The Zombie Zovels (Book 5): Pretty Dead

by Lake, D. K.

  Nessie and I share a look, we both know we won't be going to her house on Friday night. We're not boring or anything but we both don't see the fascination in getting drunk and sharing saliva with strangers. I mean, we do get drunk and giggle like silly school girls and prank call Stephen until he threatens to call the cops, but we don't make out, obviously. We're just not obsessed with boys, we're too busy having fun. Not that we don't notice a hot guy when we see one, but I tend to go all shy when I see a guy I like and Nessie turns into a bitch around any guy she really likes and gets all defensive. I've never had a serious boyfriend. I went out with a boy called Maxwell in elementary school but it only lasted four days and I don't think it counts. Nessie has dated a few guys and the most recent one she dated was called Matthew, but it only lasted a few weeks and all he wanted to do was get wasted and slobber all over her. Ugh. I swear the whole teenage population just wants to get drunk and make out. I just don't get it.

  I finally turn my attention back to the front and see some new kid standing with the teacher. He's got dark brown hair that's so dark it looks nearly black, shaved on both sides and hangs over to one side, and the tips just reach his chin. He reaches up and scrubs a hand through his hair to push it off his face.

  He's tall with skinny legs. So skinny the girls are probably jealous. He's wearing skinny black jeans, an oversized black t-shirt with the sleeves rolled up and it's practically drowning him, a pair of black Vans, and around his neck is a long chain with a skull. He starts touching his hair again. I'm not sure if it's a nervous thing or whether he just likes his hair to be perfect or messy, depending on how you look at it. Maybe both. He has an Urban Emo thing going on, and I kinda like it. He has his own style, and I'm instantly drawn to him for some reason. We don't have any Emos at our school, just a bunch of Goths that wear too much eyeliner and they always sit together and one of the girls actually growls if you walk too close to them.

  He has a bag slung over his shoulder and he's staring at the floor while the teacher introduces him.

  "Everyone, this is Mitchel. Make him feel welcome."

  Mitchel finally looks up and our eyes meet almost instantly, making me feel like we're the only two in the classroom. Nessie must notice because she makes a little noise. He's still staring at me when the teacher tells him to find a seat. There are only two seats left, one right at the front and the one in front of Nessie.

  My heart rate goes into overdrive as he makes his way down the aisle near me. I frantically pull at my wavy blond hair, flipping it over and playing with the ends, trying to distract myself. I know my cheeks are getting warmer and redder the closer he gets. I turn my head away, creating a curtain with my hair, not wanting Nessie to see me getting all flustered because I know I'll never hear the end of it. I peek out the corner of my eye and watch as he drops his bag on the floor and pulls out the chair. He's only a few feet away and I worry he'll hear my heartbeat because it's so loud and I can hear it in my ears and feel it thudding in my chest. But that's just fucking crazy. The teacher starts talking but I can't concentrate on anything. I don't even know what he's talking about. I don't really know what's happening to me. Boys have never had this effect on me before. I watch Mitchel pull out a notebook and he starts jotting things down, and I notice he's left-handed and that he wears a thumb ring. His skin is the same shade of pale as mine. Nessie always says I look ill and look as though I have some sort of iron deficiency. He stretches his long legs out under the desk, nearly touching the chair in front.

  Something hits me on the side of the head and I smack the desk to stop the note from sliding off and falling on the floor. The teacher gives me a funny look and so do a few of the students. I hide the note and wait until everyone's looking back at the front. I don't even look in Mitchel's direction, scared I might turn red again.

  I carefully open the note, making sure the teacher isn't looking, 'cause that would just be my luck.

  You look like you have a bad case of sunburn?!! You can be beetroot Smurf. lol xx

  It's Nessie's handwriting.

  I slide my eyes to the right and see her smirking. She then tilts her head at the new boy with mischievously wide eyes. I want to tell her to stop but I don't want to cause a scene so I shake my head and ignore her which only makes it worse. She starts making kissing sounds and I lean over and smack her with my notebook.

