HIS GIRL

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER SEVEN

ELLA

It hurts to admit it but my crush and his girlfriend certainly suit each other. I mean, in my dreams they don’t but in this harsh reality we call life, they actually are great together. I’m not talking just in terms of their breathtaking looks. They are the kind of couple that make single people like me feel like we are not doing something right. Unlike the hundreds of novels I’ve read and cheesy teen movies I’ve watched over the short passage of my teens years, Adam and Mia, two of the most popular students in school, were very much endgame.

“Don’t they just make you want to barf?” Rita whispers the most wild thought of my brain.

“I know, right?” I lean over, whispering, “Anyway, did you hear Zack got dumped?”

“Zack twelfth grade or eleventh grade?” she questions, interest in dancing in the pool of brown in her eyes. Never mind we are in the middle of a math class but to be honest, I’ve given up on the subject and a lot of other class related stuff.

“Twelfth grade. Remember he was dating Yuki from cheerleading? Well, apparently she caught him trying to hit on Chloe, Eris’s sister, at yet another party we didn’t get invited to and actually forgot to crash,”

Her pupils widened, “No way. I mean, I always thought she was too good for that brat but I thought they’d last at least three months. Two weeks only? Come on,”

“I know right? Like hello, at least wait for her birthday to pass, “ I roll my eyes, “Now the poor girl is probably going to be wasted on her birthday which by the way, according to what I picked in the washrooms, is going to be one hell of a party, three weeks from now. Who knows? I might actually dress a little. I’ve been watching a bit of make-up Youtube content lately. Anyway, in very unrelated news, Adam talked to me this morning and I freaked out,”

“Wait, double what?” Okay, she did that too loud and judging from the way, Mr. Gregory had stopped teaching, eyes on the two of us along with everybody else in class. My guilty expression unfortunately sells me even though there is certainly no evidence I was being loud. However, Rita and I come as a package even in trouble.

“You two, Saturday detention,” he says. It is not the first time we’ve gotten one from him and certainly not the only ones who get it by the end of today’s lesson.

“So what happened?” Rita questions as we walk to the next class which, much to my dismay, is chemistry.

“Well, so I woke up this morning and took the trash out, right? I’m standing outside my house, debating whether I should prepare breakfast or call it off and use that time to sneak in a few more minutes of slumber. And guess what? Somebody calls my name and I’m thinking, hmmm, that sounds familiar. I open my eyes and right there, all sweaty and not looking an ounce less hot, is Adam freaking Jackson, waving at me with a smile on his face. He was smiling at me, Rita and I ran inside the house instead of returning his greetings,”

“Were you wearing your elephant pajamas?” She questions as though it's the most obvious thing.

“Yeah,” I admit. Mainly because it is actually the reason I bolted inside the house like my non-existent tail was on fire.

“I would have run too if the boy I’m crushing on, saw me in those,” she laughs, finding my situation amusing and I join her.

“Well, that is in the past though I’m quite surprised he remembered my name,” I mused, grabbing a lab coat and putting it on.

“Perhaps he remembered you from yesterday. I mean, you said he came by to drop the shirt,” she shrugged, opening her book.

“Yeah, but like I did not think he would remember it,” I say, opening my book too just as Mr. Boniface walks into the room, the chatter instantly dying.

Another day rolls by, the rising excitement of the night ahead filling every corner of the school. Every corner you turn, all you could hear was halloween and well, Dylan’s after party which of course once again, we had not been invited but we would definitely crash. It's not like anybody notices when we are there. Usually if we crash a party, we just sit in the corner, ogling the hot boys and catching up on highschool drama. Trust me, you have no idea how many episodes of high school dating reality shows you could watch in just a single party.

“Finally, the freaking day is over,” Rita cheers as she starts the jeep.

“I know,” I sigh happily, leaning on the back of the seat, as the car finally starts.

For a while, we chat about random things but mostly about some drama that took place at the cafeteria during lunch. You know, just the usual. Somebody accidentally-probably on purpose, I don't know- tipped over Chloe King's lunch tray and Eris lost it. I heard he is joining us for Saturday detention.

“But you've got to admit Eris King is the hottest senior,” Rita says, pulling the jeep to a stop outside the bookstore. I know she has a crush on him and well, can you blame her? The guy is a walking six feet of dripping hotness.

“Oh, there is no doubt about that,” I step out, “So later?”

“Of course,”

She bids me bye, before changing direction and driving off. Petra as usual, is already inside, practicing her moves. Sometimes I wonder how she gets here so fast when we all get out of school at the same time.

“What got you so riled up?” I question after changing my work attire.

“Well, you know about the upcoming founder’s day town’s festival? They are finally letting us get a segment to perform. It will be like a preview of what we will be performing at the talent show, you know work out the nerves and get used to being on stage,”

“Congratulations,” I say, “ This has never happened before. Usually they just let the kindergarten kids perform poetry or something,”

“Yeah,” she chuckled, very much excited, “Now, I don’t want to make a fool of myself so how about you drop by the townhall one day and watch? You have a keen eye in dance and you can tell me what I should do,”

“Don’t you have a dance teacher for that?” I questioned, grabbing a textbook from my backpack.

“Please,” she grabs my hand and then her eyes dart down to my book, “I can help you with chemistry and Math in exchange. I’m good at both,”

“Go on,” I reply after studying her face for a second.

“Next sunday we are having practice from 1.30. You can drop by, take a look and then you can help me be better in parts you believe I need improvement. Mrs. Hampton is too nice. Meanwhile, I can help you get better in Math and Chemistry. We could do it here at work, whenever the traffic is low. So what do you say?”

I take a few seconds to ponder over her words, knowing certainly well I could not escape the temptation of her words. I stretch my hand, shaking hers.

“I supposed getting into a decent college is not a bad thing, right?”

“You two finally decided to give up on dancing and learning?” Hikaru question, walking with his bag hanging on one shoulder, “Welcome to the club of giving up,”

“First of all, Hikaru, nobody is giving up on anything. And second, how did your mum take the news of you not getting into the summer art program?” I question, arms propped against the table.

“I haven’t told her yet,” he sighs, “I don’t think I’m ready to hear her tell me about how much it was a bad idea from the start to even think art could lead me anywhere,”

“Hey, you are a great artist,” I point it out, “Back me up here, Petra,”

“Well, I haven’t seen the-yes, you are a great artist,” She quickly changes her statement when I send a glare her way.

“You think?” He questions, looking at Petra.

“I know,” she smiles, “And here comes the Friday evening rush,”

The bell rings as a group of teenage girls rush inside the bookstore, heading straight to the fiction aisle, definately for the new batch of some cheesy romance novels. It is never just the students from our town, but also from the nearest town. Mr. Jackson happens to have some sort of connection with a big book seller from New York and would get the first batch of books people are raving about, every Friday of the week. For the next one and half hours, it remains a whole lot hectic until the clock strikes six in the evening. With it being halloween, we close two hours early today and I do not waste time in rushing over to Rita’s home to get ready for the night and also, steal a handful of her mum’s dip-dyed donuts.