3. Meeting The ???? Squad.
"Your what?" stuttered the boy closest to us.
"Your what!" shrieked the girl under said boy's draped arm.
"What...?" The fat football player in the back of the crowd mumbled.
Like minds think alike, they say. I realized that this funny idea might end up being seriously detrimental to my sanity.
"My boyfriend."Bree grinned, and pulled me closer to her body.
It felt like a snake was coiling up around me.
And just like that, I was now under the microscope of the supposedly most powerful people in this high school world. There would be no running back to the jigsaw table in the cafeteria now.
Suddenly, I got elbowed in the ribs and I hissed.
"Introduce yourself." Bree said through clenched teeth.
I'd never realized how creepy a blonde cheerleader could be until she was glaring at you and her manicured nails were poised and ready to swipe.
I licked my lips. This was going to get really interesting.
"I'm Sunny, I'm Bree's boyfriend.'
Another girl with black curly hair laughed.
"Oh Bree, you must be joking. You're dating this?" she said, looking me from face to legs like I was a broken toy on the shelf. I felt irritation welling up in my chest. I never could stomach those haughty idiot types, after all.
I would have shut her up right there, but Bree grabbed my hand and squeezed it hard, so I backed down. It would've have felt quite nice to give Curly a nice helping of sarcasm though.
"Better than dating you." she said and the rest of the group shared a laugh.
The humbled girl crossed her arms and tapped her foot, on the verge of tears. Or at least stage tears.
"You, you don't mean that." she blubbered, pouting lip and all.
"Every word." Bree said quietly, dangerously.
The air crackled with ferocity and I tried not to wonder what had happened between them because frankly, it was none of my business, but the tension between these two was way too palpable to be ignored. I saved my queries for later though.
Then the crowds parted, and I found myself face-to-face with her.
The girl from grade school. Queen Dana.
That was creepy.
"Who's the new guy?" she asked Bree, looking straight through me at her. To anyone else, it might have felt uncomfortable, but not to me. It did feel a little weird to be honest.
Deep down, I felt that I wanted to be acknowledged by her. Our past demanded that.
It was also our past that held me back from giving her a sharp retort as well.
"My boyfriend, Lee." Bree said with considerably little less confidence, and I wondered for a moment if this was indeed that same timid girl from my childhood who now held a peculiar control over everyone here.
I could feel that Bree was extremely tense behind me. Well, she was holding her breath and her muscles were tensed, so obviously.
Finally, Dana nodded and Bree relaxed, resuming her slouching relaxation.
Dana still ignored me completely though. It made me feel more weird, the way she looked right past me. I wanted to give her a slap and then ask how it felt. It was pretty much the same treatment I was getting from her.
The silence pressed down around us and the only noise I could hear was the blood pumping in my ears and the steady smacking sound of the blonde girl who was chewing gum. I wondered if these people ever talked to each other or if they just sat around like this, in silence.
Whenever my group of puzzle pieces came together, no one could get them to shut up, and most of the time they were having about three conversations going on at once.
All of a sudden, another girl came skipping in, and shattered the whole 'silence is a killer' thing going on in the area.
"Dana!" she said in one of those sing song voices that one just has to shut up with a gag.
"Baby!"
She turned her head slightly and I noticed she looked straight past her, too. She just looked in the general direction but she never looked her straight in the
eye. "Sweetie!"
If this girl spoke again, her life was in extreme danger of being snuffed out by my hand.
She finally closed the gap between the two of them, and by close the gap, I do mean close all gaps.
I wondered if they'd have to be peeled apart. Her hands gripped tightly to Dana's shoulders, bunching up the fabric of her sleeves.
Even I was slightly unnerved with the fact that Dana kept her eyes open through all this. Her hands remained at her sides and she didn't move.
Eventually, the other girl backed off, looking uncomfortable. She glanced up at Dana with a pout and Dana gave her a tight-lipped smile.
"Doesn't anyone know it's rude to stare?" she said smoothly with a small shrug. She snuggled into him and smiled. The tension in the air dissolved for a moment, until Dana's girlfriend? noticed me.
"Who's this?" her nose scrunched up like she'd smelled something rotten.
I ignored her existence though. The newfound knowledge coursing through my head threatened to tear it apart. It was a total mind-fuck.
Was Dana a lesbian.......?
"Bree's boyfriend." Piped up the football player. "Lee."
"I'm not Lee-"
"Oh, well, hi Lee. I'm Noel." the new girl said, clearly uninterested.
I smiled in response, because that's what polite people apparently like to do.
"I'm Irving." Said the football player. He reached out a grubby hand and I shook it.