  "Problem, Miss. Moon?"

  I hate it when the teachers use my surname. I hate the name full stop.

  "Noooo, no problem here." I reply.

  "Well, if you could keep your girlie squabbles out of the classroom. You'll have plenty of time to fight with your girlfriend at lunch."

  A few of the students giggle and I cringe a little. Nessie laughs and turns to face the front but not before she has purposely pushed her pen off the desk. It lands on the floor and rolls away, stopping near Mitchel's desk. He slants his head to the side to see what it is, then he places his own pen down and reaches down and picks it up. The teacher turns around to write on the board and that's when Mitchel spins around. I have my face shielded so he can't see me leaning on my knuckles but at the same time, I'm watching him from the corner of my eye.

  He places the pen on Nessie's desk and she immediately snatches it up.

  "That's not mine." she lies, handing it back to him.

  He then looks in my direction and catches me staring at him. He balances the pen between his fingers, watching me.

  Oh, crap. I should have actually bothered to put on foundation today. It would have helped to hide my burning cheeks. I rarely wear foundation, just mascara, and a little eyeliner. Maybe I should start if I'm going to keep having hot flushes in class.

  He nods his head at me, silently asking me if it's mine and I forget how to form words, still staring at him. After an awkward few seconds, I hold my hand out to him. He leans over, stretching his long arm toward me, and places the pen in my hand. His fingers touch my skin for a second which only adds to the sudden heat wave I'm dealing with. Is the heating on in here?

  I don't even thank him and quickly retreat back to my desk and hide behind my hair. After five minutes I dare to look up at him. I've cooled down and feel more in control of my emotions. I watch him for a few minutes, leaning back in his seat, chewing on his pen with one arm draped across his chest. He looks totally cool and not in the least bit bothered that he's the new kid. I would be a nervous wreck if it was my first day in a new school, but he looks as though he's been here for years. It's as if he senses me looking at the back of him because he looks over his shoulder and catches me gawking at him. His tongue snakes out and sits in the corner of his lips, and all I can do is stare at his mouth. His lips turn up and I realize he's smirking. I quickly look away from his mouth and meet his eyes, and I can now see his eyes are a dark blue color and they seem to catch the light and dazzle me, so much so I can't do anything other than stare at him. Stephen clears his throat behind me and I feel him flick my hair with his pen. Mitchel looks over my shoulder at Stephen, his eyes grow dark and they share a look. I don't know what it means in 'boy language' but it looks intense. Mitchel sweeps his gaze to me one last time before turning around and he doesn't look at me anymore for the rest of class.

  I silently curse Stephen for ruining the moment. Now Mitchel probably thinks Stephen's my boyfriend.

  I don't get any work done in English class.

  2

  After class, I pretend to be busy packing my books away, but it doesn't really take that long to pack two books away. I see a pair of feet near my desk. Black Vans. His feet. But then all of a sudden Stephen's standing in front of me, blocking my view and I can't see past him because he's a giant compared to me.

  Nessie comes over to me and nudges my shoulder and I know what she's going to say but I shush her. I don't need Stephen to think he's got competition and make it his mission to target Mitchel. Although, when it comes to Stephen I think everyone is competition because I'd rather date the creepy janitor.

  "M
y place, Friday. You can be the first one to try out the new hot tub with me. No clothes required."

  Eww. Doesn't Stephen know I think of him more like a brother? So totally eww.

  I hear Dario Boston in the background chatting to Mitchel.

  Yeah, that's exactly who you want to make friends with. I think.

  Dario Boston (everyone calls him Boston) is known for being a complete loser, and he only comes to class to make jokes and he never does any work. He hangs out in the woods around the back of the school where the rest of the druggies hang out.

  "Seriously, Stephen. Leave Kelsey alone! Like she'd want to see your hairy ass. I think that time you got naked when we were kids in the paddling pool was enough to scar her for life." Nessie says.

  Stephen ruffles Nessie's hair and she goes to whack him in the balls with her notebook but he swiftly protects himself and backs away.

