The Red-Headed Crush

Prompt for 8/28/16 for "Daily Flash Fiction Challenge" 
Write a story that includes the words: circle, hair, rumor


Her left hand twisted a shock of her strawberry blonde hair in a circle as her right hand traced lazy circles around the name “Jeremy.” She wasn’t paying any attention to her biology teacher.

The bell rang and she immediately jumped up, gathered her books, and pushed her way out of the classroom, eager to spot the object of her affections as he drifted to his next class. He was new to the school and rumor was, he had a crush on a certain red-head. Thinking of that always made her smile. Some people considered her a red-head. Hopefully he did too. Today she’d finally gotten up the nerve to say hi when she saw him and she was going to do it! Maybe not a whole conversation, but at least a good, strong, look-into-his-eyes hello.

Her eyes scanned the hallway, looking for that large young man with the curious scar running through his eyebrow. She found that sexy and wondered how he had gotten it. She’d almost given up hope on the way to her math class when she spotted him, his back to her, chatting with a fellow jock. Now was her chance.

She came up beside them and smiled wide, looked Jeremy in the eye, and gave a strong, confident, but friendly, “Hello.”

“Hi…anyway, I was thinking we could set up the tent…”

That was it—a “hi” and nothing else. He didn’t even pause his conversation. Crestfallen, she rounded her shoulders and crept away. Perhaps she wasn’t the red-head he had a crush on.

Jeremy watched her walk away, a knot in his stomach. He’d blown it. Now she’d never like him. Why couldn’t he just talk to her? He tried to refocus on the weekend plans, but his eyes didn’t leave her bouncy red hair.

300 words