The Classmate by Lena Little

Tess is supposed to be just my classmate. Just someone I sit behind in three classes. Someone I pass by without a second glance. Someone I shouldn’t give a rat’s ass about.
But … she has taken over my life.
Every waking hour of every day.
Her face is burned into my retinas. Her voice is etched into my brain.
Her laughter—in particular—plays in a loop in my head.
She doesn’t know it, but she’s burrowed herself into my life.
I look at her and feel a longing so desperate and deep.
I can stare at her all day long and still not get my fill. But everyone has impossible dreams, right?
Mine is Tess.
While I walk around with a visible reminder of my past and the filth I carried for the past few years, she’s there in all her perfect glory.
Beautiful. Witty. Funny. Kind. Sweet. Bright future ahead.
All the things I’m not. All the things I’ll never be.
Tess is out of my league, but she’s the fire in my otherwise dank, colorless life.
And if I’m being completely honest, I’ll gladly burn in her presence.