all that glitters » david dobrik au

nineteen

It was the third time that the unknown number called me at eight a.m. just a few days before Christmas that I finally answered the phone. With the first call, I was sure it was a telemarketer. The second call could've been a wrong number. The third call? I knew someone was trying to reach me.

"Hello?" I groggily answered, finding it hard to pry my eyes open.

"Hey, Mona," it was a voice I recognized. "It's Todd."

"Why are you up so early?" I groaned, rolling over onto my stomach and stretching out.

"I was working out earlier," he replied. I didn't ask why he'd wake up early on a Sunday to work out; it would probably just make me feel bad that I was still in bed slobbering away at eight. "Anyways, I'm going out of town tomorrow until after New Years, and I wanted to know if you wanted to work on the government project today."

Ah, yes, the government project. My AP government teacher, Mr. Gugliotta, had assigned us a partner project where we picked something that we found wrong with legislation, and then worked on a way to fix it. I was almost partnered with Liza, but then Mr. Gugliotta realized he couldn't put Kristen and Scotty together, so he refigured the partners and I ended up with Todd.

"When?" I asked, glancing at the alarm clock on my nightstand to see it was only 8:10. Anything past eleven would be fine for me.

"Is twelve okay?"

I nodded to myself, then realized he couldn't see me. "Yeah, that's fine. Can I come to yours?"

"Uh," Todd seemed to get frantic on the other side of the phone. "Can we not do it at yours?"

"No, my grandparents won't let me have anyone over when they aren't home," I lied. The truth was, no one at school knew I was on scholarship, and I wanted to keep it that way... especially in front of David's friends. "I'll just come to yours, if that's okay."

"Um... okay," he sighed in response. "I'll send you the address."

"Okay, see you later!" I giggled, falling back into my bed with a huff. I laid there, staring at the wall, for a good two minutes before I decided I should get up and take a shower. After a quick shower, I brushed my hair and put on a simple outfit, boyfriend jeans and a loose black and white striped shirt. I paired the outfit with some basic white vans.

I kept my makeup simple with base makeup, mascara, and some lip gloss. After blowdrying my hair, I began working on my Christmas present wrapping for the few hours before I had to leave.

Todd texted me his address at around eleven, and I noticed something odd about it. Todd lived on the same street as me.

My street, the part I had went down, at least, was filled with lower middle class houses (at best). Maybe further down there were places that could house people like the great Toddy Smith... but I had to doubt it. Was it possible that Todd could be on scholarship too?

My question was answered when I pulled up outside the small, cozy white house with green shutters. It was an adorable house, but it was really similar to mine. How could he afford Abernathy's ungodly tuition living in a house like this?

I knocked on the door and a nice lady with shiny black hair and tan skin answered the door. "Hi! You must be Mona. I'm Regina, Todd's mom."

"It's nice to meet you," I hugged her quickly. "I live right down the road! I didn't even know Todd lived near me."

"It's a great area around here," she replied. She pointed down a hallway and said, "Todd's bedroom is the second door on the left."

"Thank you!" I smiled, slipping past her and heading down the hall. I didn't even bother knocking on the door; I just slid in. Todd looked up from his spot on the bed when I walked in.

"Hey."

"Hey, Todd!" I smiled, placing my bag on the floor and taking a seat next to it. "I have a question for you. Are you, um... are you on scholarship at Abernathy?"

"I am," he nodded awkwardly, making his way to sit across from me.

"Me too!" I cheered excitedly. "I live, like, ten doors down from you! What the fuck?"

"I know you are."

I paused, staring at him in slight confusion and anger. I wasn't sure what about me screamed scholarship, but it was kind of offensive. "What do you mean you know I'm on scholarship?"

"David told me," he replied with a shrug, like it was obvious.

I frowned even deeper and asked, "Well, how did David know? I never told him."

"You drive a Prius, Mona," Todd laughed in response. "Not that hard to figure out. Plus, David's dad is the head of the scholarship committee. He gives a hundred thousand dollars every year for scholarships. David knows everyone on scholarship."

"Don't you drive a Range Rover?" I asked, still highly confused, and Todd nodded.

"Yeah, David got it for me for my birthday this year," he replied casually, then added a little joke, "Thanks, SeatGeek."

"He never brought it up," I trailed off, feeling a sudden but undeniable respect for David come upon me.

"He didn't want to embarrass you, I guess. Anyways..."

I didn't listen too much after that. All I could think about was David, and why he wouldn't say anything about me being on scholarship. He had a million chances to bring it up, and even more to humiliate me in front of everyone. He chose not to, though, and that spoke volumes to me. Maybe David was a better person than he let on.

Todd and I finished the beginning of our project within a few hours, and I left feeling a weight off my shoulders. I was done with my schoolwork for the break, and I had two weeks to rest and relax before I had to face those people again.

Most of my friends were going out of town for the break, so I didn't have to worry about new and creative ways to turn down their invitations to hang out.

Now, all I had to worry about was David's present and our Christmas spent together. All I could say was... I wasn't ready.

yeah this is short but im trying to post the christmas chapter uhhh ON christmas so i kinda had to get this in lol xoxo abby