Not The One

Ch. 10

More than a few days had gone by since I'd seen the kittens, and during that time I'd taken to trying to convince my mom we needed a pet in our lives. I followed my mom around the house even though it was obvious she was trying to get away from me. "But Mom! You love animals," I tried again, as she disappeared into her bedroom, with me right on her heels. "You and Dad had pets growing up! Pets. Plural. You guys even talked about getting me a hamster once upon a time," I whined like I was six again. "Georgia," Mom warned, but I knew she wasn't saying no anymore. Whether she liked it or not, I was wearing her down. "It's just one cat, Mom. His name is Alley, and look," I pulled out my phone to show her the pictures I'd taken. "See? Adorable! He was born just for us!"

Mom chose that moment to escape to the bathroom and quickly shut the door. She hadn't used that trick since I was little, and back then I would grow tired of waiting and go find something else to do. Not anymore. I would wait all day long if she wanted to play this game. Making myself comfortable, I sat on her bed and watched for the door to open between quick glances at my phone.

JAZZY: my parents are ok w/a cat! Hbu?

ME: still working on my mom....she's being hella stubborn about this

I heard the toilet flush and scrambled back to standing so I could meet her when she walked out. "Well?" I pounced as she washed her hands. "Yes." It took me less than two seconds to pull her into a hug, but she leaned away. "Yes, but on one condition: you take care of it. That means check-ups, feeding, cleaning up after it, the whole nine yards." I'd stop paying attention to what she was saying after hearing the confirmation I'd wanted. My high carried on to Wednesday morning, and all the way to lunch. Jazzy and Catherine planned to meet me at Burger King, so I quickly stashed my things into my locker.

"Babe, chill, I'm coming," a familiar accented voice laughed, and I peered over my locker door to find Lucas walking out the door. "Wonder who is new girl is," I pondered, grabbing my wallet and keys. I could manage being slightly late to meet up with my friends, I convinced myself while keeping a safe distance behind him. I wouldn't realize this until later, but I never made it to Burger King.

Taking cover behind someone's red SUV, I gaped as I watched Lucas walk over to his own car where Antoinette stood waiting. They hugged, and without thinking I ran to my car to follow. Jazzy and Catherine would have to forgive me. Lucas and Antoinette pulled out of the parking lot just as I was cranking up, and I sped to catch up, careful to make sure I wasn't too close. Unfortunately I was no James Bond and clearly sucked at tailing another vehicle. It was embarrassing how long it didn't take for me to lose them in the lunchtime traffic. I drove back to school, ignoring Catherine and Jazzy's calls and opting instead to call Antoinette. I waited as the phone rang but I wasn't too surprised when she didn't pick up. It went straight to voice mail. "Hey Ant, I was wondering if you wanted to hang out after school today? Call me back when you get a chance." I hung up and my stomach decided to demonstrate its version of a whale call. I searched my car for a snack or something to eat since it was clear I wouldn't have time to run out again for food before class. The cafeteria and its unidentifiable food was nonnegotiable.

Back in the school building with Rebelle in my hand, I wandered around aimlessly trying to process what I'd seen. Were Lucas and Antoinette a thing now? Why didn't the rest of us know? As far as I was concerned, Matthew and Lucas were still close friends which automatically meant that Antoinette would cross paths with Jazzy's ex quite frequently. Suddenly Antoinette's defense of Matthew from before made sense to me. What a great friend she was being. I set my camera in my hands and took rapid fire shots of the newly painted school walls. If Antoinette said nothing, then I guess I had nothing to say either. "What happened to you by the way?" Jazzy asked me later as I ransacked the contents of her fridge. "Something came up," I answered vaguely, searching for something easily accessible. "Well, you could have texted us that...wait!" Jazzy's voice squeaked at the end and I turned around in time to catch her face of utter shock.