Million Dollar Smile

Chapter 5: Friday Night

It was the week after, and I met Landon and Mark in our science class. I was at least three minutes late, as usual, and everyone had been setting up the equipment ready for a scientific experiment of some sort. Basically, Mark and I watched as Landon set everything up – he was the one out of the three of us that was actually bothered to do things.

Across the room, I saw Chris Sutton with Rosaline, who looked like she was bored out of her brains talking to him. I watched the way he blubbered words and mumbled anything that came to his mind just to get her attention, but I also saw the way she secretly had no interest in him or whatever it was that was coming out of his mouth. It’s easy to say that they were friends, but I think anyone around them could tell that Rosaline wanted nothing more. She was keen for other things.

At that second, Rosaline turned at me and gave me a blank face. I raised my eyebrows, but she clenched her jaw and stuck out her bottom lip. I laughed/choked, and Mark stopped talking to Landon and looked at me.

“Aye”, he said, giving me a slap on the back. Landon played with his tie as he investigated our conversation and its turn of topics.

“No, Mark – can’t you see clearly that she is with Sutton over there?”

“And can’t you see clearly that she wish she wasn’t?” He spat back, putting on his science goggles. I nodded along, but tried to ignore his arrogant remarks. He flicked back his single strand of hair from hanging over his forehead.

“Well, if I must say, I was talking to Landon yesterday, an-”

“About a friend in particular?” He butted in

“Yes, actually. She is a friend. You haven’t heard of the name, Andrea, have you?”

“Stop dreaming, man. ‘Andrea’ won’t get with you”.

“Well, at the moment she won’t. But once Jacob is out of the way, then she will”. Mark took his goggles off like I had suddenly pushed a button I should’ve been avoiding, and looked me straight into the eye, like he couldn’t have done it with them on.

He was my best friend, cocky and had an attitude, but at the same time very wise and helpful. Sure, a lot of girls cooed over him, but even though he enjoyed that sort of stuff, there was so much more to him than just being an oil painting.

“Has it ever occurred to you that she is still with him? And if she wanted you, she would’ve dumped Jacob by now?”

 Landon judged quietly from the other side of the desk, pretending not to listen as he poured some green substance into a beaker.

“Listen, mate, I’m not trying to say there is no chance ever, but don’t you think that if they’re happy, you shouldn’t interfere?”

Deep down I knew he [they] were right, but I didn’t want to believe them. It frustrated me that they were right. But I was also right, in my mind. Or at least I made myself believe that.

“What if they’re not, though? Jacob’s an arsehole. She can’t be that blind, surely”.

Landon finally looked up after pouring something else with the green substance. Everyone could tell he was the nerd of the three of us, even though he wasn’t a nerd at all. Girls liked him too, but Landon didn’t pay attention to any of it. He would smile at them and say hello, but he was the type of guy that wanted nothing other than to find the one girl he actually cared for, and to keep her.

“Well, clearly, she is. Would you guys help me with this already?”

I took another look at Rosaline and Chris, who were a step ahead of us, mixing their substances together with a tiny spatula. Rosaline was looking into the beaker, but I saw the way Chris was looking at her. I felt a little guilty, because I tried to forget the reason that I had been looking at her like that too.