"Perry." said the slender boy donned in Victorian-era garb.
The bubble gum chewing girl hanging off his arm blinked at me and then introduced
herself as Allison.
I flashed my worn-out smile at the two of them and looked up at Bree. She smirked and brushed her thumb on the bare skin below the hem of her skirt.
I gave her my best deadpan expression, snatching my hand away, and she grinned wider and pulled me back towards her.
Noel now slipped her hands off of Dana and sat down gingerly beside me.
Dana took a deep breath and mumbled something about getting to class early.
She walked off, and to me it felt like she was relieved to be out of this place.
"Don't mind her." Noel said conversationally, after Dana was out of hearing range. "She gets like that sometimes. She'll be better tomorrow."
I nodded slowly, staring at the space where she'd blended in with the crowd in the hallway.
Bree shifted her weight and plunked down beside me as well.
"I'm going to go make sure she's alright. Later." she stood up, then froze in thought for a moment.
Then all of a sudden, she leaned down and pecked me on the cheek. Then she stood and eyed me warily, as if afraid I was going to yell.
When I didn't, she waved to the group and jogged off in the direction Dana had gone.
So, there I was, in the middle of this high-profile group with nothing to keep my sanity safe.
Soon enough, Perry and Allison started making out. and Irving walked to the cafeteria to get some more food.
Noel and the curly-haired girl now started a conversation.
"You going to the party on Friday?" Noel asked her.
"Probably, what about you?"
"Yeah. What about you, Lee?"
"What party?" I asked. "And my name's not Lee. It's Sunny."
Curly smirked.
"Leslie's party? Aren't you going? Surely Bree mentioned it. By the way, how long have you two known each other, seeing that she hasn't ever mentioned you ?"
Under different circumstances, I might have applauded Curly's way to twist the conversation around so easily. But right now, I was in an irritated mood, and wanted release.
"We met this summer." I said calmly. The bait was set.
"Where?" she asks, smiling politely like she really wanted to know. She really needed practice though. I could smell bullshit on her from a mile away.
"Somewhere," I replied, deciding to screw with her more.
"It must have been at the tennis courts." she said, a bit thrown off.
"Yeah, that was it. We met at the court." My heart pounded when her grin widened. Her mouth opened and I already knew that she thought she had me now.
Poor girl was in for a rude welcome.
"Too bad Bree's never been to a tennis court in her life. You are such a liar! I knew it when I first saw you!"
"How do you know she's never been to a tennis court?" I cut in innocently and she blinked, then smirked at me.
"You just said so?"
"Did I say tennis court?"
"What..."
"Well, can't say I am surprised though. An ant has a bigger brain than you, ditz head."
She gawked at me, her eyes wide open like saucers, as if she had just lost her virginity.
"H-How dare-you-!!"
"Jeez Charlotte, lighten up." Noel broke in now. It was probably an illusion, but I thought she actually winked at me. "You guys broke up, so she's allowed to see other people."
Hmm, now this was interesting indeed. I realized I was soon going to become a part of some sort of I-DUNNO-WHAT club. No wonder they didn't let anyone join their group. Actually, who would want to join this group ?
Besides pompous chicks and ditz-heads of course. And the random football player.
Charlotte scowled and opened her mouth to retaliate, but the bell cut her off. I'd always loved those moments, when timing was in perfect sync with you. Charlotte walked off with an exaggerated
heave of breath and flick of her hair.
Noel turned to me and grinned. Something about her set my mind ticking.
"Forgive my friends, they can be rather anti-social. Give them a few days, they'll warm up to you. But
until then, care to tell me how you really met Bree? Charlotte was actually right, as Bree would never step foot on a tennis court."
"I never say she would."
In my mind, I debated whether or not to tell her.
First of all, she had an annoying voice. Plus she was supposedly dating my childhood friend, who was also a girl. That being said, she was also the most genuine of the lot.
Finally I decided to tell her nonetheless. Who gave a shit about such things anyways ?
I explained to her about the project, and when I finished, she giggled and clapped her hands.
"You are brilliant! Too bad you're not my partner." she said with a pout.
She linked arms with mine and we walked out of the courtyard together like best friends forever.
After she waved and headed for her next class, I scanned the hallway for anything familiar. I sighed gratefully when Johnson fell into step beside me and quietly walked with me to our next class.
It was then that I realized how tired I was. And this was after just fifteen minutes.
But the things I had come to know today were not going to let me rest.
The girl from grade school, my friend from childhood, was, in extremely positive probability, a lesbian. Not that I had anything against lesbians, but something still didn't quite fall into place here.
But hey, on the brighter side, it also meant that more fun days lay ahead.
