Isabella

She walked into the classroom when the first class had started. I must admit that her beauty was terrifying, I had never seen anything like that. Her short black hair looked so good with her perfectly balanced figure. All the features of her face seemed made in the smallest detail. Even her clothes perfectly matched her skin tone. She looked like a model that you only find on television and on the internet.

— Professor, good afternoon. Sorry for the inconvenience, could you please let me into the classroom? I was a little late ~

I don't blame the teacher for letting her into the classroom, even I couldn't have said no to that angelic smile. The problem was, the only seat available was the one in front of me. Of all the people, I was the one who got the golden ticket.

When the first classes finished and the break began, my classmates approached the cutie sitting in front of me like bees to honey. Obviously I would never try to talk to her, even having her near me during class was uncomfortable.

I went to eat my lunch, and I kept thinking about the problem it was going to be to have that girl in front of me every day. Her name was Isabella, when we introduced ourselves to the class she mentioned that and where she lived, what were her favorite hobbies and her biggest dreams. The truth is that what she said was not a big deal, but as if it were the speech of the Prime Minister of England, everyone stopped to applaud and praise her.

Anyway, after finishing my lunch I returned to the classroom and the day passed normally. Actually, I was very excited, I wanted the classes to end so I could go to the new library. I was very excited to see the new books available, and also to be able to read in a new environment.

When I arrived at the library, my expectations of the new library were fully met. It was so cool! The space was quite spacious, the furniture seemed custom-made, the shelves were full of books that even I didn't know anything about them, and the new librarian seemed like a nice person.

Everything was perfect, this new library really put a big smile on my face. I picked up the book that seemed most interesting to me in the “Mystery” section and started to read. I was really happy, but… after a few minutes, happiness escaped from my being, all thanks to one person.

I thought my eyes were wrong, that my mind was playing a cruel joke on me… but it wasn't. As her silhouette got closer and she took the seat across from me, I realized that everything that was happening was true and not just a dream.

— You are the boy who sits behind me in the classroom, right?

That person was saying something with her gaze directed at me. But I was still in shock of what was happening that I couldn't think in a coherent sentence to say to her.

— Nice to meet you, my name is Isabella. What's yours?

Come on, that's an easy one. Even with half a neuron available I can answer that

— Sebastian

Well, at least I managed to answer correctly. But apparently she wanted a more comprehensive answer, so she kept insisting.

— Sebastian is a very nice name! I am very happy to find a partner who likes reading. I hope we can talk a lot about our favorite books. Do you like to read a lot?

I was getting very nervous. First she gave me an unexpected compliment, then she is proposing that we both talk about books, which seems like an impossible challenge, and besides she is asking me another question. What the hell is happening? Wait ... what did she ask me?

— …

— ... Oh, sorry, I don't want to be a bother or make you uncomfortable." If you don't want to talk that's fine, I'll just stand here in silence reading my book.

After my failed mistake trying to communicate like a normal person with Isabella, she actually fell silent. We were seated at a slightly small rectangular table for four people. I had chosen this place because the window was in front, and I could have a nice landscape when my eyes will get tired. But now, the landscape in front of me was much more beautiful than before. A THOUSAND TIMES MORE BEAUTIFUL.

Half an hour passed since Isabella took the place across from me. In that half hour I couldn't read anything, I just thought about what I would do if she suddenly spoke to me again. This pressure was suffocating, I think I was sweating, even with the air conditioning in the library. I couldn’t stand this anymore.…

— "… I-Isabella… C-could you sit s-somewhere else?" The truth is that your presence is bothering me a lot

The words came out of my mouth automatically. Maybe I shouldn't have been so direct. I would have liked to come up with an excuse that wouldn't make me look so bad with her. But my brain was not working well at the time ...

— Yes, of course…

I wanted to tell her that she wasn't a bother, that the problem was my stupid anti-social condition, which made me very nervous. But the words, once again, did not come out of my mouth ...

She walked away from me. She took the seat in the back and stayed there until the end of the day. I was really impressed that she stay in the library all day like me. Perhaps, as a new student, she still had no friends to hang out with. My only consolation was that, being such a beautiful student, she would soon find friends, so my days of peace and quiet as a loner in the library would soon return.

The next day was awkward in the classroom. The places we took on the first day could not be changed, unless someone wanted to give it up voluntarily. I thought that was an option Isabella would take, but incredibly she remained in the same sad place at the back of the room with me. And what's worse ... She kept going to the library.

One week ... I thought that was how long I had to wait for Isabella to stop showing up at the library. She already had friends in the classroom, she spent her breaks with them in the cafeteria and it seemed like everyone liked her. But she was still in the same place in front of me in the classroom.

Every day when she walked into to the classroom, she greeted everyone except me. I understood that it was normal, after my attitude that day. But, then ... Why? What was it that kept her in that place? I had no doubt that if she asked any classmate, they would gladly change seats with her

Worst of all, she KEEPING VISITING THE LIBRARY EVERY DAY. A month had passed since the incident where I asked her to sit somewhere else. She always arrived at the library on time after school ended, even before me, and she took the same spot in the background until the librarian told us it was time to close for today. She would nod with her perfect smile, and quickly put the book she was reading in the appropriate section and left the library.

Honestly, her presence was driving me crazy. I did not understand why such a perfect girl wasted badly her days reading like a loner. I mean, the library was nice, but didn’t you have friends to have fun with in the evenings? And, anyway, if she was a total book lover, why didn't she just borrow a book and leave? Maybe, her house was just as sad as mine? I know, I seemed totally insane thinking those things, my head was about to explode. I needed answers ...

