by Raathi Chota
“No, she gets to decide, and it’s with us, right?”
“Stop!” I yelled. They dropped my arms with guilty looks. I walked to the back table that was on the other side of Blake’s table and far away from Benny’s. Nobody sat at the table, which made me smile as I sat down. I took out my lunch and licked my lips at the delicious potato salad. From the corner of my eye, I saw two figures approach.
“There’s no escape,” Blake whispered in my ear as he sat down on my left.
“The one time you choose a big table.” Benny huffed as he sat on my right. I looked up and noticed that everyone from both tables sat down. Benny was right; it was the biggest table. Miranda and Marcus sat in front of me, and only then I noticed we were the only females.
“You don’t have to be here if you don’t want to,” I blurted out.
“We always wanna be with you, Willson.” Blake put an arm around my shoulder. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Benny’s stare. “What, Nielson? If you wanna say something, say it to my face,” Blake barked as he lowered his hand from my shoulder and rubbed my back. The strange feeling made me shift, which made Blake drop his hand.
“You’re an asshole,” Benny said.
“Like you’re better…beating a girl,” Blake replied as he glared at Benny. I leaned against the wall. Everyone waited in anticipation to see what the next would say.
“Sad that’s the only thing you can come up with, man-whore,” Benny laughed. “I can go on and on about how big of an asshole you are, but I don’t waste my breath on useless things.”
“You want me to knock you out again?” Blake demanded as he stood up.
“Stop!” I yelled. The whole cafeteria went silent as I turned to Blake. “I am sitting here because I don’t want any favoritism, so I suggest you all get your shit together or go back to your fucking table.”
Blake stared at me; his lips twitched up as he nodded. I sat down and looked at Miranda, who had a smirk on her face as I rolled my eyes. She enjoyed this because she’s friends with all of them, but wherever I went, she went.
“Home or station?” she suddenly asked.
“Station.”
“Speaking of the station…did you get his name?” Ethan asked. Before I could answer, Nick asked another question.
“Did you watch the news?” he asked as he looked at Benny and me.
“What’s with you and the news lately?” Liam asked.
“Why would she watch the news?” Carter asked as he raised a brow.
“Whose name must she get at the station?” Benny demanded. I looked at the guys beside me. They were so stupid. I swear sometimes I was the only smart one at the table.
“What guy?” Nick asked. He squinted his eyes.
“I can’t seem to remember; Ethan, what man do you speak of?” I asked with a bit of annoyance. His eyes widened as everyone stared at him. “And what did I miss on the news, Nick?” I asked. He ran his hand through his blond locks while he tried to avoid eye contact.
“Err…” Nick stuttered as he looked at us.
“The cat!” Liam piped up.
“The cat?” Blake asked as the corners of his eyes wrinkled.
“Yeah, he was…stuck in a tree,” Nick continued.
“They had that on the news?” Aidan tilted his head.
“Yeah, but the twist was that the cat…wore a tutu,” Liam added as he bit on his lip stud nervously. Benny shook his head in disappointment at his friend’s weak attempt to cover up for Jack August.
“Now tell us who was the guy at the station?” Benny asked as he looked at Blake. This should be interesting.
“Ethan got a ticket the other day and just wanted to know the cop that gave it to him,” Blake said as he tapped his fingers on the table. I glanced at the team captain to see his jaw dropped.
“Didn’t you see his name tag?” Marcus shrugged. I almost forgot that he was there.
“There’s a reason why I got the ticket. I was drunk…couldn’t read anything,” Ethan muttered, and I noticed how Blake grinned. My eyebrows rose since I was impressed at the lies they made on the spot.
“Okay, those are some interesting stories.” Miranda sighed as she leaned onto Marcus’s shoulder.
“How’s your community work, guys?” I asked as I turned to Carter. Dad wasn’t going to let them off the hook that easily, so they had a bunch of community work to do.
“Community work? What did you guys do?” Liam asked.
“I don’t remember. Willson, tell us what did we do again?” Blake asked with a wink.
“They ran into a gay club naked.” I smirked. I saw Carter’s jaw drop while Ethan did a double-take. “So they have community work to do since they got arrested.”
“What must you do?” Liam asked as he laughed at Aidan.
“They had to cut the whole neighborhood’s lawns…with a scissor.” I shrugged. We laughed, but Miranda quieted us down.
“Okay, since we’re all being big mouths here…” She trailed off, then turned to me. “Who keeps calling you princess?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“At Homecoming, your phone piled up with messages. Most of them said princess.”
“Oh yeah, I remember that one day, he said ‘can’t wait to see you, princess.’ Ugh. Who is he?” Aidan asked.
“I can’t remember.”
“Come on, Lana.”
“Fine, it’s just a friend,” I muttered as I avoided eye contact.
“Was that so hard?” Blake cooed into my ear.
“So what are we doing this weekend?” Benny asked. The past few weeks we spent the weekend together, every time it was different.
“Nuh-uh, Lana and I are having a girl’s day on Saturday,” Miranda said. “We haven’t had one in a while since horny bastards surround her.”
