Handcuffs, Kisses and Awkward Situations (PUBLISHED, SAMPLE)

Chapter [19]

Because this book is now published, content stops after chapter twenty. Please proceed with this information in mind.  

N i n e t e e n

            Seeing Mel at lunch was the greatest moment in history. I had spent the past few days with way too much testosterone, a seriously hormonal and pregnant sister and a Ryder's moody mother. The sound of my best friend's chatty tone as she gushed out the latest gossip was like music to my ears as we met up at our usual lunch table outside.

            "So," Mel said, as she cracked open her bottle of orange juice, "I heard that one of the students is having a scandalous affair with that really hot P.E. teacher. Apparently they've been having one-on-one lessons on something a little more physical than volleyball."

            "No way," I replied, jabbing a piece of macaroni with my fork. Skipping breakfast was a seriously bad idea because I had spent third and fourth period with a stomach that sounded like a dying whale symphony.

            "Way," she exclaimed. "Trust me; she's totally seen his personal bat and balls. I bet it's that slut that transferred here from Jefferson. I swear she's going to graduate with an STD rather than her HSC."

            That cracked a laugh from Ryder, but he kept his head down, smiling secretly to himself and stared at the blank piece of paper in front of him. We had gotten an English assignment before the start of lunch and Ryder was determined to get his finished...or at least started.

            "Ugh, is that the Shakespeare speech?" Mel wiped the orange moustache that had stained her upper lip and glared at the notification resting between Ryder and I.

            "Seven minutes minimum." Ryder sighed in frustration, scratching his head with the end of his pencil. "And it's about old Elizabethan English."

            "What play are you studying?" my best friend asked, picking up a perfectly cut sandwich sector.

            Mel was the kind of person who could eat three times as much as the average person and still have supermodel thinness. She didn't really eat because she was passionate about food or because it was a dietary requirement. She ate a lot because she claimed to be on "a hunt for boobs" to which she claimed, although she was seventeen, her boobs will come out of hiding.

            She tried an assortment of different food groups, spices and flavours. Last week she was binging on the flavoursome taste of Indian food and the other day, she ate nothing but watermelon. But today she had settled with a dainty arrangement of food you'd find at a tea party. A cleanly cut cucumber sandwich sat in front of her; the edges removed and sliced into neat, triangular quarters. There was an assortment of colourful fruits, all peeled and sliced that sat comfortably in a little Tupperware container. Three ANZAC biscuits wrapped in glad wrap sat next to it and of course, there was her bottle of organically squeezed orange juice. It looked like a feast compared to my bowl of cold mac 'n' cheese.

            "Othello," Ryder replied, popping the lid of his Gatorade. "It's depressing. They all die in the end."

            Mel disposed of the rest of her little slice of sandwich, brushed the crumbs away and gave him a sympathetic look. "Trust me; it's just as bad as Macbeth."

            "I thought this was the cool table, but everyone seems to be talking about homework." I looked up from my lunch to see Caine sliding into the spot next to Mel and across from Ryder. He gave me a wink and threw his bag onto the table.

            I smiled weakly. Mel almost had a heart attack seeing him there. I wasn't sure if it was of excitement or fright because she looked like she wanted to hug him but run away at the same time. Ryder, on the other hand, made it brusquely clear that he disliked his friend joining us.

            "We're just discussing the assignment," I informed him.

            Caine looked at the assignment notification and snatched it into his hands. He frowned down at it and studied intensely. After a moment though, he gave up and looked up at us.

            "This is the reason I do a standard level of English and not an advanced. I mean, we've been studying Shakespeare since the start of high school, but it's still like trying to understand Chinese calligraphy."

            Mel let out something between a giggle and a screech of pain. I raised an eyebrow at her, and she mouthed: oh my god, he's sitting with us. Caine was still grinning, one those boyish smiles; mischievous and playful. But he soon lost it when no one replied to him. Other than the animal-like sound made by Mel, he didn't get a reaction.

            "I get the feeling I'm not wanted here," he said, looking between the three of us.

            When his gaze reached Mel, she quickly looked away and busied herself with rolling around a grape in her fruit salad. She brushed a piece of fuzzy, carrot-coloured hair behind her ear, a pink blush slowly creeping its way up her pale cheeks. The way she tried to keep her interest on her salad was starting to creep me out. She was basically staring down at her lunch cross eyed.

            "How about we all hang out this afternoon?" I asked, trying to start another conversation. "We could all catch an early-night movie or something? Or just rent a DVD and have microwave popcorn at my place. It'll be fun."

            Caine didn't seem convinced. He looked at Ryder for support. "What do you reckon, man?"

            Ryder was scribbling furiously into his notebook, his messy scrawl filling up the lines as he shrugged. He looked up to meet his friend's eyes and his eyes –eyes that had been so alive and sparkling that morning- turned as cold as ice.

            "So you ask my thoughts about this, but not about the other thing."

            Caine scrubbed a hand down his face and looked at me. "Sorry, Nora, I don't think hanging out this arvo is a good idea-"

            "I made it clear that you need to back off."

            Caine suddenly didn't look so patient. "Look, I don't know why I like her, okay? I guess it never occurred to me to think of her in that way and once I started to, I liked it. A lot. I couldn't help it, alright?"

            "You hardly know her."

            "Neither do you, man." Caine looked angry now.

            "I've known her for years," Ryder growled, a feral sound erupting from the back of his throat.

            "No. You did know her. You had your chance and you fuc-"

            Ryder stood up causing me to half jerk up with him, the metal of the handcuffs biting into my wrist. Fists curled, knuckles white, he challenged Caine with his eyes. His friend was up and ready in an instant for a fight and Mel just sat there with Bambi eyes and a dropped jaw.

            Oh, God, I thought.

            But before either of the guys could throw a punch or a snarky comment, a high pitched shriek pierced through my ears. Instantly, I covered my ears, trying to block the sound but it did no good. The screaming alarm send shivers through my entire body and yelled for attention.

            "What's going on?" Ryder had forgotten his duel with Caine and pulled me close as if the alarm was going to grow legs and attack me.

            Then the familiar, commanding sound of Mrs. Hanson's voice yelled through the speakers. "All students report to the school oval and organise yourselves into year groups. A fire has been reported. This is not a drill."

            And all hell broke loose.