Confessions of a Teenage Caffeine Addict

20 // Laces > Calum

I knew it wasn't too important,

but it made me sad anyway.

—J.D. Salinger

____________________________________

JAKE

JANUARY // WEEK 8

"Hey, Jake," Ava smiled at me as we walked into school this morning.

"Hey, Aves, how's it going?" I slung my arm over her shoulder.

"Eh ya know, same old, same old." She shrugged. "How's Jules?"

"Fine." I tried to answer in a neutral tone.

"What's wrong?"

"I hate having a girlfriend." I grabbed a few books from my locker. "I was gonna break up with her and then she calls saying she's... ya know..." I hoisted my backpack up onto my shoulder.

"Wow, so that's how it went down." Ava smirked at me.

"Yeah, write that down in the history books," I said. When she didn't respond I looked over at her. "What happened at Pond the other week? What was Calum talking about when he said that you said no?"

"He asked me to be his girlfriend," she told me quietly.

"And you said no..." I trailed off.

"That's why he did what he did at Pond and getting drunk at practice. That was all because of me."

"Why'd you say no?" I asked her as we leaned against a few lockers.

"Because relationships scare me," she whispered.

"But Calum's good to you, right?" I asked her slowly, not really wanting to have this talk with her.

"Yeah," she sniffled. "Calum's good." The bell rang and Ava grabbed one of her friends and walked off to class like we didn't just have that talk.

I sighed and walked off to Economics, or as I liked to refer to it, a very painful forty-five minutes with Coach Hawthorne. Because getting yelled at during practice wasn't enough.

"Roswell! You're late!" He wore his best sneer while I strolled to my seat.

"Sorry, Coach," I scratched my head, giving him the usual response.

"Sorry, schmary!" he mimicked me in a whiny voice, before turning his back on me and angrily writing VESTED INTERESTS on the chalkboard.

"Since you're so late, why don't you tell about vested interests," Coach Hawthorne said to me.

I heard a loud bang as Derek slid into the seat beside me. He threw a girly wave at Coach and put his best charming face on. "Morning." Derek nodded.

"Perfect, Leighton can help you," Coach said as he underlined the words on the board.

"What are we doing, bro?" Derek leaned towards me.

"Vested interests," I whispered back.

"Vested interest, as defined by the Oxford English Dictionary is, a personal stake or involvement in an undertaking or state of affairs," Derek began, leaning back in his chair while I took over.

"Especially one with an expectation of financial gain." I filled in the last bit. "For example,"

"I'm involved with hockey... on a personal level," Derek got a few snickers out of the class. "And if I wanted more playing time,"