International Affairs

Scores

Chapter 27: Scores

"Katelyn!" a voice called.

Katelyn turned to see Derek making his way to their table.

"Hi..." Katelyn said, feeling a pang in her chest again.

Every time she saw Derek now, she felt sad but she kept her poker face on and resumed eating dinner.

She swallowed her bite of dinner along with the lump in her throat.

The image of Derek and Rachel kissing flashed in her mind again. She hadn't slept well since that night because every time she closed her eyes, all she could see was Derek kissing another girl and having a special moment with her. Every time he kissed Katelyn, he was just trying to mess with her. How dare he mess with her emotions like that...?

Katelyn angrily shoved a piece of chicken in her mouth. Why did life have such a sick sense of humor? Make her like Derek only to take him away.

"Are you okay...?" Derek asked.

Katelyn didn't even know why he was at their table...

"Fine," she said through a mouthful of food. She shoved another piece of chicken in her mouth without even really swallowing the first bite.

"You look upset."

"Why would I be upset?!" Katelyn snapped. "I couldn't be better!"

"Are you mad at me...?" Derek asked.

Katelyn actually seemed to be upset with him. It almost felt like she was avoiding him. Every time he was in the same room as her, she would vanish in a few seconds. The only time he really saw her was during meals but even then she was always across the entire dining hall.

Why was she so angry with him? The only thing that could possibly upset her was Rachel but then again, Katelyn had no one idea what happened that evening. Did Rachel tell her? No, Rachel even said, she knew he liked Katelyn. She wouldn't sabotage Katelyn. She wasn't that kind of person.

Katelyn chewed on her food. "Why do you think I'm upset?" she asked, rolling her eyes.

Cole and Aiden joined the table. They set their trays down and looked from face to face.

"What's with this tension...?" Cole asked, looking from Derek to Katelyn.

Derek looked at Jane and Sammy. "What happened?" he asked.

Sammy and Jane both shrugged. Derek looked over at Cole and gave him a pleading look.

Cole cleared his throat and quietly nudged Sammy.

"Hey babe," Cole said. "You know Derek is a real idiot and doesn't know how to interact with other children. If you tell him what he did wrong, I'm sure he'd be happy to apologize for his wrong actions."

Sammy pushed the carrots around on her plate. "I actually have no idea..." she whispered to Cole. "Jane and I haven't dared to ask."

Aiden cleared his throat too. "Derek, just get on with it..." he said under his breath. "Get to the point. Remember?"

"Uh right," Derek said, remembering why he even came to their table. "Katelyn?"

Katelyn raised an eyebrow. "Hm...?" she said pretending not to be interested. She continued eating her apple slice, refusing to even look at him.

Somehow Derek didn't really imagine asking her this way. He expected her to at least look at him.

"You know the senior dance...? I was wondering if you'd go with me-"