6 Stay Alert

“Wait, what?”

“Which one of the boyfriends? She has a lot of them; boys are like toys for her.”

Oh wow. Well then, I guess that was expected.

“Uh… the uh… the hockey one? I mean, I think he plays hockey. I saw him with his gear outside…” I paused, deciding that I didn’t want anyone to know that Kendall’s boyfriend was my next-door neighbour. The way I saw it, I couldn’t trust anyone.

Especially Lea, who was too eager to talk.

“Wait!” she said, her eyes widening excitedly. “You don’t mean Theo Evans, do you?”

I didn’t know his name, but I nodded. “Tall, dark hair, hazel green eyes…” I paused when I saw the way Lea was staring at me. Then she smiled, and I began to worry about the state of her mental health. “What is going on?”

“That girl is such a bitch!” she laughed. “Yup, that’s Theo. He is her boyfriend all right, but I swear she’s fucking other guys on the side.”

“Not that I care anyway,” I shrugged. “I just don’t understand why she has it out for me. I don’t care who she fucks or who she doesn’t…”

“Uhm, honey, we are talking about Theo Evans here. He is the hottest boy in school.”

“And obviously too full of himself,” I rolled my eyes.

“As he should be. Look at him!” she pointed in the direction Kendall had gone.

Their clique had 2 tables to themselves.

“Those boys on that table are the hottest boys in school. To have them look at you, I mean, just look at you, is a fucking dream. Trust all the girls in class would die to have them, even the juniors.”

“Except that Kendall, Briella and Trish have claimed them for themselves,” Leo piped in as he spooned some of his apple pie into his mouth.

“Those bitches. Anyway, the hottest of them all is Theo,” she squealed.

“Wait, don’t tell me you have a crush on him?” I asked with a raised brow.

She gave me a look like I was crazy. “Duh! I would be blind not to. He is the captain of the hockey team, the pride of our school and the most handsome boy in school… wait!” She frowned at me, “Don’t tell me you’re gay?”

“That wouldn’t stop me from seeing that he is cute.”

When she smiled, I realised the trap that she had just expertly set for me.

“Yes, he is cute,” I confessed. “But he also happens to be a piece of shit.”

“Well, when you have every girl in school drooling over you, you’re allowed to be a piece of shit.”

“Not when you try to kiss someone against her will!”

Our table suddenly turned silent. I shouldn’t have said that.

That should have been my secret.

Lea’s reaction to my outburst was scaring me because why was she staring at me like that? For a moment, I thought she wished she were in my shoes, and she was the one Theo had tried to kiss instead.

Then she smiled slowly again. Seriously, send help because this girl is creepy.

“Theo tried to kiss you?”

I nodded.

“And?”

“And what? Nothing happened. I – I punched his face.”

She looked like she was going to faint. All of a sudden, she began to laugh aloud.

“No way. No fucking way!”

She laughed so long that Leo had to cover her mouth and force her head on the table.

“I’m okay. I’m okay,” she said as she laughed. “I’m just … wow, Jade, are you the best thing that happened in this school or what? Are you immune to Theo, or you’re just blind?”

“It’s not every day we see a girl who doesn’t have an instant crush on Captain Jawline,” Leo said. I didn’t miss the way he looked at me like he respected me.

He wouldn’t look like that if he knew that I initially started with a crush on Captain Jawline.

“Nah, unless that girl is sick.” She stared pointedly at me. “Or gay.”

I wasn’t about to get into an argument with her about my sexuality, so I just rolled my eyes and picked my spoon off my skirt. Thankfully, the yoghurt didn’t leave a permanent stain.

“What will you do then?” Lea asked.

“About what?”

“About Kendall. Look, she’s out to get you. No one crosses Kendall and goes free. She’s going to make school hell for you. Your only option is to switch schools because trust me, Kendall is vicious.”

“You sound like you guys have history.”

“Oh, honey, trust me, a day is not enough to say everything she has done to Leo and me. You can choose to go or stay and suffer.”

“It can’t be that bad?”

“Are you sure about that?” she asked as she looked in Kendall’s direction.

Sure enough, Kendall was giving me the stink eye even though she literally had her hand in Theo’s, and he was giving the back of her hand a kiss.

“She can do whatever she wants. I don’t care.”

“What about what you saw this morning? Are you going to tell Principal Houston about it?”

“I don’t care about that. I told Kendall already, I don’t care about her business. Look,” I let out a breath because I was sick to death of the conversation. “Before I came here, I wasn’t the type of girl who cared about drama or being the centre of attention. I sure as hell didn’t change that when I moved here. Besides, it’s cold as fuck here. I care more about getting warm than getting into a fight about one boy.”

“Unless that boy is interested in you too,” Lea said singsong – like.

When I frowned at her, she jerked her head toward Kendall’s table again. I looked, but Theo looked away as soon as I did.

“It doesn’t mean anything,” I said, feeling a flutter in my chest. “He’s probably wondering how he can get back at me for hitting him.”

“Yeah, that’s not the kind of look you give someone when you want to punch them. It’s the kind you give someone you are kinda, sorta having a crush on.”

“Right.”

“Right?” Leo laughed. “Besides, Theo is a playboy. He likes to hit on every single girl in school.”

“Except me. He never hit on me!” Lea argued.

“Yeah, because you were the only girl who gave him a pair of her socks when other girls were giving him chocolates and heart-shaped pancakes.”

“That was in 3rd grade! And I sprayed Mom’s perfume in it too. I wanted him to wear it to bed, thinking about me.”

Leo made a face as he turned to me, and I tried not to laugh.

“You can laugh all you want, but I still think you should use this information to your advantage. Ask Theo for a kiss, and if he says no, tell him you’ll tell Principal Houston what you say.”

“Okay, hell no. There’s no way I’m going to do that.”

“You’re kidding,” she said.

“And you’re mad,” I shot back. “You know what? I think I’m full. I don’t care enough about Kendall or Theo or hockey to sit at this table anymore. I guess I’ll see you in class.”

I stood up and left the cafeteria. They were definitely insane. I knew there was a reason I didn’t want to come to this state, this school. Everyone is fucking crazy.