Stuck in a Moment

Shannon McCallaghan was in love with her best friend, Seamus O'Brady and he had no idea. Of course, she missed her chance to tell him. He was back in Dublin, while her family had packed up and moved to a suburb in Raleigh, North Carolina. Her dad had gotten offered a great new job there. So not only was Shannon trying to adjust to living a new country, but her heart ached for Seamus.

The day of the McCallaghans' departure was the last time that Shannon and Seamus had been together. She'd wanted to tell him then that he was all she ever wanted, but decided it made no sense with her moving away. Besides, even with the luck of the Irish on her side, long-distance relationships never worked.

She sat in her new room of her family's new house, brushing her light red hair before her first day of senior year at
her new high school. She brushed away, absentmindedly, dreaming of seeing Seamus again. She didn't know if she would, and if she did, when it would be, but he was all she could think of.

"Shannon!" her mother, Kayleigh, yelled from downstairs. "You're going to be late, and it's only your first day!"

"Coming," Shannon said with a groan.

She put down her brush and went to her jewelry box. She took out her locket with the tiny shamrock on it and clasped it around her neck. Though Seamus couldn't be there with her, her was tucked lovingly inside her locket, close to her heart.

Shannon grabbed her messenger bag and went out her door. She trudged downstairs, and met her mother with a glum look on her face.

"Come now," said Kayleigh, "I know you're stuck in a moment you can't get out of. It's tough moving away from the home in which we lived for so long, but daddy can build a whole new client base here. Besides, this is your last year of school. Though I'd like you to stick around, you can always go to university back in Dublin."

Shannon perked up a little. She hadn't even thought about the prospect of going back for university. She was too busy fighting jet lag and missing Seamus. She thought to herself, "Yeah... nine months... and I'm sure we can go back on holiday before then..." She secretly hoped that Seamus wouldn't be with anyone else until then.

Snapping back into reality, she smiled at her mother, and said, "You're right!"

Her mother was pleased by her daughter's sudden turn around and bid her a good first day at school.

The school was withing walking distance from the McCallaghans' home, so it took Shannon less than ten minutes to get there. It was a pleasant day out, and the slight breeze blew through her loose wavy hair.

When she reached the front steps of the school, she noticed, out of the corner of her eye, that a guy was giving her a look. She felt self-conscious about ti and kept walking, looking straight ahead, and adjusting her messenger bag strap.

"Wait up!" she heard a male voice called.

Braving it on her first day at an unfamiliar school, she turned to address the person who beckoned for her. When she turned around, a warm pair of green eyes were looking at her. She felt herself blush a little because she couldn't help but to realize how handsome he was.

"Hi, I'm Declan. I haven't seen you around," he greeted her.

"I just moved here," she answered. "This is my first day."

"You're from Ireland...?" he asked, noticing her accent.

"What was your first guess?" she asked, opening up a little. She was a pretty confident person, and she was finding that it didn't change when in a different country.

"Very funny," he joked. "I'm actually part Irish."

"Never would have guessed with a name like Declan," she teased.

He smiled back at her. "So," he wondered aloud, "have you taken a tour yet or do you need someone to show you around?"

"I've not been on a tour, but I'm told I have an excellent sense of direction." She smiled mischievously.

"Aw, come on," Declan urged.

"Alright," she gave in. She pulled her schedule from her messenger bag. "I have Calculus with Mr. Norman first. Can you take me there?"

"No problem," he said, snatching her schedule from her.

"Hey!" she objected, playfully trying to grab the piece of paper back.

"We have the same lunch," he said excitedly, scanning the sheet. "Wanna meet up?"

"Well, I may have trouble finding the cafeteria, seeing as how my map of the school is on the back of my schedule."

He held out her schedule to her. She tried to yank it from his hand, but he held on for a moment. "Hey, give me that," she protested.

"Have lunch with me?" Declan insisted.

Shannon playfully rolled her eyes and sighed. "Your wish is my command."

"Excellent," he replied, letting her have her schedule back.

They continued down the corridor of the main floor for a few more moments then all of a sudden, Declan stopped. "This is your stop," he said to Shannon.

"Thanks for your help!" she enthused.

"Any time," he said with a wink. "Meet me outside the caf at lunch time!" he said, walking off backward.

Shannon laughed on the inside. She was grateful that not everything about starting a new school in a new country was all bad. Maybe a little luck of the Irish was on her side on her first day.

She took a seat by the windows and stared out. For once, since moving, she didn't think about how much she missed Seamus, but about having lunch with the friendly face she'd just met.

The bell rang, and she snapped back into reality. This time, she was going to face change with a positive attitude. Maybe moving wasn't such a bad thing after all...