Cheers, Mathletes, and Touchdowns

Cheers, Mathletes, and Touchdowns Part Twenty-One

Part Twenty-One

Samantha

I felt like I was in a dream.

My hair was dripping, my make-up was ruined, and my discount dress was also ruined.

Sadly though, that wasn’t the biggest of my problems. Because apart from the fact that my dignity was ruined, I didn’t really feel anything special; I just felt numb. The last conscious decision I remembered making was looking up straight into April’s somewhat uncertain and still great blue eyes, daring her to do something as evil as her friend had just done, and then walking away with my head high.

“That was just plain evil,” I heard Damian say, and then Ben’s muttered agreement. I didn’t know where I was being led; I just knew it was the main building of Meredith’s house.

“Hush up guys,” Val cautioned before turning to me,” Are you alright?”

I guess I managed to nod, but I couldn’t even remember. Val led me to the first bathroom she found on the ground floor of the house. I managed to register her face staring into mine with a lot of motherly concern. For once, she was keeping quiet in a drastic situation.

She popped open her purse pulling out a wad of tissue, and then wiped my face clean with it. She dropped it in the toilet seat and pulled out another wad, trying to help mop up what she could of the drink on my dress. I looked down and saw while remnants from the tissue sticking to my dress. Val looked down and noticed she was making it worse. She dropped her hands in uncertainty for a moment before looking around and picking up a towel. She ran water over it, before wringing it out and used it instead.

“You know, if it was only beer, it wouldn’t be so obvious,” she observed for lack of anything better to do.

I looked down and noticed that the dress was stained with something that looked a bit reddish, and was obvious even on the black fabric of the gown.

I shrugged and looked into the mirror again as Val tried futilely to fix the dress. She stopped trying and then focused on my face. She brought out a lipstick, mascara and the basic make-up necessities.

I waved a half-hearted hand to stop her from starting, but she brushed it away and started applying. A few minutes later, a commotion at the bathroom door brought me back to the present.

“You can go away and use somewhere else,” Damian was telling someone.

“But this is where I want to use,” someone with a familiar voice replied.

“There are like fifteen other bathrooms in this place,” Damian relied, “And if you think that just because your girlfriend had proved that she is a mean bitch tonight, it will stop me from giving you a piece of my very frank mind if you try to rule against me, you have another thing coming.”

The guy, whose voice I placed as Alexi’s, replied ignorantly, “What are you talking about?” Ben snorted derisively as Damian asked disbelieving, “You mean to tell me that they didn’t run that little piece of act by you?”

“What piece of act?”  Alexi replied.

“I think he’s seriously ignorant,” Ben said.

“That isn’t an excuse,” Damian replied. “Go and ask your girlfriend.”

Alexi probably looked blank because Damian let out the signature exasperated sigh he used on people he thought were dumb. “I don’t think you’re too pressed to use the bathroom. Besides, I can’t believe you were not there, it’s a party for goodness’ sake.”

“Would probably make more sense if I knew what you were talking about.”

Damian sighed again, “See dude, even if this bathroom was not occupied at the moment by species of the opposite sex, I still wouldn’t let you anywhere near Sam, Val, or even me. We’re at a party, and I can tell you I’ve drunk enough to make me hit you and still come out strong.”

I almost laughed at that one. I knew for a fact that Damian hadn’t had a drink, and that even a girl could best him in a fight, but why embarrass my saviour.

Something inside me shifted when I heard Alexi’s voice, but I knew deep down inside that he was the last person I should be talking to or even wanted to see. It might not be his fault that he had a mean girlfriend, but she was still his girlfriend, and I had just been shot down in front of the portion of the school population that mattered.

I could envision Alexi raising his hands in surrender, “Yeah, man, it’s cool. I’ll just go use someplace else. What does Sam have to do with anything by the way?”

“I’d prefer you went on to use the bathroom first. It was spiked punch on Sam’s fabulous dress; I don’t think it inappropriate for me to wish you don’t discharge liquid body waste on the only decent pair of jeans I own.”

Ben and Alexi chuckled, and we could hear Alexi scuttle away. Damian could be a smart-ass when he set his mind to it, and it seemed like tonight was the night he set all his inhibitions to rest.

I wondered what Josh would have done if he was the one manning the door. He’d probably pull the strong and silent act, bodily pulling Alexi away from the door and threatening the life out of him if Alexi ever as much as said hi to me in the hallways.

As physically improbable as that was, the mental image didn’t hurt much. A girl could dream, right?

Thinking about that brought me to the question nagging at my consciousness, “Where’s Josh?”

Val shrugged, “I don’t know, his cell’s switched off.”

“Where did he go?” I asked.

“Last time we saw him, Meredith was dragging him away with your permission, I think.”

Permission my foot, killer glare blackmail was more appropriate. Besides, Josh was a big boy and didn’t have to do anything he didn’t want to.

Though after the nauseating dinner he made me have that night, the least he could do was be around to make sure I didn’t get sick or something.

But then again, I didn’t have any claim over him. I mean apart from the fact that Meredith could be a bit irritating at times, what guy would pass her up for me? That line of reasoning didn’t make me feel any better though, it just reinforced my insecurities.

I told Val to hurry up so I could get around to going home. I believed that was my next course of action since I didn’t have the scheming brains to plot out a very deserving revenge.

A scant minute later, I was looking as good as Val could make me, but she did a pretty good job. I walked out of the bathroom and go in search of Josh, and was prepared to pull him off Meredith even if they were attached at a place other than hands or even lips.

I raised my head as I opened the door and found myself face to face with an approaching Alexi.

“Hey, Sam,” he called, rushing to my side. “What happened?”

Val stepped up and intercepted his progress. “If you’d excuse me, Mister,” she said eyeing him and daring him to protest. “I’d prefer it if you didn’t come so near.”

A/N: Now is the time for the long-awaited apology.

School has been stressful since we resumed from the strike we embarked on and exams start next week, so I've not had the time to write. I hope this chapters don't contain my depreesion and anger at some personal stuff I went through while writing.

I'm really sorry and I hope you accept my apology.

Love you all,

Annie xx