WATTYS 2021 HORROR WINNER!
Diego's life has spiraled since the gruesome death of his brother Miguel, and moving to a new town right before his senior year definitely wasn't on his to-do list. Oh, yeah, and neither was saving the world from a centur...
Watts smiles at my joke, but it falters as he looks over to Hemani's table. His head tilts, and he stops twirling the fork in his canister of spaghetti. "Okay, now that is weird."
"What?" I ask, turning on instinct to glance at the crowded table.
"Greg Pines is sitting at the popular table?" Watts says it like a question, as if I'm supposed to offer some sort of explanation. "You see the scrawny guy next to the guy in the bright red shirt? That's Greg. And the closest he's ever gotten to that table before today is when he slipped on the wet floor and landed next to it. And even though that was an accident, Paul still looked like he wanted to maim him over it."
"Which one's Paul?"
"The one with the frosted tips, looks like he should have graduated three years ago."
I nod, spotting him with ease and watching him laugh, patting Greg on the shoulder. I turn back to Watts, shrugging. "Seems like he got over the trespassing."
Watts laughs, shaking his head. "Guess so. Man. That is weird. Did not expect to see that today—or, well, ever."
"Is social status that big of a thing here?" I ask the question I've been assuming all day.
Watts nods, confirming my suspicions. "Oh, yeah. Majorly. Everyone sort of has their group, and they don't step outside of it."
I don't want to point out his lack of a group, but I am curious if it's always been that way for him. I guess if people really are that solidified in who they hang out with, it isn't hard to imagine how someone could end up alone. They miss the boat on finding their social group, and eventually all the ships have sailed on without them.
"Although," he says, a smile growing on his face as he looks behind me, "As a tutor to the stars, I do have some leeway."
I glance back and see Hemani at the trash can near our table—and just as I turn back to Watts, he calls out her name and waves her over. I can barely think anything more than, oh shit, before she's leaning against the table, greeting Watts with a grin.
"How's math looking this year?" he asks.
"Uhg, pre-calc," she groans, rolling her eyes as her full lips form a pout. "It looks like I'll be asking you to kill me by the end of the quarter. If I can't manage at least a B, you'll have a returning customer."
"Happy to help," he says, then gestures to me. "This is Diego—he moved here from Texas."
Oh God—I think my palms are sweating. Since when do I get nervous around girls? I manage a smile and a wave of two fingers, hoping I don't have Dorito dust on my face.
She smiles at me, softer than the friendly grin she was giving Watts. It's like the one she gave me in the hall, only this time, her brown eyes linger and give me a once over.
Okay, yeah. Definitely sweating.
"I thought I saw a new face this morning," she says. "Texas is pretty far—why'd you move?"
"Uh, family. My grandma lives here," I explain. It's the truth, and yet it feels like a lie. Leaving out the because I killed my brother and my parents thought we should get a fresh start part feels weird. Back home, everyone knew what happened. But here, I'm just your average, run-of-the-mill only child.
"Bradford's..." She purses her lips, breaking into a lopsided grin. "Well, it's Bradford. It's about as small-town as it gets, but it's got heart. I like it, anyway. I gotta get back, but hopefully I'll see you around, Diego," she says my name like it's something special, and my heart's beating so loud in my ears that I barely hear her say goodbye to Watts.
As she saunters back to her table, Watts turns to me with a shit-eating grin. "I don't know a lot about girls—or, okay, like, anything—but I know enough to know that was flirting."
"That was not flirting," I argue, shaking my head. Even though, well, it did kind of seem like flirting.
"Dude! She looked you up and down. Like she's in the middle of fast and you were a steak. Or—a salad," he corrects. "On account of the whole vegetable thing."
I just laugh, since I was too zonked out on hormones to be fully aware of what really did happen. One thing I do know is that my first day at Vanterbest could be going a lot worse.
Hey, if things keep going like this, maybe I could get to like Bradford, too.
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any thoughts on watts or hemani? 👀
IDK WHAT ELSE TO ASK YET 🤡 BUT I HOPE YOU GUYS ARE ENJOYING IT SO FAR!!