  "Friday!" he calls, leaving the room, bumping into Mitchel on the way out, but I think he does it on purpose.

  Nessie stands next to me as I watch Boston lead Mitchel out of the room.

  "What was that?" Nessie asks.

  "What was what?" I shrug innocently and lift my bag over my shoulder.

  "Oh please, I saw the way you were looking at the new boy and I also noticed the drool mark on your desk."

  "Shut up." I laugh, making my way into the corridor, secretly looking for Mitchel but he's gone.

  "You like him." She pokes me in the back.

  "Hardly. I don't even know him."

  "Hmm. I've never seen Stephen so openly cockblock a guy in front of you."

  "Ugh. I hate it when you use that word, it's such a guy word."

  "I know, where do you think I got it from? Stephen uses it daily."

  "Your brother is a jealous ape. When is he going to get the picture that I'm not interested?"

  "Oh, I would say...never."

  I walk to my locker and unlock it just as Nessie reaches out and places her hand on my forehead.

  "Just checking your temperature, you looked pretty hot in English."

  "Ok, enough!"

  "Oooh, you're no fun."

  "I don't want to talk about it."

  "Talk about what? I still don't know what happened. I've never seen you get so flustered over a guy before."

  "I'm not sure what happened...but he seems different."

  "How?"

  "I dunno, there's just something about him."

  "Yeah, he looks like he has an eating disorder. Speaking of eating, you hungry? 'Cause I'm starving, and I'm dying for a burgeeeer..." she trails off as I close my locker and follow her line of sight and find the other mystery boy at his locker.

  Nessie spaces out for a moment, watching him. He slams his locker and stops when he notices us watching him and we both turn around and manage to bump into each other. I hear him chuckle as he walks away.

  "Who was that?" Nessie whispers.

  "That was the boy from this morning I was telling you about."

  Nessie is still gawking at him, mouth agape.

  "You know if you don't close that thing you'll catch a fly in there."

  She gives me a look and we stalk the mysterious new boy outside to the parking lot.

  I watch as he crosses the parking lot and walks over to Mitchel and Boston who are waiting for him by a blue Mustang that I've never seen before.

  All three of them wander into the woods together, and Nessie and I share the same look.

  "They're either gay, taken, too far up their own ass, or no good for you. Shame, the older one's kinda cute." Nessie says. "But druggies aren't really my thing...they're the worst."

  "And how would you know? We only know Boston, and we don't really know him at all." I say as we walk back into the school, heading for the bathroom.

  "Exactly, he's never at school. How are we supposed to know anything about him if all he does is show up once in a while and make butt jokes? He's not exactly known for his academic work or his athletic spirit. The last time I spoke to him was to tell him to keep it down in science because I couldn't hear the teacher over his belching."

  I open the bathroom door and we both separate to use the toilet before meeting back at the sinks.

  "So that's definitely a no, then?" I ask, washing my hands.

  "A big no! Don't even think about it. Boys like that aren't worth the trouble. They stink of smoke that will never wash off, trouble follows them around like a shadow, they get into fights and ruin their pretty little faces and that's the last thing you want on your prom photo. And they never call you back because they're too busy on the phone to their dealer."

  "Wow." I laugh, ruffling up my hair to give it a little volume.

  I normally have dull brown hair that I absolutely hate because it reminds me of my mom too much, so I started bleaching it a few years ago. I had even gone and dyed it pink for a few months just for fun when I turned seventeen. My mom and I don't see eye to eye on anything, including my hair. She likes natural colors, I like peroxide. Nessie stands at my side, shaking her curls everywhere. She has the most amazing hair, it always has bounce and volume, and the red looks so intense sometimes and it kinda looks like she's dyed it.

  "Look, Hot Mess may by knicker-dropping hot, but as you said earlier, they'll only break your heart, and I'm guessing Mitchel is Hot Mess's little brother so that bad streak will run in the family." Nessie informs me.

  "You think they're brothers?"