I made a plan to find the solution to my dilemma. Sometimes we left the library at the same time, and without speaking we used to advance to the exit. We would walk a couple of streets together and eventually took different paths. My plan was to walk with her all the way to her house, and there I could observe her family environment, or I could even realize if her economic situation was as bad as mine. And although she might be suspicious on the way and will question me, I had investigated the supermarkets that were in the area, and I would invent that my objective was to buy something.

I know, what I was doing was wrong. I was thinking how a total stalker. She was just a beautiful girl who wanted to be nice to me, and now I was devising a plan to discover a dark secret about her, which would allow me to give peace to my distorted brain.

Anyway, I put my plan in motion. We walked as usual without speaking to each other, and where our paths were supposed to part, I followed the same path as Isabella. She was very surprised, but continued to walk normally. At this point I was already very nervous. What the hell was I doing?

I thought to get away from her a bit, and I walked slower so that she would advance. But what I thought would reassure her turned out to be the opposite. Every 5 seconds she looked back to see if I was still there, and I, like an idiot, could not look away every time she did that. In order for my plan to not see myself as a stalker to work out, I needed she asked me something like: Why are you following me? and I would answer the supermarket thing. But she never said anything, she just kept walking fearfully.

Suddenly she began to accelerate. I started to get nervous, I had to do the same or I would lose sight of her. Confirming that I was also walking faster, she started running wildly. This had already become the scene of a horror movie where the protagonist runs for her life.

I ran towards her instinctively, I was no longer thinking clearly. My brilliant plan had already been shattered. I saw myself as a total stalker running for my victim. Unfortunately for her — and fortunately for me — the streets were totally empty, so my chase was not interrupted.

I was not in good physical condition, so within seconds of running I was exhausted. With what little energy I had left, I screamed at her like a desperate madman:

— WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIT, DOOOOOOON’T RUN AWAAAAAAY !!!!! I DON'T WANT TO HURT YOUUUUUU !!!

Sure, any sane girl wouldn't have stopped. She kept moving forward and every second I saw her further away. I really did not want her to leave thinking that I was going to hurt her, I did not care even if she reported me to the school or the police, anyway, my social status was not the best. I just wanted her to stop being afraid… So with my last breath I managed to scream:

— PLEASE EXCUSE ME FOR BEING RUDE TO YOU!

My words had an effect. She stopped and stood a few feet from me. There was a moment of silence, maybe it was a few seconds, but for me it was an eternity. I knew I had to go reassure her, but my fear of talking to her was still latent. Still, I did ...

I approached her slowly, tried to calm my breathing and wipe the sweat off my face a bit. And being close to her, I started my silly explanation:

— I´m so s-sorry. My i-intention wasn't to h-hurt you. I just want to apologize because you had been kind to me and that day ...

—…

She was standing there not saying anything, which didn't help me much to keep the conversation. However, I had to continue ...

— I really don't want to bother you. It's just that I can't help but think because you ...

— You looked very lonely and you gave me a lot of pity

I stopped what I was saying. She turned to me with teary eyes and said those words. Apparently, she had been crying silently the entire time. However, with her gaze fixed on me she continued saying:

— The first day of school I noticed that there was a seat available at the back, I thought it was a coincidence, but seeing that you didn't speak to anyone gave me a bit of pity, so when I saw you alone in the library, I wanted to be nice to you ...

— Huh? Why did you want to be nice to me?

— Because that's what normal people do, IDIOT. But when you told me I was bothering you, I understood that you are a jerk, and that's why no one talks to you.

— Hey, I'm not a jerk! I-I just have a hard time socializing ...

— Of course you're a jerk! I've been watching you. You look at people like they're trash, and you don't even try to try to get along with someone.

— Look, I will not try to explain my social problems to a popular girl like you.

— You see? You are unable to understand others, you think you are too special!

— Y-You’re w-wrong...

— And that's why you just scared me, I thought you were going to murder me!

— I-I'd better retire, excuse me ...

— No wait…

She took my forearm tightly. At that moment my brain completely shut down. It was the first time in my entire life that a girl clung to me so intensely. I couldn't do anything else but listen to her:

— Look, I don't want this to end badly like last time. I still think you're a jerk, but at the time, when you yelled at me for forgiveness, you moved me a little. So, I'll try to delete the image I had of you and let's start over, okay?

— S-Sure, it's so-ounds g-good

— Well, I introduce myself again ... Nice to meet you, my name is Isabella.

— I-I'm Sebastian

— Nice to meet you Sebastian. Hope we can get along ~

She showed me a tremendously beautiful smile. I tried to correspond, but maybe I just made an idiot face, the truth at that time I was still in shock.

— Well, my house is not very far from here. Thanks to you I will arrive early

— I-I'm sorry again

— Hehehe, don't worry ~. I still had to exercise this week. Well, I have to go now, see you tomorrow!

And that's how my first psychopathic chase came to an end. Fortunately my actions had excellent results. I could not solve the doubts I had about why she spent her days in the library, but that already did not matter to me.

At that time, I did not imagine that my relationship with Isabella would prosper so much. It just gave me a lot of peace knowing that things were back to normal. I was stupid, I let my guard down… What followed after that day were moments that I will never be able to erase from my life and from my heart. I'm a total jerk.