Knee Pads

13 | apex jump

          "No, she doesn't. It's not something I enjoy using as an ice breaker."

          Corinne huffed, cheeks puffed. "That's obviously not what I meant."

          "What did you mean, then? I have a hard time actually figuring out what you're trying to say."

          "Listen here." She stepped in front of me, backing me against a wall and blocking any way I could escape. One of the helmets was pressed against my stomach, the only thing separating her from me, and I wasn't sure whether it was a blessing or a curse that we were alone in the hallway. "I have yet to figure out exactly what is your problem with me, but this back and forth is getting exhausting. Butting heads with you is exhausting, and you're seriously making me regret having let you on the team because you're a drama magnet. You'll try to pick fights and cause drama with me for no good reason. I don't need you to try to paint me as some mysterious creature that's hard to figure out, because I'm not. Don't turn me into some manic pixie dream girl. That's stupid."

          "Then please, by all means, start being clearer when you speak to me, since I'm apparently the only person who has a problem with it." She was standing awfully close to me, so close I could almost feel her breathing against my own chest, if it weren't for the helmet. "I have a hard time believing we're friends when we keep finding each other in situations like these. I asked you a question; I don't know why you're acting like such a bitch over it."

          Her nostrils flared and I knew I was pushing my luck. I was pushing her too far, for no apparent reason, and I couldn't explain the thought process behind my decisions, either. It was one of those things that just happened, that just came out of my mouth, but it was ridiculous. We'd had a fairly decent afternoon together, where she had even met my parents and had gotten a glimpse at my life pre-Yale, but I couldn't stop ruining things.

          What the hell was wrong with me?

          "Do not call me a bitch," she warned. Her tone was more aggressive now, so low I could barely hear her, and I'd be lying if I said she scared me. If anything, there were countless other ways she made me feel. "I will ruin you."

          "So much for being friends, huh?"

          A muscle in her jaw twitched and I could feel her body shake against mine, which almost made me think she was seconds away from punching me in the face. She would either hit me or start crying, something she apparently only did while being drunk off her ass, so I wasn't too worried about her tears right now. It wouldn't hurt nearly as much as anything else she ever decided to do to me as payback, but part of me knew she wouldn't step so low.

          She wasn't Theo.

          "Katrina is your friend," she continued. The helmet dug deeper into my stomach, pressing against my ribs, and I huffed in protest. "I expected it to have come up at some point because she was really excited about getting to know you ever since she found out you two would be roommates. I didn't know it was something so serious you wouldn't want to talk to anyone about it, not even the person you're closest to in this place. I didn't expect you to confide in me." Her eyes narrowed, barely larger than slits. "Why don't you go tell Marley all about it, then? Since you're, like, super close? California girls have to stick up for each other, after all."

          I scoffed. "Now you're just sounding like a jealous teenager."

          Corinne laughed. "Jealous? You think I'm jealous? Of what, exactly? Do you think I look back on the time I spent with Marley with fondness and longing? You think that involves you, in any way?"