I let out a snort as the guys glared at her. She clasped her hands together, then let out a squeal. “You guys are going to have a sleepover!”
“What?”
“Yes, so you guys can get along with each other better. All of you are going.”
“Whose house?” Carter asked.
“Ethan Baxter is kind enough to invite a couple of dudes to his house to, y’know, drink beers and all that man stuff you guys do.”
“What? Why my house?”
“Your house is the biggest.”
“I’m not coming.” Benny huffed.
“Yes, you are, because if you care about this girl, you’ll do this for her. I mean, look at her. No offense, Lana—” Miranda said.
“None taken.”
“—she has to come into the cafeteria every day to decide what table to sit at. Since she’s so sweet and stuff, it leads her to sit in the library or restrooms.”
“Eww, you sit in the restrooms?”
“It was one time!” I groaned. “Besides, you guys used to be friends. Please don’t let some loser come between your friendship.”
“How will you know that we showed up?” Nick asked as he looked at Miranda.
“That’s where my beautiful boyfriend comes in. He’s coming too, and he’ll tell me if you show up. If you don’t, I’ll kidnap you and throw you into Ethan’s pool.”
“Whoa, okay.” Ethan smirked.
“Yeah, and baby, keep an eye on these two bad boys,” Miranda said as she pursed her lips at Benny, then Blake.
“Haha, get it? Because both of your names start wit—”
“Lame, dude,” Aidan cut off Liam as he threw a grape toward him.
“Okay, we will, and you ladies get your girls’ night, but don’t be surprised if you see one of us.” Carter smirked.
***
“Dad?” I asked as I looked up from the book I read. Today was the day I finally asked him about the name, and I hoped that I wouldn’t get interrupted. Dad looked up from his computer. The bags under his eyes formed as he licked his chapped lips. I glanced at the board with Blake’s picture, along with the rest of them on it. He followed my gaze
and awkwardly coughed.
“They’re gonna be okay.”
“What about the guy?”
“Still looking.”
“Do we know his name?”
“Lana, that’s classified information.”
“Knowing his name? Dad, maybe I know the guy.”
“You know a drug dealer?”
“No! But Daddy, please, I won’t tell anyone,” I begged as I clasped my hands together. He deeply sighed and straightened in his seat.
“His name is James Cornelius.”
“Cornelius?” I snorted. “I thought his name would be badass and evil, but Cornelius? Cornelius Fudge from Harry Potter?”
“Lana,” my dad warned as I laughed.
“Wow, so is he still in Illinois?” I coughed awkwardly.
“Yep, we have the whole country looking for him. James is a clever man and very hard to find.”
“I know you’ll get him, Dad,” I said, then leaned forward and rested my palm against his hand.
“Other than keeping that cocaine for almost two years, they’re not that bad.”
“So you like them?”
“I never said that, but they barely come to the house, for which I’m glad, but now it’s those weird guys who look like they surf, but I like them because they play for the team,” Dad said, then looked at me. “What happened?”
“Those two groups don’t get along well, but hopefully they will sooner or later.”
“What about Miranda and her weird boyfriend?”
“Us three get along with both groups, so we’re cool.” I shrugged, then leaned back in my seat. I looked at my dad and tilted my head. “What’s with the questions, Dad?”
“Nothing.”
“Dad.”
“Just that guy with the tattoos looks oddly familiar.”
“Which guy?”
“The one with that nose ring…” He trailed off.
“Dad, there’s a lot of people with nose rings that we know,” I pointed out.
“With the damn bike and looks like he’s on his period most the time!”
“Blake Gunner?”
“Yeah, that guy,” my dad grumbled as he squinted his eyes. “He looks like someone we know.”
“Yeah, he does.”
“Both are quite something.”
“Yes, they are.”
***
“And make it nice and wavy,” Miranda said to the guy behind me. It was Saturday, and as Miranda said, we had our girls’ day. The guys were at Ethan’s house while we were at the salon.
“Mm, maybe little trims too,” he added as my hair got yanked. At the start of the school year, I meant to cut it, but I never got around to it. My hair was at my waist, and it seemed to bug Miranda a lot since I hardly brushed it. Most of the time, I either tied my hair up in a ponytail or bun or kept it hidden under a beanie.
“How are the guys doing?” I asked Miranda as she sat in the seat next to me.
“Marcus said they were acting childish at first, but now they’re in Ethan’s basement hanging out.”
“Hope they get along,”
“Yeah.”
An hour later, I stared at myself in the mirror. My eyebrows rose at the shiny dark hair. “Wow.”
“Even though your hair is below your shoulders, it brings out the color in your eyes more,” Miranda commented as she stood beside me.
“All better!” the guy cheered as he clapped his hands.
“Thank you.”
“Ugh, no problem, you look beautiful!” He smiled as we paid. We walked out of the salon and got into Miranda’s car. She sat in the driver’s seat and smiled at her phone.
“Do you want me to drive?” I asked as she put her phone down.
“Wha—nope, it’s cool,” she said and started the car.
“Where we going?” I asked. Before she’d answer, her phone rang. She glanced at me, pouting at me to answer. I groaned as I answered. It was a FaceTime, so I awkwardly stared at Marcus.
