All I Need is a Yes (Luna East Arts Academy)

II. Megan is Ditched

“What are you two going to talk about?” he asked, still smiling.

“Nothing. Just cheerleading stuff.” With that, Corby turned to listen to what the chinito heartthrob Nico Lee was saying at his side.

Of course. Guys wouldn’t want to listen to cheerleaders talk about cartwheels and positioning. They didn’t want to know anything about that. They just wanted to watch the girls being tossed in the air and to gawk at their miniskirts or what was underneath them.

She closed her eyes, reminding herself that everything was what they used to be. Except that when she opened her eyes, again, she could still see the vacant seat opposite her. No. It wasn’t normal. Someone was missing, and his name was Chad.

She and Chad were childhood friends. They used to be so close to each other. She could still remember what favorite cartoon character he liked, what his favorite color was, what food he hated, what drama series he despised, and many more.

She knew that he loved macaroni and cheese, he liked the combination of cucumber and mustard, he didn’t like too much sweets, he hated all kinds of fish especially milk fish, he read a lot from comics to detective stories, he even had stacks of Archie comics and books from Jonathan Kellerman in his room, and he knew how to sing. He was like Duke. They both had great voices, but Chad wouldn’t admit it. He hated having anything to do with his older brother, which she couldn’t understand why.

Lunch ended. Usually, before Megan could protest, Chad was already on his feet, offering to carry whatever she was carrying. But today, she would have to settle with herself to carry everything. Her cheerleader uniform and all things sporty were in her sports bag. Aside from the sports bag, she also carried a shoulder bag with her notebooks and books. She never had a reason to stack them in her locker because Chad always carried them for her.

Now, she had to carry everything because Chad wasn’t there. He already left the cafeteria. He even left earlier than most of the students. She saw him walking out, his hands in his pants pockets, his shoulders hunched, and his head bowed low, like he had the world to carry on his back.

“Rubber band guy not going to carry your stuff?” Corby noticed. Of course he did. She got the feeling that Corby was always watching her. If he weren’t Len’s boyfriend, she would think that he like her.

She shrugged. “Nah. Probably for the better, though.”

Corby laughed. “What’s up with rubber band guy, anyway? Is he sick or something?”

“Why would I know?” she snapped, and she was suddenly pissed.

“Whoa. Relax. I was just asking.”

She sighed. “Yeah, I know. Sorry.”

“You want me to help you carry your stuff?” he offered.

“Hey! You guys want to be late for class?” Lucy waved from the doorway of the cafeteria.

She shook her head at Corby. “No. I’m fine.” But no, she wasn’t fine. She was pissed, and she knew it. “Let’s just go,” she told him.

Back inside the classroom, she felt like something was thrashing in her head. She felt like she was having a headache. She couldn’t listen to the teacher talking in front. She couldn’t take notes. All she wanted was to go home and sleep. She felt suddenly exhausted. She still had to be at the football game later, though. She was a cheerleader. Of course she had to be there.

She let herself release a sigh. She couldn’t do it. She had to tell them that she wasn’t feeling well. Yes, that’s what I’ll do, she decided.

Cheerleading wasn’t her first love. In fact, she kind of hated it. She didn’t like jumping, shouting, stretching, and climbing on girls’ backs. Most of all, she didn’t like sweating. But she had to do something with her life or else she would be a nobody. So between cheerleading and nobody, of course she chose cheerleading. Well, she loved sports so she thought it would be okay. She got it from her dad.

She loved basketball as much as her dad loved it. They would watch together in the living room, a bowl of chips in front of them, cheering for their favorite teams. She loved Boston Celtics while her dad was a Miami Heat fan. Locally, she loved Talk ’n Text while her dad always rooted for Petron. Despite their different teams, though, they both loved basketball and it was the only thing that mattered to them.

“Hey, have you heard the rumor?” Lucy was suddenly beside her when the class finished.

She raised an eyebrow. She wasn’t thrilled to be listening to rumors now. She wanted to go home. Still, not wanting to be rude, she said, “Yeah?”

“The Duke’s band is playing here on Valentine’s Day!” Lucy shrieked, attracting curious glances from the others. Usually, she talked about stuff like this with Carrie. But Carrie was in a meeting with the student council. Johan was also out with her.

“You mean Duke? Chad’s brother?” She couldn’t believe her headache could feel worse. She knew that Lucy had a secret crush on Duke—not that it was still a secret today. When Duke graduated two years ago, Lucy was everywhere mentioning that Duke was so damn gorgeous.

“Duh.” Lucy rolled her eyes. “Of course that’s the Duke I’m talking about. But he’s not just Duke now. He’s got a band, and it’s called the Duke’s band.”

She stifled a snort. Who named his band after his first name? She knew Duke had a great voice but she didn’t know that he would actually become serious about it. Chad wasn’t so vocal about it. But it wasn’t like she didn’t know his sentiment toward his brother. “Really?” she replied.

“You don’t sound so interested.” Lucy didn’t hide her irritation.

“Yeah. I mean, no. Of course I’m interested. But, you know, he’s Chad’s brother, so—so you can’t blame me.”

Lucy rolled her eyes, again. “Oh, yeah. Of course.”

Megan could never be thankful enough when the next teacher entered the room. She never thought that she would ever feel grateful in the beginning of a class. She looked at Lucy as if to say that she didn’t want their conversation to end, and she felt pissed that she couldn’t do anything about it, but the teacher was already here so screw it.

Lucy just flung her hair over her shoulders in response, and then went back to her proper seat in the front row. Oh, well, Megan thought. As if she cared now.