Goodnight Moon

9- You're Difficult Every Day

“Do you just genuinely enjoy being an annoying prick?” I ask Lake the next day on our way to school. “Or is it just like, an instinct or something?”

“I’m not such a prick, Ari,” He grins at me. “It’s just so much fun to irritate you. It’s just you in particular.”

“Gee, I’m just so flattered by that,” I mumble sarcastically. This morning, Lake decided to hide my toothbrush and also my toothpaste and deodorant. I don’t know what he thought that he’d accomplish by doing that but it was really annoying. It’s a good thing that we have more than one bathroom in this house and, unbeknown to Lake, I have all three of those things in every one of the bathrooms. It was annoying though, because I had to go all the way to the first floor to get ready this morning and I just have a problem with him touching my stuff.

“As you should be,” He nods at me confidently.

“You are so unbelievably arrogant,” I snap at him even though I’m pretty sure that he already knows just how arrogant he is and he just doesn’t care because that’s how arrogant he is.

“You love it,” Lake informs me, farther proving just how arrogant he is. I didn’t know that it was actually possible to be so full of yourself but Lake sure is full of himself to the max and I don’t understand it at all.

“Asshole,” I mutter, parking in the school lot and throwing my school bag over my shoulder. “You are such an asshole, Lake.”

“Wow, you’ve never told me that before,” He laughs sarcastically as he follows me towards the doors of the school and I push the lock thing on my beeper and my car doors lock with a honk.

“That just shows how much of an asshole you are,” I fire at him. We’re running late (because of Lake) so I have to hurry up to my locker which is nice because at least I don’t have to spend any more time with Lake. He is seriously getting on my nerves this morning. I get into my first period class just before the bell rings which is a miracle because if I really was late, I would probably end up murdering Lake for making me late for the first time in all four years of my high school career.

“I really hate that I’m such a nice person,” I inform Leda in pre-calc. “If I was a little bit more heartless, I could just kick him out without caring at all but I am a really amazing person and I just can’t get myself to do it. It’s so unfair that the good people have to suffer.”

She laughs at me while teasingly rolling her eyes. “You’re so dramatic, Ariel.”

“You say dramatic, I say practical,” I defend. “I really don’t see why you couldn’t just be friends with like, some nice boy with pretty eyes and a funny accent or something. But Lake freaking Quincy? You have terrible taste in friendships, I’ll have you know.”

She laughs again as we’re writing down our notes. “I’d like to point out that you are my best friend, Ari.”

“Okay, you have a point there but Lake? What were you thinking when you agreed to be his friend?”

“He’s funny and he’s nice. Well, not to you, I guess, but just in general, he’s nice and he’s really cool to talk to. Maybe if you guys weren’t so busy bickering, you’d actually see that you’d be really great friends,” She suggests but I know that she has to know how futile that effort is. I will never be friends with Lake Quincy. That is seriously the most disgusting thing she’s suggested except for her insane theory on how we’re going to get married because that one is pretty insane as well. “And then once you’re friends, you’ll fall in love and it’ll be perfect.”

“I don’t know why I chose a delusional crazy person to be my best friend, but I really should reconsider that decision,” I inform her but I’m obviously just joking. Kind of.