Surviving the Life Dax (Smythe #2)

Chapter 30

       I shook my head and continued walking there. When I got there, I sat in my normal spot. For the whole class, Mr. Garner went on and on about a topic that I wasn't really paying attention to. I noticed that Isadora wasn't paying attention as well. She was too busy doodling in her notebook with a frustrated look on her face.

       Class ended and I was putting my stuff away when Isadora asked, "Want to eat with me and Collin?"

       I furrowed my eyebrows. For the past couple days, she had only been eating with Collin, no matter how many times I tried convincing her that she always ate lunch with me.

       So why the sudden change?

       "Sure," I said, not wanting to pass up to opportunity of sitting with her.

       We walked out of the class where Collin was. "Collin, Dax is going to eat lunch with us," Isadora said, in a somewhat quiet voice.

       "Why?" Collin asked.

       "Because he's my best friend," Isadora said.

       "Alright, whatever," Collin muttered.

       We walked to the cafeteria with me a few paces being them. We got a small table and Isadora sat between me and Collin.

       "Mr. Garner is such a bore," Collin said. "Does that guy ever stop talking?"

       I nearly snorted. Little does he know he was talking about Isadora's dad.

       "He's my favorite teacher," I said. "Even if he does ramble on, we're still learning something and he tried to keep it interesting."

       "Yeah, of course he's your favorite," Collin said with an eye roll. "You're an exception to his rules."

       "No," I said. "I'm an exception to everyone's rules."

       "And I wonder why," Collin said sarcastically.

       "Collin, just leave him alone," Isadora said, still in a quiet voice. What was about with her?

       "I'm just stating the obvious," Collin said. "Dax is an exception to everyone's rules just because he's a freak, hearing voices all day long. How can anyone ever want to be friends with a schizo."

       "What did you just call him?" Isadora asked.

       "Come on, Isadora, you know it's true," Collin said. "Just because he hears voices, he gets treated better than everyone else. It's pathetic."

       "I don't believe it," Isadora said.

       "Yeah, neither do I," Collin said.

       "No, I don't believe that I actually believed you were my boyfriend," Isadora said. "You were lying to me this whole time."

       Collin looked confused, his eyebrows furrowed. "What? I am your boyfriend."

       "No, you're not," Isadora said. "Because I would never, even if my life depended on it, would date someone who makes fun of schizophrenia. How could you take advantage of my amnesia?"

       "Because I like you, but you wouldn't give me a chance," Collin said. "Instead, you decide to date someone else who can't even compare to me. You really think your actual boyfriend loves you? If he did, he would have told you that he was your boyfriend. But he didn't. And he just let you keep on thinking that I'm your boyfriend. So be grateful that I actually showed that I like you."

       As soon as he left, Isadora wiped a few tears from her eyes. "Are you okay?" I asked.

       Isadora shook her head. "I'm so sorry for not believing you, Dax," she said. "I can't believe that I thought Collin was telling the truth the whole time."