reaction is probably worse than a tongue-lashing since I don’t know what her smile means.
Jeff avoids me the rest of the day but nobody seems to notice the lack of time we spend together, the signal that nothing is going on between us. I get to each class early—the teasings in the hallway are most brutal—and watch the door, hoping to see John in more of my classes. But by the end of the day, I realize we only have history together—unless he’s been ditching to avoid me, too.
At least my mind has been sufficiently preoccupied.
When the day’s final bell rings, common sense tells me to sneak out a side door and get the hell away from school. I’m sure this won’t be the last time I’m teased about what happened but these things always fade with enough time passing. But before I reach the door leading to the parking lot, I spot John down the hall. Most boys just need time to get over this type of thing but I need to explain myself to him right away. The last thing I want is for him to misunderstand what’s between me and Jeff.
“How was your first full day here?” I ask. I try to sound cheery and friendly but feel fake doing so. John doesn’t fall for my Cassie-impression and gets right to the point.
“You should have told me you were taken,” he says. He’s hurt but not whiney.
“I’m not taken.”
“Looked like it to me,” he says, raising an eyebrow.
“Jeff totally surprised me with that kiss,” I say. “Believe me, we are not together.”
“Uh huh,” he says. He shuts his locker and turns to walk away. This may be his way of dismissing me but I refuse to take the hint. Am I doing to him what Jeff did to me?
“You don’t believe me,” I say, more of a statement than a question. In essence, John’s calling me a liar, which ticks me off. Sometimes I wonder how much easier my life would be if I could lie all the time like Cassie. “Jeff and I are friends only . He misinterpreted my feelings, which resulted in the k… in what happened. I told him that could never happen again.”
“I see,” John says. “This is not what your friend Cassie tells me. She said you and that guy have been together for a while.”
Hence the reason for her smile I couldn’t figure out before, God, Cassie can be such a b–
“You shouldn’t believe everything she says,” I tell him.
I don’t expect him to believe me. Cassie can be very convincing—as well as very conniving—and the evidence isn’t exactly stacked in my favor. But he suddenly stops walking for a moment and has a faraway look in his eyes. His smile returns and I finally feel like I can breathe again.
“You are right about that,” he chuckles.
He already gave me plenty of reasons to like him but add one more to the list: he can apparently see right through Cassie. The tension between us is finally easing when we run into the group of popular girls. They always seem to find me at the worst possible time!
“Hey Godzilla, you better not let your boyfriend Jeff see you talking to another guy. He might not give you any more smooches,” Stacey says to the delight of her friends.
“Shut up,” I snap at her. Now isn’t the time to test me. A few of the girls back up but Stacey only laughs harder. Still, she’s not foolish enough to say another word. Now it’s Heather’s turn to talk but it’s not directed at me.
“And you better not let Cassie see you talking to her ,” she tells John.
John shrugs as we head outside. I wonder what Heather meant by that last comment. But I don’t want to sound as jealous as I feel so I try to think of anything else to talk about. Unfortunately, my mouth begins to talk before my brain realizes I choose the wrong topic to bring up.
“You house is nice,” I blurt, my face instantly blushing. Why would I purposely mention my stalking incident?
“I didn’t think you would ever want to talk about that,” he laughs. “You almost ran my neighbor off the road, you know.”
“Sorry about
Jeff avoids me the rest of the day but nobody seems to notice the lack of time we spend together, the signal that nothing is going on between us. I get to each class early—the teasings in the hallway are most brutal—and watch the door, hoping to see John in more of my classes. But by the end of the day, I realize we only have history together—unless he’s been ditching to avoid me, too.
At least my mind has been sufficiently preoccupied.
When the day’s final bell rings, common sense tells me to sneak out a side door and get the hell away from school. I’m sure this won’t be the last time I’m teased about what happened but these things always fade with enough time passing. But before I reach the door leading to the parking lot, I spot John down the hall. Most boys just need time to get over this type of thing but I need to explain myself to him right away. The last thing I want is for him to misunderstand what’s between me and Jeff.
“How was your first full day here?” I ask. I try to sound cheery and friendly but feel fake doing so. John doesn’t fall for my Cassie-impression and gets right to the point.
“You should have told me you were taken,” he says. He’s hurt but not whiney.
“I’m not taken.”
“Looked like it to me,” he says, raising an eyebrow.
“Jeff totally surprised me with that kiss,” I say. “Believe me, we are not together.”
“Uh huh,” he says. He shuts his locker and turns to walk away. This may be his way of dismissing me but I refuse to take the hint. Am I doing to him what Jeff did to me?
“You don’t believe me,” I say, more of a statement than a question. In essence, John’s calling me a liar, which ticks me off. Sometimes I wonder how much easier my life would be if I could lie all the time like Cassie. “Jeff and I are friends only . He misinterpreted my feelings, which resulted in the k… in what happened. I told him that could never happen again.”
“I see,” John says. “This is not what your friend Cassie tells me. She said you and that guy have been together for a while.”
Hence the reason for her smile I couldn’t figure out before, God, Cassie can be such a b–
“You shouldn’t believe everything she says,” I tell him.
I don’t expect him to believe me. Cassie can be very convincing—as well as very conniving—and the evidence isn’t exactly stacked in my favor. But he suddenly stops walking for a moment and has a faraway look in his eyes. His smile returns and I finally feel like I can breathe again.
“You are right about that,” he chuckles.
He already gave me plenty of reasons to like him but add one more to the list: he can apparently see right through Cassie. The tension between us is finally easing when we run into the group of popular girls. They always seem to find me at the worst possible time!
“Hey Godzilla, you better not let your boyfriend Jeff see you talking to another guy. He might not give you any more smooches,” Stacey says to the delight of her friends.
“Shut up,” I snap at her. Now isn’t the time to test me. A few of the girls back up but Stacey only laughs harder. Still, she’s not foolish enough to say another word. Now it’s Heather’s turn to talk but it’s not directed at me.
“And you better not let Cassie see you talking to her ,” she tells John.
John shrugs as we head outside. I wonder what Heather meant by that last comment. But I don’t want to sound as jealous as I feel so I try to think of anything else to talk about. Unfortunately, my mouth begins to talk before my brain realizes I choose the wrong topic to bring up.
“You house is nice,” I blurt, my face instantly blushing. Why would I purposely mention my stalking incident?
“I didn’t think you would ever want to talk about that,” he laughs. “You almost ran my neighbor off the road, you know.”
“Sorry about
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