The Opposition

Chapter 15: Sadie

I look up to see a boy who appears to be a year or two younger than me. His red hair is unkempt and his clothes appear to be the same condition. He's only an inch taller than me and I recognize him as the guy Carter was talking to in the conference hall.

He lets go of my wrist. "Hi. Sadie, right?"

"Yes," I say. "And you are?"

"Felix," he reaches out his hand for me to shake it.

"Hi, Felix."

"So, how was your first debate?" He asks, walking with me toward the cafeteria.

"I won," I tell him and I'm surprised when he raises his hand for a high five.

"That's awesome. I won, too."

"Congratulations," I say.

We've walk out of the dark halls and spot what appears to be the cafeteria. It looks more like a mall food court. There's an array of tables and chairs in the middle of the open hall. One wall holds a pop up store with a hot bar, serving a line of students. Most of the tables are occupied with reunited teams with a few unlikely groups of students merging schools. I have yet to look for Carter, so I crane my neck to look around. I'm annoyed that I spot him right away, leaning against a counter lined with barstools. His brown hair is streaked with gold under the bright lights on the high ceiling and it's perfectly unruly and strangely fluffy. Even from where I stand, I can see a few silver rings sparkling on his fingers. I can't help but notice how every girl seems to have their eyes trained on him like he's some damn GQ model. I guess he could be, looking like that, but they could be more fucking subtle.

Felix follows my line of sight until he's staring at Carter, too. "Oh, there he is!"

"Yeah."

"Can I join you guys? I don't think Mariana wants to hang out with me; her cousin is here competing."

I don't really feel like fraternizing with the enemy, but him and Carter seemed to get along fine and I remember hearing something about them going to hang out later, so I say fuck it and nod my head, walking towards Carter. Clearly the black flats I'm making are really loud because he looks up instantly as I near him. He pushes himself off the counter and walks to meet me in the middle of the sea of students and tables. I swear a few girls shoot me jealous glances when he smiles–flashing a dimple–at me. It almost distracts me from the fact that Carter sweeps forward and hugs me. I'm hyper aware of every contour of his body through the thin button up and his warm breath down my neck. More so, I can't help but notice how I melt in the comfort of his embrace, closing my eyes to savour it.

But I sober up quickly, pulling away. He's beaming down at me. "Hey, winner."

"Hi yourself," I say. It's nice knowing that Carter and I each have a win under our belts.

"Ms. Davenport is freaking out. Something about us being one of seven schools to have had both team members win the first debate."

"I'm sure she is," I tell him. "The lady'll be pawning for updates every hour."

Carter laughs, "Definitely."

Carter and Felix greet each other before we all head over to get lunch. The line has died down for the most part. I consider 10 AM too early to indulge in the delicious-smelling mac and cheese, so I settle on an iced tea and grilled cheese. Mom used to make cheese on toast for Maddie and I every morning and grilled cheese is the closest thing to that. Carter gets a small paper cup full of fries and a container of cubed fruit. Felix doesn't seem to realize or just doesn't care how early it is because he gravitates toward a double cheeseburger with a side of potato wedges. With our trays loaded up, we go back to the bar Carter was standing at and plop down in the leather barstools.

Carter opens his small plastic cup of fruit and I immediately pick up a piece of watermelon with my fingers. He tries to swat my hand away, but he's too late and I'm already popping the sweet cube into my mouth.

He hums in disapproval, "Do not take what isn't yours, Jones."

I give him an innocent shrug, licking my lips before taking a sip of my tea.

"Are you two dating?" Felix asks.

I practically choke on my drink and Carter stares at him with wide eyes. "No," I manage to say. "We are not."

"Really? You act like it," Felix states, nonchalantly, bringing a potato wedge covered in ketchup to his mouth.

"We do not," I insist. "Didn't you just meet us?"

"I guess." He shrugs, "So, what are you guys? Best friends? Siblings?"

"What about none of the above?" I say.

"Yeah, she hates me," Carter says, jabbing a finger in my direction.

"Whatever," I grumble. "You hate me, too. The feeling is mutual."

Felix is flicking his eyes between the two of us. "Wow, I didn't see that coming. So, why do you guys hate each other?"

"Because I'm a better student than her," Carter says, chewing on a fry.

"You keep telling yourself that. Maybe then you'll be able to tell the difference between authors."

Carter just replies by sticking his tongue out at me.

"Huh," Felix says, mostly to himself.

We eat in silence for a few minutes before Carter speaks up. "What about you, Felix? You and Mariana dating?"

Felix breaks out in a fit of laughter. "Me and Mariana?" He chokes out. "Fuck no. She thinks I'm lazy and annoying and a bunch of other things I forget. This partnership is not by choice. Plus, I don't think my boyfriend would appreciate that."

"Who's your boyfriend?" I ask. I doubt I'll know him because Felix's uniform is the first time I've ever heard of Fale Academy.

"His name's Timothy. He's a year older than me–grade eleven–at my school. He's on the debate team with me, but he wasn't volunteered to go because Mariana practically hounded Mr. Kell to let her go."

"He sounds nice," Carter says.

"Yeah, but Mariana sounds like a bitch," I add, finishing off the last of my grilled cheese.

"She is," Felix groans.

I volunteer to put away our trays since we're mostly done eating. I weave through the groups of tables until I find a trash can located beside a table holding a microwave and condiment packets. I don't know how many people are in this competition, but, from the looks of it, it's a lot. So many people have flooded the hall that some groups have settled on sitting on the tiled floor to eat lunch. The teachers are just awkwardly standing around, not even talking to each other. Just like the students, they have their game faces on.

When I return to our seats, Felix is pouring the rest of his broken potato wedges into his mouth and Carter is reading something on his phone. Settling in my seat, I see a small plastic package sitting on my spot with only watermelon left in it. I look over at Carter, who's still immersed in his phone, and smile before popping a piece into my mouth.

...

A/N

A shorter chapter today, but the rest of day 1 of the debate tournament will be continued from Carter's POV.

Also, what do y'all think of the little flashbacks in these chapters? I've done a few about Sadie and Maddie and one about Carter moving into his dorm for freshman year. I love writing them, but I want to make sure they're interesting to read.

Hope you enjoyed and happy reading!

PS - My word document says that this story has hit 40 000 words :)