"Your what?" stuttered the boy closest to us.
"Your what!" shrieked the girl under said boy's draped arm.
"What...?" The fat football player in the back of the crowd mumbled.
Like minds think alike, they say. I realized that this funny idea might end up being seriously detrimental to my sanity.
"My boyfriend."Bree grinned, and pulled me closer to her body.
It felt like a snake was coiling up around me.
And just like that, I was now under the microscope of the supposedly most powerful people in this high school world. There would be no running back to the jigsaw table in the cafeteria now.
Suddenly, I got elbowed in the ribs and I hissed.
"Introduce yourself." Bree said through clenched teeth.
I'd never realized how creepy a blonde cheerleader could be until she was glaring at you and her manicured nails were poised and ready to swipe.
I licked my lips. This was going to get really interesting.
"I'm Sunny, I'm Bree's boyfriend.'
Another girl with black curly hair laughed.
"Oh Bree, you must be joking. You're dating this?" she said, looking me from face to legs like I was a broken toy on the shelf. I felt irritation welling up in my chest. I never could stomach those haughty idiot types, after all.
I would have shut her up right there, but Bree grabbed my hand and squeezed it hard, so I backed down. It would've have felt quite nice to give Curly a nice helping of sarcasm though.
"Better than dating you." she said and the rest of the group shared a laugh.
The humbled girl crossed her arms and tapped her foot, on the verge of tears. Or at least stage tears.
"You, you don't mean that." she blubbered, pouting lip and all.
"Every word." Bree said quietly, dangerously.
The air crackled with ferocity and I tried not to wonder what had happened between them because frankly, it was none of my business, but the tension between these two was way too palpable to be ignored. I saved my queries for later though.
Then the crowds parted, and I found myself face-to-face with her.
The girl from grade school. Queen Dana.
That was creepy.
"Who's the new guy?" she asked Bree, looking straight through me at her. To anyone else, it might have felt uncomfortable, but not to me. It did feel a little weird to be honest.
Deep down, I felt that I wanted to be acknowledged by her. Our past demanded that.
It was also our past that held me back from giving her a sharp retort as well.
"My boyfriend, Lee." Bree said with considerably little less confidence, and I wondered for a moment if this was indeed that same timid girl from my childhood who now held a peculiar control over everyone here.
I could feel that Bree was extremely tense behind me. Well, she was holding her breath and her muscles were tensed, so obviously.
Finally, Dana nodded and Bree relaxed, resuming her slouching relaxation.
Dana still ignored me completely though. It made me feel more weird, the way she looked right past me. I wanted to give her a slap and then ask how it felt. It was pretty much the same treatment I was getting from her.
The silence pressed down around us and the only noise I could hear was the blood pumping in my ears and the steady smacking sound of the blonde girl who was chewing gum. I wondered if these people ever talked to each other or if they just sat around like this, in silence.
Whenever my group of puzzle pieces came together, no one could get them to shut up, and most of the time they were having about three conversations going on at once.
All of a sudden, another girl came skipping in, and shattered the whole 'silence is a killer' thing going on in the area.
"Dana!" she said in one of those sing song voices that one just has to shut up with a gag.
"Baby!"
She turned her head slightly and I noticed she looked straight past her, too. She just looked in the general direction but she never looked her straight in the
eye. "Sweetie!"
If this girl spoke again, her life was in extreme danger of being snuffed out by my hand.
She finally closed the gap between the two of them, and by close the gap, I do mean close all gaps.
I wondered if they'd have to be peeled apart. Her hands gripped tightly to Dana's shoulders, bunching up the fabric of her sleeves.
Even I was slightly unnerved with the fact that Dana kept her eyes open through all this. Her hands remained at her sides and she didn't move.
Eventually, the other girl backed off, looking uncomfortable. She glanced up at Dana with a pout and Dana gave her a tight-lipped smile.
"Doesn't anyone know it's rude to stare?" she said smoothly with a small shrug. She snuggled into him and smiled. The tension in the air dissolved for a moment, until Dana's girlfriend? noticed me.
"Who's this?" her nose scrunched up like she'd smelled something rotten.
I ignored her existence though. The newfound knowledge coursing through my head threatened to tear it apart. It was a total mind-fuck.
Was Dana a lesbian.......?
"Bree's boyfriend." Piped up the football player. "Lee."
"I'm not Lee-"
"Oh, well, hi Lee. I'm Noel." the new girl said, clearly uninterested.
I smiled in response, because that's what polite people apparently like to do.
"I'm Irving." Said the football player. He reached out a grubby hand and I shook it.
