REALLY ✓

24: The Bad Blood

*

      JUDAH's POV:

I got my very first B+ on an exam yesterday.

It was... weird. I never cared about these things, never even gave it a try. But for the first time in my life, I was told that I could do better. People believed in me. People thought I was worth something.

These people were non other than Blondie and her friends. I mean, they just wouldn't lay off my case. Gabe assigned himself as my personal study partner, Hallee kept me busy helping her out with the set for the play, and Blondie... well, we still did a lot of practicing on our own.

All these people, they didn't even know me. Blondie didn't even remember me. But they believed in me anyway. So finally, for the first time in years, I gave school a shot. And it turned out that I wasn't a total dumbass after all. Which I must say, felt pretty damn good.

Anyway, winter break was coming and everything was on full speed now. We got a shitload of homework due, exams to take, and not to mention the play that was coming. Sure, it was a busy time for everyone, but Blondie and I always made time for each other.

Every time we saw each other, I had all these urges to just do things to her. It was hard to keep my shit together when I was around her.  Things were going great between us and I didn't wanna do anything to mess it up. But goddamn it, I wanted her to remember me before things get any further. 

Sometimes I'd drop hints here and there, trying to jog her memory. It had been over ten years since we last met, so this wasn't easy. I wouldn't have remembered it myself it wasn't for that incident at my house. She had absolutely no clue though, and I couldn't blame her. I had changed a lot since then. Still, I hope that she hadn't forgotten all about that scrawny kid that she always shared her lunch with in the first grade... 

Maybe I could tell her after the play...?

I couldn't wait to see the look on her face when I told her about it. Hell, she might even find it pretty damn cute—two best friends finding their way back to each other's arms after years of being apart.

Like those shit you saw in them movies.

*

Today was the morning of the play, and I woke up realizing I hadn't had a smoke a cigarette in a while. Somehow I had even forgotten about smoking, which was crazy. It was always something that I just do naturally, and somehow I had forgotten all about it in the midst of everything.

Getting off the bed, I raked my jacket pocket for my cigarettes. I remembered I had gotten a new pack a few weeks ago and I had only touched it once. I was expecting to open the pack and see that it was full—but no.

Instead, the inside of that pack was filled with these little stinking flowers. I was confused for a moment. I didn't remember ever leaving my cigarette pack laying around for people to play pranks on me. But then I remembered the night we went to the waterfall...

Ah, she must have done this.

Normally I'd be annoyed when people touch my cigarettes. But this—I had to admit, this was low-key real cute.

*

Our show today wouldn't start until 7 PM, but our call time was at 3 PM. We had to do some last minute rehearsals and get make up done and whatnot. I didn't really mind though, I'd take any excuse to be able to spend an extra hour with Blondie.