Tripping Over You

21

         Maybe he'd already counted me out.

         Gigi came by with a group of her friends. She took one look at me and twisted up her face. "Looks like Tripp's leftovers is settling back into her mundane life ever so smoothly."

         Gigi hadn't changed one bit. Ever since I'd gotten back from L.A. she'd made it her business to say some crude comment each time she ran into me. In the beginning, it hadn't bothered me much. Now, now that Tripp was practically slipping through my fingers, it did.

         Paige was quick to come to my defense. "Back off, Gigi. You're just jealous that you'll never know what Tripp's spit tastes like."

         "Um, Pay?" Even I had to admit that sounded gross.

         However it sounded, Gigi scoffed and walked away.

         I faced my best friend who simply shrugged. "What? It's true, half of the girls who hate you are just upset because you're with Tripp."

         "Am I?" I questioned. I gestured around at my job where I took orders and ran the cash register. "It looks like we've both moved on." Him to bigger and better things, and me to mediocrity.

         Paige sighed. "Chloey, come on. He'll call, I promise."

         My break was up and I was just tired of talking about Tripp I'll-Never-Really-Call-You Rivers.

         I guess it was funny. He'd gotten everything he'd wanted from me. He'd made me a fan and a girl helplessly into him, and now he was free to do whatever he wanted. I suppose I'd asked for it by not guarding my heart. Maybe this was just cosmic karma or something.

         I clocked back in from my break and headed back to the front counter. Aimed to do what I did best these days, wait on people.

When I got home I'd made up my mind and told myself that I wasn't going to watch the interview to spite Tripp. That I was done waiting in the winds for him and seeing him on TV and not in person or talking to him directly and not his voicemail. Gavin and I talked a few times a week on either Twitter or the phone. He'd broken up with Molly and was single again. A part of me wondered if all of Tripp's friends being single had anything to do with his avoiding me and being seen out with random women.

         Stop it, Chloey, I told myself as I stood in the kitchen opening a can of soda. Snap out of it. Life goes on. Screw Tripp Rivers.

         My mother came into the kitchen. "Hey," she said. "How was work?"

         "Fine," I answered. "Paige stopped by and we chatted for a minute."

         My mother nodded and looked at the clock on the wall. "You watching that Tripp special on MTV?"

         I thought to say no, but I instead sighed. "Yeah, I'm on my way upstairs to watch it now."

         "Something wrong, Chloey?" My mother seemed concerned, but I merely waved her off.

         I went up to my room and sat on my bed, debating for a final time if I were going to watch the stupid interview or not.

         In the end, I turned my TV on and caught the show beginning.

         Yordan, the young and hip interviewer, was just beginning to introduce his guest. He listed all of Tripp's accomplishments and how much of an honor it was for Tripp to use his show as an outlet to talk about his upcoming projects and yada, yada, yada.