Masqueraded Identities

Chapter Sixteen

The next two weeks passed by slow and uneventfully, and finally it was Thanksgiving break. You had the option of staying at Princeton, just in case your family lived very far away and didn't have the funds or will to come pick their kid up for the short, six day break (that was including the weekend). Personally, I thought it was kind of messed up to not pick your own kid up for Thanksgiving, unless it was an emergency circumstance, but then again, my family didn't care about money, they actually cared about each other.

Mark hadn't been pushing for anything more than what I was giving him. We were back to our old, goofy couple way we had, and the subject of that night was never brought up again. He also never said anything else about kissing a stranger.

The play was coming along nicely, and it was exciting to think there was only a month and a half left before showtime. My lines were still pretty brutal, and I had only managed to memorize three pages of my lines. The sad thing was, I don't think they were even in the correct order.

Ryan was still his same, old annoying self. The vulnerability he had been showing recently went away completely, and he was back to being his arrogant, ignorant self. Go figure.

But, Ryan wasn't completely horrible. I decided to ask about his dad's cancer out of the kindness of my heart (even though in all reality, I did feel bad. My aunt had cancer once. It's some scary stuff), and he seemed genuinely surprised yet pleased that I care. That was probably one of the only questions I ever asked that didn't involve a side remark. He had replied that the doctor thought it would go away quickly.

I was thinking back on that moment, the way Ryan's face lit up over someone caring about something more than his looks and popularity, when Mark came jogging up to me.

“Hey,” he said, breathless. Boy, was he outta shape. I mean, I shouldn't be talking. I'm overweight, definitely, but I at least did basketball and dance.

“Hey,” I said with a smile.

“My parents are here already. Had to come say good-bye to the best girl ever!”

I blushed and smiled, and he hugged me to him. We pulled away just slightly, and he looked down at me, “Now, don't go kissing any strange men.”

My eyes widened. Did he know about the ball?

No, of course not. There was no possible way.

“Oh, please,” I said with a fake, nervous giggle. Hopefully he didn't catch that.

But apparently not, because he pressed his lips firmly against mine, said good-bye, and jogged back to his family.

I sat down on one of the benches, lugging my heavy suitcase with me. Inside was too crowded, so I decided to come sit outside and wait around for my parents to show.

I had been playing Fruit Ninja absentmindedly on my phone when I suddenly heard a sniffle.

I looked up and saw Ryan, sitting on a bench across the patio. He clearly didn't realize I was there, so I gently said, “Hey.”

He looked up, his big, brown eyes rimmed with red and tears.

He quick wiped them away, and said, “Allergies. They suck.”

I nodded, pretending to believe him. Allergies did not look like that. But I didn't wanna be a jerk so I let it slide, and instead said, “Excited to go back home?”

“Definitely. I love Thanksgiving food.”

“Gotta love a holiday that celebrates the fatness of America!”