The Girl in the Striped Bikini

Chapter Five

Chapter Five

 

Cale Morrison

　

　

He’s not her boyfriend.

But, he’s not, not, her boyfriend…

Stepping through the front door of our temporary home, my mind was waging an ongoing war of happiness versus disappointment.

Kendal wasn’t dating Jude, technically. So, that meant I still had a shot, right? That is, of course, if I am ever able to form a complete sentense in her presence.

It’s hopeless, I think to myself, I am doomed to be single the rest of my life, with my only company being my future fifty cats.

Oh, good God, I sound like an old woman,I think, mentally slapping myself for even thinking of that scenario.

Defeated, disappointment winning this battle, I slump onto the kitchen counter. I let my eyes wonder to the window above the sink. It was pitch dark out, the only light being the light illuminating from the back deck where my family were now settling down. Gazing out into the night sky, my thoughts drift to Alabama, two months ago, when my life wasn’t any easier…

Walking through the halls of Drake High School, I realized how limited my time left here in these halls really were. Would I really miss the crowded halls, the slamming of locker doors, the unchanging school lunches, and the high strung teachers? My questions were answered when I seen my friends rounding the corner, horse playing, as usual. Yes, yes I would.

“Cale! What’s the good word?” asks, my best friend, Parker Ellis, slapping his hand on my shoulder.

“Ah, nothin’,” I say, continuing forward, on my way to English. “You know how it is.”

“Yeah,” Parker sighs, “I do.”

“Still ain’t got no tail yet, Morrison?” laughs Brody. “We seriously need to get you laid, man.”

I feel my jaw tighten at the sound of Brody’s voice. Resisting the urge to break his jaw, I focus on the floor tiles. Brody is probably the most annoying guy in this school, and for some reason that’s beyond me, everyone else in my group of friends seems to like him. Well, to a certain point.

Brody Price, our high schools linebacker, was probably the biggest man-whore in the entire school. Near the end of our senior year, the number of girls he’d slept with had already hit the double digits. You would think, that maybe out of all those girls, at least one would have stuck, for at least more than a month, but they never did. The sad part about Brody’s reputation is that girls stopped expecting relationships from him by the middle of our sophomore year. I guess that doesn’t say much about the girls at our school either, though.

Most of my friends envied Brody’s numbers, but Parker and I were the only ones who found it disturbing. I mean, its like he’s asking for his male parts to rot off. Who knows what those girls he’s been with had.

“Shut up, Brody,” Parker says. “If I was Cale, I’d much rather be a virgin than possibly have crotch-rot from the girl last night.”

Laughter erupts around us as Brody glares at Parker. “Whatever,” he mutters angrily.

Our group scattered in different directions as the warning bell shrilled out loudly, leaving only Parker and I.

“So, I’m guessing last night didn’t go well?” he asks.