It Started with a Bet... (Watty Awards 2011)

45: "Hey, Haley, I'd like to be full."

"Hey Haley, I'd like to be full."

“Clarice, I need you to come over right now.” I tell her where I am and put my head back down on the table. Trevor left only minutes ago, and I’m ready to bawl my eyes out. This was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do in my life.

“What’s wrong?” She’s here like she’s been waiting in the parking lot. She sits next to me and puts and arm around me. Between tears and blowing my nose on the napkins from the dispenser on the table, I explain everything. I start with how I asked Trina if it was okay to love Trevor, explain her very obvious answer of “no” and how we moved and how I knew I would have to break it off with Trevor and how I ignored everyone for a week trying to work up the courage to tell him, and how Trevor just stopped by and said he loved me.

“Don’t tell me I’m wrong, okay?” I ask as I feel her tense up. “It sucks, but it’s the right thing to do, so don’t try to talk me out of it.” She rubs my back.

“I think you’ve got it all wrong, but…I have to admire you, Haley. That must have been…that must have been tough.”

I nod.

“Harder than ignoring you guys for a week.”

“Haley, really. I think you’ve got it all wrong. But, if that’s what you’ve decided, then I guess I’ll have to support you, right?” I look up. She’s got this glint in her eye.

“Really?”

She nods.

“I am your best living friend, correct? And as your blf, it is my duty to look out for Haley and her new year’s resolution.”

I sit up and wipe my eyes. She looks like she’s planning something.

“Promise you won’t tell Trevor how I feel?”

She nods.

“Promise. Now, does that mean you can hang out with us again?” I nod. It’ll suck, but I’ll have to get used to it. “I have to warn you though,” Clarice says. “Since you’ve been gone, Christa’s been hanging out with us more and more.” I feel a stab of jealousy go through me.

“Really?” Clarice nods.

“You should see the way she attaches herself to Trevor.”

Well it doesn’t matter, I think to myself, smugly. Because Trevor loves me not her. Damn it! I’m not supposed to care.

“Well maybe she’ll get what she wants this time, since I’ve stepped out.”

Clarice eyes me.

“Yeah…sure.”

I go to bed that night, only to be treated to a horrible nightmare. You know how you’ll have a very fascinating or horrifying dream and you’ll wake up thinking about it and then while you’re trying to remember whether you were wearing your converse or heels, you’ve forgotten what the dream was about in the first place?

It was one of those.

So I woke up feeling like I was doing something wrong. Something very very wrong. And I’m sure it had something to do with my dream, but I couldn’t for the life of me figure out what it was.

Well, you dumped a guy you’re in love with.

Shut up.

I pour some cereal and drive myself to school. I thought Trevor wouldn’t speak to me, and I was right. But he doesn’t look half as upset as I thought he would. More like he's...thinking. That’s a good thing…right?

"Hey, Trevor." We're sitting in the cafeteria. I'm sitting next to Trevor like I normally do when I hear Christa's sickly sweet voice. She looks at me in surprise. I guess she thought we had fought or something.