Blizzard

Adena

The Robotics State Tournament is coming soon, and I wouldn't want to be defeated by the rich uptown kids. The guys and I have been working on our robot for weeks, and we're confident we'll beat those snobs. Louis chuckled as he threw a crumpled piece of paper at Hunter, causing him to drop a few metal pieces on the classroom floor. I rolled my eyes as I continued to screw the screws into the small robot. Oliver sat on a desk, reading his theories aloud, supervising I wouldn't mix up any screws. If a screw is screwed in improperly, it can cause a domino effect and ruin the entire robot's movements.

"So Adena, what's the weird guy up to?" Hunter asked as he walked over to my desk. I looked up from the robot with a lifted eyebrow, "Calvin?"

Hunter nodded as he twirled a screw in between his finger and thumb. I shrugged my shoulders, "Probably out with the hockey team..."

Oliver stopped reading, "Since when did he join those knuckleheads?"

"He found some of Sam's things, and my dad has been a big influence," I responded.

Hunter released a dark chuckle which caused all of us to pause what we were doing. He noticed and cleared his throat, dropping the screw on the desk and walking away.

"So, prom is coming up, and I was thinking of asking Kim," Louis chuckled. Oliver twisted his face in disgust, "That girl with the weird nose ring in gym class?"

Louis smirked with a firm nod as he pulled out his cellphone and began texting. Oliver shivered and went back to writing and reading his theories; before placing the paper back down, "I was thinking of asking Anh."

Louis snapped his head up from his phone, and Hunter nearly choked on his saliva. I stared at Oliver wide-eyed, dropping my screwdriver.

"What?" Oliver cleared his throat as he shuffled through his papers.

"She's scary, dude!" Hunter shivered.

"Wasn't she like obsessed with Sam?" Louis asked.

"I've seen her at his locker, and she doesn't say much," I replied.

Oliver smiled, "I think she's brilliant."

"Whatever, if you go missing, simply know that your PC system is well taken care of," Louis chuckled as he went back to texting on his phone. Oliver gasped and threw a pencil at him, "Leave my games alone!"

"So who are you going with, Adena?" Hunter asked. All three boys stared at me curiously, and I couldn't help but feel my cheeks warm up. I didn't know what to tell them. I'm sure Polaris was joking about taking me to the prom. I didn't even have intentions of going. I was planning on staying home and watching a rerun of Friends on TV while mom baked my favorites.

"Don't worry, we can all go together as friends. I don't think you'd want to be a third wheel anyway," Hunter smiled.

I stopped playing with the robot, confused to what he was talking about; Oliver cleared his throat nervously as he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. Hunter stood with wide eyes as he trampled through his words, trying to explain.

"There's this rumor that Calvin asked one fot he girls from the French club," Louis explained. I bit my lip as I processed what Louis had just said. Polaris asked someone else to the prom. So last night was a joke, and he's simply teasing me.

I sucked in a breath, "That's nice."

I focused back on the robot, wanting to finish for the day and go home.

***

I sat on the bleachers, waiting for Polaris to finish his hockey practice. I sat there in my thoughts, and a group of girls cheering caught my attention. I noticed a few girls were in the French club, and I wondered if his date was there. As if on cue, one of the girls gushed, "God, you're so lucky to have Calvin as a date!"