The Bet

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Chapter 5 *Guest*

~Drake

“Drake,” says my mom, as she settles our breakfast on the table. “How’s school?”

“Good,” I say automatically.

Driana snorts.

I kick her under the table which earns me a glare from her.

“You know,” my mom says, ignoring us, “If you’re having a hard time, you can ask Andre for help.”

“I know mom,” I mutter. I roll my eyes at her and my twin little sister chokes a laugh.

Andre is intelligent. He may be lazy in studying but when he does, he can get a perfect score.

My mom looks at me expectantly.

Taking a deep breath, I ask her, “What do you want me to do?”

“You can stay at their house this weekend and let him tutor you.”

At the word tutor, my mind thinks of Sophia. If she can tutor me this weekend, we’ll get close to each other and then the month will just be a week. And then I’m finally free with the bet.

“Okay,” I tell my mom. “I’ll ask Andre.”

“Call him now,” My twin little sister says.

If I know, she just wants the whole house to herself. No wonder my mom doesn’t offer Driana’s help, we might end up killing each other.

“That’s a good idea,” My mom chimes in.

Shaking my head, I dial Andre’s number.

“Hey,” he answers at the third ring.

“Can I stay at your house this weekend?” I ask, direct to the point.

“Sure,” he says, not even thinking about it.

“What about your mom?”

“Of course, she won't mind.” I can imagine him rolling his eyes.

“Okay then,” I say, “See you at school.”

“Satisfied?” I ask my mom and Driana after I hung up.

Driana’s mouth curves into a smile. My mom looks at me, a concern expression on her face. I know she’s worried about my future, but I can take care of it.

“I’m going to pack,” I say, and walk to my room.

After school, I’ll go directly to Andre’s house. Can I really study there? When Andre and I are together, we just have fun. And studying is not in our fun list.

-----

“Have you seen Sophia?” I ask.

“I haven’t seen her,” my best friend, Andre, answers. “If you ask me that question again, I’ll punch you,” he threatens playfully.

“What?” I ask, turning to glare at him.

“You asked me that question for almost ten times already!”

“And you’re really counting,” I say, with a smile forming on my lips.

The cafeteria isn’t crowded today because it’s Friday. Students usually pick this day to absent to have an early weekend.

“Don’t tell me you already miss her,” he teases. “You just saw her yesterday and you’re going to see her after a few--”

“Are you kidding?” I ask, cutting him off. Why would I miss her?

“Yeah, man,” he says, raising his hands in surrender. “That was a joke!” And then he bursts out laughing.

“Shut up!” I scowl at him, as I take a bite of my sandwich.

-----

Come on, why aren’t you here? Just one more minute, the bell will ring already! A few seconds later, the bell rings and then Ma’am Coelho closes the door.

I wonder why Sophia’s absent.

Why do you care? As if you’re close to her. As a matter of fact, you just had you first conversation with her yesterday.

I thought that maybe when I read the play beforehand, I can impress her. But what if she’ll tell me I don’t need a tutor anymore when I already understand it?

 “Did you meet with Sophia yesterday?” Mrs. Coelho asks me, breaking me from my reverie.

”Yes Ma’am,” I say politely.

“Good. Continue it then.”

I give her a nod and resume reading A Midsummer Night’s Dream. I find myself staring at the door, but of course, she will not come anymore. It’s already thirty minutes after the class started.

How can I ask her to meet me tomorrow? She’s absent today! I don’t have her phone number. But I know someone who has. Driana. Right! I’m going to ask Sophia’s number to her later. The plan is, tomorrow, we’re going to watch a movie together, just the two of us, and then eat. Maybe (I hope) we’ll talk to get to know each other. The thing is what if she will not agree? What if she already has a plan for tomorrow? What if she doesn’t want to be with me? That’s a big problem! How can I win the bet if that happens? Don’t you just hate What If’s?