Ackland Art Musuem

Every spring, All seniors in Westwood usually go on field trips within the state and this year, the school authority has announced the field trip would be a tour to the Ackland Art Museum which is at the University of North Carolina.

As expected every student that would like to be part of the field trip needed to fill their name in a form to be aware of the number of the students going.

It was an important field trip for all seniors in Westwood but not all the students filled out the form.

"I am glad my school is not going to some boring art museum this year, I don't know where our field trip would be but definitely not staring at some old a** artwork and blah blah", Jada said on the video call with Nancy and Tara.

"Admit it, Jada, you are just jealous me and Nancy would be leaving the city for one day and you would be bored without us", Tara mocked.

Jada denied Tara's words but it was the truth, the three girls had been hanging out nonstop for the past two weeks they had known each other and a day had not passed that they would not meet up at Nancy's room to talk about everything.

11:00 am: Aunt Kat's apartment.

(Field trip day)

Nancy stepped out of her room with her vintage shoulder bag filled with her toiletries and an outfit she would wear back home the next day.

She saw her Aunt smoking and drinking.

Nancy raised her eyebrows and nodded her head, she was used to it.

"So I heard Ackland is in North Carolina University, isn't that good? There are a lot of hot college guys, better than high school boys", Aunt Kat said while smiling at her niece.

She knew the girl would always ignore her jokes but she would say it anyway.

The horn of Tara's car interrupted Nancy and she swallowed her response to her Aunt, she walked out, and almost instantly the lady followed her.

"Tara! Pretty Tara!", Aunt Kat said as soon as she stepped out.

She wore a black short dress, carrying her glass of champagne in one hand and in the other hand, her half-smoked cigarettes.

Tara smiled on seeing Nancy's Aunt, she had loved her the first time they met.

"Good morning Aunt Kat, you are looking so good today! As always….I hope you will not miss Nancy for one night?" Tara said as she watched Nancy get in the car.

Aunt Kat's eyes got flustered at Tara's comment, she smiled and responded.

"No! Not going to miss her, I told her to find a college boy when she arrives there, I mean both of you! Not just her, do not settle for high school boys, they are childish… college boys have bigger stuff".

"AUNT KAT!", Nancy exclaimed, feeling embarrassed about her Aunt's words.

Tara laughed as she started the car engine.

"We would do that Aunt Kat, take care of yourself and have a wonderful day…", Tara had said before zooming off.

Nancy gave her Aunt the last glance before the car disappeared.

"Not her acting like she would stay a teenager forever, her mother was literally pregnant at 20, and this one would not even talk about boys with me…", the lady said before walking back into her house.

The drive to school was a few minutes, the bus was almost full with students going on the field trip when Tara arrived with Nancy.

Out of almost 50 seniors in school, only 20 filled in for the field trip, this is why the school authority chose just one school bus to take them to Chapel Hill town.

When the girls arrived, Mr. Rutherford, the male art teacher who was one of the guides to Ackland was waiting at the school bus's door staring at the girls as they hurried out of the car.

Tara had put her car in a security lock as she walked together with Nancy towards the bus.

"If you girls had arrived two minutes later, we would have left you alone", the man said with a straight face.

Nancy and Tara looked at each other and hid their laughter as they hurried on the bus, There were a lot of eyes on them as they got onto the bus.

"Find a seat girls", Mrs Binney, the Spanish teacher who was the second guide said from her front seat.

Nancy saw Emma and Jasmine looking directly at them from the middle seat, and more judgy eyes staring at them as they searched for an empty seat.

Her anxiety returned and her heartbeat rapidly, she walked slowly behind Tara who had seen empty seats.

Suddenly her eyes caught him sitting at the back of the bus, his eyes shut and his AirPods plugged in, and Immediately just like a calming storm after a disaster, her anxiety reduced.

"Nolan", her mind whispered.

She stared at him as she walked to her seat.

At that moment, Nancy forgot the eyes on her, she kept staring at him as she sat on her seat, unable to see him anymore since he was seated at the back of the bus, she took a quick turn and stole a glance at him again.

"Didn't think I would see him right now…", she thought with a smile appearing on her face, more like a blush.

He appeared to her whenever she was not thinking about him, this had happened so many times over the past weeks in school, either walking down the hallway with his friends eating and laughing, or being around a lot of girls.

She had no choice but to constantly think about him and looked forward to seeing him at school.

Nancy looked nervous and desperate to steal another glance at Nolan.

She breathes in and out repeatedly and shuts her eyes while taping her fingers on her thighs, she chews on her lips gently, and without a second guess, she turns her head to the back.

This time, their eyes met.

Nancy was too stunned to take her eyes off him, she knew he caught her, and there was nothing to do at that moment, she froze for a second.

After a few seconds of both of them staring at each other, she turned away quickly.

"Omg!!!!", she yelled out in her mind, her face flushed out of embarrassment.