Finding Cinderella

ღ Finding Cinderella (29)

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Maybe except Kylie.

She had insisted on inviting her friends, ruining my plan to make this as a surprise date. Never mind. I couldn't really say no to her.

As I pushed through the glass doors of Crest, I spotted Lacey waving her hands in the air at the table in the corner.

"Speaking of the devil, Kylie! Here he comes!" I heard Julianne squeal as I drew closer.

She and Lacey were occupying one side of the table, and they beckoned me to sit in the space beside Kylie. I grinned. I knew these girls had a trick up their sleeves.

When I sat, Kylie inched away, trying not to make contact even with the fabric of my shirt. She didn't turn her head to acknowledge me when I said, "Hey, Kyles."

"So, how was detention with Mr. Cross, T?" Julianne dropped the question suddenly that I was caught off guard.

That made Kylie sputter a laugh. "What? Aren't you his favorite student? What did you do to deserve that?"

"I came in late," I answered and asked Julianne, "Who told you about it?"

"Your orangutan friend."

"I'm sorry. Who?"

She blew a strand of her hair and said snappily, "Grey."

I chuckled at what she had called him. If he were here, he'd probably laugh it off and flirt with her right away.

"Did you know? They're working on a physics project together," Kylie remarked with a mischievous tilt of her mouth. "I wouldn't be surprised if they ended up going to prom together, too."

"Hey!" Julianne shrieked, kicking her under the table.

Kylie snickered. "Now you know how I feel."

"I can see a pattern," Lacey mused, and Julianne shot her a glare.

"All right, all right." I waved a hand to settle them down. "Let's talk about it after we place our orders. What do you girls want to have?"

Julianne looked at the chalkboard menu above the counter and glanced down at her wristwatch. "Oh, wait!" she suddenly gasped, her eyes bulging. "I totally forgot about the time! I have to pick up my brother from his piano lesson. Sorry, everyone. I really need to get going." She swiftly stood up, slipping her bag over her shoulder.

A look of terror clouded Kylie's eyes. "What the—"

"See you tomorrow! Have fun, Kylie!" Winking, Julianne blew her a goodbye kiss and dashed out of the café before any of us could say anything.

It wasn't long before Lacey stood up from her seat, too, announcing, "Oh, I have to leave now, too!"

"And where do you think you're going?" Color had drained from Kylie's cheeks.

I only stared at them, perplexed. What a sneaky, evil ploy.

"Home," her sister answered.

"We can go home together, Lacey."

"Well, I just remembered that earlier this morning, Mom asked me to do my laundry." Lacey bobbed her head to try to convince Kylie. "So yeah, byeee!" She fluttered her fingers in the air, giggling as she skipped away.

Silence hung in the air until I let out a soft whistle. "Wow, that was... sudden," I commented.

Kylie put a hand on her forehead and stared into space, looking like she was questioning all her life decisions.