DOGS

Chapter 29

Figuring out a way to include James in project DOGS turned out to be fairly easy. All they needed was a burner phone to enact their plan and for some odd reason, James was able to provide one. By Tuesday their plan was a go. Eli may not have been bothered by all the attention Simone was receiving yesterday, but if he thinks that one guy in particular is starting to close in on her, then hopefully they can stir up a reaction out of him.

On Tuesday during art class, Simone name dropped a boy named Mason during a conversation with Eli about their project coming up. He wanted to meet up that afternoon and start working on the project but Simone told him she had prior plans with Mason. Of course this compelled Eli to ask who Mason was and Simone gave him a very vague explanation to leave him wanting to know more. He was definitely curious but he wasn't too bothered.

On Wednesday, Eli called her after school and asked her to help him with the philosophy homework. They worked on it for thirty minutes before Simone had to end the call because 'Mason' was calling. She promised to call Eli back but made sure she never did. Which resulted in him giving her the evil eye on Thursday.

The more Simone brought up Mason the more Eli became effected. He tried to brush it off like it didn't matter, but Simone never missed the eye roll that came after she mentioned his name. Eli would never admit it, but he was definitely beginning to feel some type of way. This, of course, didn't stop him from messing around with other school. Rather it only encouraged him. Every hour of the day there was a new girl under his arm, and he made sure to flaunt it in Simone's face. She knew what he was doing, and even though it made could information for the notebook, it still bothered her.

During lunch on Friday, Simone passes by her usual table with Kenya and walks over to Eli's table and taps his shoulder. "I need to talk to you."

He turns in his chair to get a better look at her, "How can I help you?"

Simone glances at the girl practically joined at his hip, who's giving her the stink eye. Ignoring her gaze, she pulls her phone from her pocket. "So I have an idea for the art project," She tells him swiping through her phone, "It's supposed to be half one style of art and half another style right? I was thinking maybe we could do half pop art and half expressionism, like this."

Eli slowly takes a sip of his juice, "And you had to show me this now?"

"I'm really excited about this project," She lies handing him the phone. He bobs his eyebrows and looks down at the small screen, using his fingers to zoom in.

Across the cafeteria, Simone meets James' eyes as he watches her closely. She gives a discreet nod and he flashes the thumbs up before looking down in his lap. A second later Simone's phone sounds with a text notification and message pops up, covering the picture Eli was looking at. His face scrunches up as he holds the phone towards Simone. "It's Mason." He says dryly, "He said, 'Hey beautiful'."

"You can ignore that, I'll text him back in a minute." She says. Eli nods and exits the message, going back to examining the picture.

"Well if we do this, I think you should do the pop art side since it's easier than---" he trails off when another message comes though. "Can't wait to see you tonight...heart eyes emoji."

Simone bites her lip to keep from laughing, James is really caking it on. "Sorry, ignore that one t---"

"What kind of flowers do you want?" Eli reads the next message that comes through and laughs. "This guy is a cornball, no wonder you like him."

"Yeah, now you know why I don't like you." She retorts, making Justin snicker across from them. Her phone begins ringing and Mason's name appears on the screen. Her eyes widen as Eli goes to answer it. "Don't answer my phone!" She shouts, lunging for the small device in his hands.