“Lana—whoa, you look different.”
“I just cut my hair.”
“Yeah, but you look…different.”
“Hey, babe,” Miranda greeted. I moved the phone so he’d see her.
“’Sup, err…we’re going out now, making progress. We should be back late,” he whispered as if someone heard him.
“Cool, so how’s lover boy?” Miranda asked.
“Getting there.”
“Who’s lover boy?” I asked. Miranda and Marcus stared at each other for a moment, then looked at me. They laughed as I rolled my eyes.
“You’ll find out sooner or later, Lana.” Marcus grinned, then looked up. “We’re going now. See you beautiful ladies later.”
“Bye.” I ended the FaceTime before he’d blow a kiss to Miranda.
“Yet I ask again. Where are we going?”
“Ethan’s house.”
“Why? The guys won’t be there, so what’s the use?”
“But first we gotta pick up somebody.”
“Who?”
“Melissa.”
“Wha—Why?” I asked, then looked at Miranda as if she’d grown a second head.
“Remember? She used to date Ethan back in Sophomore year.”
“I thought she was over him.”
“Yeah, but a little revenge won’t hurt. Besides, it’s nothing illegal.”
“And your crush with Ethan?”
“Ugh, I have Marcus now.”
“So whose idea was this?”
“Mine.” She smirked as we pulled up Melissa’s driveway. “Besides, we’ve been getting along. You should too.”
“Yeah, but every time I talk to Uncle Griff, she’s there, either with Kelly or Jennifer.”
“They do know he’s a family friend, right?” Miranda asked. “Your godfather.”
Before I replied, we heard the back door open.
“Hey, guys,” Melissa greeted.
“Hi,” I mumbled and looked back and forth at the two and only noticed now that they wore black. “I didn’t get the invitation.”
“Oh, that’s why we’re heading over to your house, duh.” Miranda smiled as she started the car. “If both of us showed up at the salon in black, that guy would’ve noticed something. It’s not like we’re gonna rob a bank or something.”
“Are you?” I nervously asked.
“Nope, just a rich bastard’s house.” Melissa smirked.
“His house is like a bank! Everything in there is three hundred dollars and up,” I scolded.
“Even the toilet paper,” Miranda added.
We arrived at a supermarket, and I couldn’t help but squint. It’s as if they planned the whole thing and I felt excluded.
“What are we doing here?”
“You ask too many questions, Lana,” Melissa said as she got out of the car.
“Wanna come?” Miranda asked as she opened her door.
“No, I’ll stay.”
“Hey, if you can forgive all of them, you can forgive her,” Miranda said, then playfully punched my shoulder.
“We’ll see.”
“See you soon, Willson; this is gonna be a long day.” Miranda laughed as she climbed out of the car. I watched the two girls walk into the supermarket, talking and laughing like they’re best friends, even though if it weren’t for me they’d be pulling each other’s hair out by now, but I was glad Miranda was friends with everyone. I pulled out my phone and went through old messages. I smiled at the group chat with Blake, Ethan, Aidan, and Carter. We barely spoke in there, but when we did, it was mostly to help each other out of class or detention. I figured they made one on their own since we haven’t talked in the group since the bet.
Lana: I’m bored. :(
Worth a shot. I scrolled through my contacts and saw a familiar name. Since I had the confidence to send a message to the group, I should have a bit left to call someone. I hit call, then placed the phone to my ear and waited. It rang for a bit, then went to voicemail.
&n
bsp; “Hello, it’s yours truly, Levi. I haven’t picked up because I’m out doing something really fun or just being a lazy ass. Leave a message and I might get back to you.”
I sighed and didn’t bother to leave a message. I looked down at my phone again and noticed that someone replied.
Aidan: Only boring people get bored.
Blake: I hate this.
Carter: Hi bored, I’m Carter. Nice to meet you.
Lana: -.-
Ethan: Where are you?
Lana: Somewhere…
Blake: I’m gonna get Miranda for this.
Lana: What are you guys doing?
Aidan: Your mom!
Blake: Dude…
Carter: Really?
Ethan: Now you scared her off.
Lana: Whatever, guys.
Blake: Aww Willson don’t have a comeback.
Lana: Shut up.
Blake: Oooh me scared.
Aidan: We are sitting right next to each other.
Ethan: Yeah Benny’s getting pissed. Lol
Carter: With his red hair he looks like a freaking tomato.
Lana: Shame on you, at least try to hang out with them?
Blake: We’ll TRY.
Before I typed anymore, I received a call. I rolled my eyes at the ID caller but answered anyway.
“Hey princess!” Levi shouted into the phone. I pulled it away from my ear as I huffed.
“You should stop calling me that.”
“What? No hello, my knight in shining armor? Remember?”
“Yeah, when we were like eight.” I laughed as I twirled my dark brown hair. “Now people think you’re my boyfriend.”
“Who? If they ask again, say that they’re jealous that they don’t have a princess.”
“So funny I forgot to laugh,” I hissed.
“Aww, tired of me already? I’m not even there yet.” Levi laughed into the phone.