"Perry." said the slender boy donned in Victorian-era garb.
The bubble gum chewing girl hanging off his arm blinked at me and then introduced
herself as Allison.
I flashed my worn-out smile at the two of them and looked up at Bree. She smirked and brushed her thumb on the bare skin below the hem of her skirt.
I gave her my best deadpan expression, snatching my hand away, and she grinned wider and pulled me back towards her.
Noel now slipped her hands off of Dana and sat down gingerly beside me.
Dana took a deep breath and mumbled something about getting to class early.
She walked off, and to me it felt like she was relieved to be out of this place.
"Don't mind her." Noel said conversationally, after Dana was out of hearing range. "She gets like that sometimes. She'll be better tomorrow."
I nodded slowly, staring at the space where she'd blended in with the crowd in the hallway.
Bree shifted her weight and plunked down beside me as well.
"I'm going to go make sure she's alright. Later." she stood up, then froze in thought for a moment.
Then all of a sudden, she leaned down and pecked me on the cheek. Then she stood and eyed me warily, as if afraid I was going to yell.
When I didn't, she waved to the group and jogged off in the direction Dana had gone.
So, there I was, in the middle of this high-profile group with nothing to keep my sanity safe.
Soon enough, Perry and Allison started making out. and Irving walked to the cafeteria to get some more food.
Noel and the curly-haired girl now started a conversation.
"You going to the party on Friday?" Noel asked her.
"Probably, what about you?"
"Yeah. What about you, Lee?"
"What party?" I asked. "And my name's not Lee. It's Sunny."
Curly smirked.
"Leslie's party? Aren't you going? Surely Bree mentioned it. By the way, how long have you two known each other, seeing that she hasn't ever mentioned you ?"
Under different circumstances, I might have applauded Curly's way to twist the conversation around so easily. But right now, I was in an irritated mood, and wanted release.
"We met this summer." I said calmly. The bait was set.
"Where?" she asks, smiling politely like she really wanted to know. She really needed practice though. I could smell bullshit on her from a mile away.
"Somewhere," I replied, deciding to screw with her more.
"It must have been at the tennis courts." she said, a bit thrown off.
"Yeah, that was it. We met at the court." My heart pounded when her grin widened. Her mouth opened and I already knew that she thought she had me now.
Poor girl was in for a rude welcome.
"Too bad Bree's never been to a tennis court in her life. You are such a liar! I knew it when I first saw you!"
"How do you know she's never been to a tennis court?" I cut in innocently and she blinked, then smirked at me.
"You just said so?"
"Did I say tennis court?"
"What..."
"Well, can't say I am surprised though. An ant has a bigger brain than you, ditz head."
She gawked at me, her eyes wide open like saucers, as if she had just lost her virginity.
"H-How dare-you-!!"
"Jeez Charlotte, lighten up." Noel broke in now. It was probably an illusion, but I thought she actually winked at me. "You guys broke up, so she's allowed to see other people."
Hmm, now this was interesting indeed. I realized I was soon going to become a part of some sort of I-DUNNO-WHAT club. No wonder they didn't let anyone join their group. Actually, who would want to join this group ?
Besides pompous chicks and ditz-heads of course. And the random football player.
Charlotte scowled and opened her mouth to retaliate, but the bell cut her off. I'd always loved those moments, when timing was in perfect sync with you. Charlotte walked off with an exaggerated
heave of breath and flick of her hair.
Noel turned to me and grinned. Something about her set my mind ticking.
"Forgive my friends, they can be rather anti-social. Give them a few days, they'll warm up to you. But
until then, care to tell me how you really met Bree? Charlotte was actually right, as Bree would never step foot on a tennis court."
"I never say she would."
In my mind, I debated whether or not to tell her.
First of all, she had an annoying voice. Plus she was supposedly dating my childhood friend, who was also a girl. That being said, she was also the most genuine of the lot.
Finally I decided to tell her nonetheless. Who gave a shit about such things anyways ?
I explained to her about the project, and when I finished, she giggled and clapped her hands.
"You are brilliant! Too bad you're not my partner." she said with a pout.
She linked arms with mine and we walked out of the courtyard together like best friends forever.
After she waved and headed for her next class, I scanned the hallway for anything familiar. I sighed gratefully when Johnson fell into step beside me and quietly walked with me to our next class.
It was then that I realized how tired I was. And this was after just fifteen minutes.
But the things I had come to know today were not going to let me rest.
The girl from grade school, my friend from childhood, was, in extremely positive probability, a lesbian. Not that I had anything against lesbians, but something still didn't quite fall into place here.
But hey, on the brighter side, it also meant that more fun days lay ahead.
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