook his dark hair shadowing his intense eyes. Jane couldn’t help it, her heart fluttered.

"Ya."

He said in a monotone voice and returned his attention to his notebook. Jane couldn’t suppress her feelings anymore.

"Don’t you CARE about anything besides that damned notebook?! Are you HUMAN at all? CAN you smile?"

Daemon looked rather startled. Jane continued, her green eyes flashing with rage.

"Or do you just not like me? Is THAT it, Daemon?"

Daemon frowned and closed the notebook.

"You think because I don’t let my feelings show clearly on my face that I'm void of emotion? If that’s what you think, your wrong."

And with that he stood and walked out of the classroom. Jane blushed under the gaze of her classmate's and tried in vain to dissapear.