Unfair Advantage ) Adam Banks

ch 9, traitor

As Ripley woke up in the morning, she felt groggy and unaware of her surroundings. 

She sat up in her bed, rubbing her eyes, as the memories of last night came flooding in.

Her eyes widened as she recalled the events of the entire night.

She felt sick to her stomach, not because she regretted any of her decisions, but because she was extremely nervous to see how things would play out during the day.

She looked over to her right, seeing a white shirt with a sticky note attached to it, thrown over her desk chair.

Despite just waking up, she raced over to it.

She picked up the note, and the shirt, realizing it was Adam's.

I didn't want to wake you up so I'm leaving this for you to see in the morning. I had a wonderful night with you, Ducky. Goodnight and good morning. -Banksie.

She smiled at the note, satisfied to see that as he was leaving he still cared enough to leave a note.

She leaned back, tucking the note into one of the compartments of her desk, before remembering something.

"Are you awake, Ripley?" She recalled Adam's voice whisper next to her.

She laid motionless, too tired to speak.

"I have to leave, Ducky. I hope you're okay. I'll see you Monday, Love."

She smiled to herself again, recalling the tender moment.

"Okay, so maybe he does like me." She said to herself.

She then noticed something on the floor, right next to her door.

She picked it up realizing it was her credit card, and mentally thanked her friends for returning it.

-

It was now Monday, and Ripley was eagerly looking around the hall for the boy.

Ripley had spent the previous day babying herself, trying to cure her hangover before she went back to school. She felt much better than she did before, except for the ache in her stomach as she anxiously wondered why Banks was not waiting by her locker.

She was increasingly growing nervous, and debated on just walking to class by herself to save her the embarrassment of waiting for Adam. Yet, her thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice. 

"Whats up, Rip?" 

She turned around, thankful to see Adam standing next to her.

"I was worried you weren't gonna show." She said, handing him a piece of gum.

"Yeah... I had some business to take care of." 

Ripley looked over at the boy, who was wearing a turtleneck to school. 

She tried her best to repent her laughter, so badly wanting to make a joke about why he was wearing a turtleneck, but she fought against it. She instead turned her attention to his face as they walked to class, now noticing tons of little red dots on his face. she knew it wasn't acne, so she decided to ask, "What happened to your face, Banks?"

He looked down at her, and an unwritten expression flashed across his face, "Oh... uh, ants. Unfortunately. Pretty sure the Ducks are responsible for it too."

She looked at him in confusion, wondering why they would do such a thing. "Are you sure it was them?"

"Yeah, all of the varsity players woke up in the middle of the night, last night, covered in ants." He started, now looking over Ripley's face, "I guess, except for you."