  "It makes sense, they both show up on the same day and they have the same dark hair."

  "Huh."

  "Come on, are you done staring at yourself? I need food before I go into shutdown." Nessie whines.

  "I don't see how that's possible, you snack all day. I saw you sneaking M&Ms out of your pocket in French class."

  "What? I was peckish." She smiles innocently.

  I can't help but smile at Nessie, her little ways make me laugh. A group of girls enters the bathroom and we make a quick exit and head toward the cafeteria.

  I spend the whole of lunch wondering how Mitchel and the other mystery new boy know each other, and I finally come to the same conclusion as Nessie that they must be brothers. I don't see Mitchel or the other one for the rest of the school day. I go home (with Nessie) feeling a little sad that I didn't get to see Mitchel again, but I know he'll be back at school tomorrow and I'll be more prepared next time. I might even brush my hair in the morning.

  I eat dinner with my Mom, my sister, and Nessie.

  Dad is off somewhere with his new, younger girlfriend, and they are busy planning and getting the final things in place for the arrival of their new baby. I'm not bothered at all by the fact I'm going to have a new little brother or sister because it isn't with my mom. Dad is a liar and a cheat and since he left the house has become a cold, hostile environment. It doesn't feel like home anymore, not without Dad. Sitting down for dinner each night is awkward, and everyone is always fighting with each other over something. I am still amazed Nessie wants to come over and willingly spend time in this toxic living space. I would have run for the hills.

  I eat dinner quietly, lost in my own thoughts. Nessie chats for the both of us, telling Mom about school and anything she can think of to get through dinner, otherwise, we'd all be sitting around listening to each other chew. After dinner, Mom walks in with a big cupcake that has bright pink frosting and there is a single candle in the middle. She tells me to make a wish and I briefly think about wishing for my family to go back to the way it was before, but deep down I know that is never going to happen and we are past the point of no return. So I close my eyes and make a wish, and blow out the candle.

  I never would have believed it would actually come true, though.

  3

  After we've helped to clean up after dinner, Nessie and I lace up our roller skates and roll into town. We have been rollerskating for years, it's the quickest way to get around if you don't have tires. There's a 24/7 convenience store in town that has the best slushie machine
and I'm totally obsessed with the blue raspberry flavor because it makes my tongue go blue.

  I suck on my straw, enjoying my slushie.

  "Brain freeze?" I ask, watching Nessie as she holds her head, tilting it to the side like it will make a difference but she still hasn't stopped sucking on her straw.

  "Mmm. That is so good." she says, coming up for air, and I laugh as I follow her outside, rolling into the small parking lot. We've been coming here for years and the owner doesn't mind us rollerskating inside to grab a slushie and go.

  I crush my slushie up with the straw, not looking in front of me and I hear Nessie call my name, but it's too late. I roll into something solid. My slushie slips out of my hand but a large hand catches it and holds it out to me. I recognize all the jewelry on the fingers.

  I slowly look up and find the mysterious new boy staring down at me. I still don't know his name so Nessie and I have been calling him 'Hot Mess' all day. He smiles and I see a row of perfectly white teeth. I was expecting him to be missing a few teeth if his black eye is anything to go by. But up close, I see how clear his skin is, how straight his nose is, and how his eyes remind me of hot cocoa.

  "Sorry." I mumble a quick apology and take my slushie from him.

  He smiles. "It's not a problem." he says in a deep voice with a hint of humor.

  He looks in Nessie's direction and she folds her arms and slurps on her straw and I suddenly realize how close we are so I roll back a little.

  "You girls go to Radley High, right?" he asks.

  Nessie doesn't answer so I have to.

  "Yup." I reply.

  "What year?" he asks.

  "Senior."

  "Ah, yeah my brother and I are in the same year, he just started today as well."

  "Oh...?" Quick, ask another question.

  "Are you twins?" I don't think they are but that's usually the reason why you're in the same year as your sibling. Either that or they were born really close together, but he looks a lot older than Mitchel.