Everything According to Juliana

Chapter Fifty: Can We Be Friends

"How do you think you did on the quiz?" Jake asked Juliana as they exited the French classroom and began to walk down the crowded hallway.

"Uh..." she started before letting out a nervous laugh. "I'm not sure. It was really hard. At least a seventy."

He nodded his head in agreement. "Same. I don't think we learned any of that," he laughed as Juliana nodded her head. "Oh, I also wanted to tell you last night's game was so good. I can't wait for the quarter-finals."

"It would have been better if Cassie actually passed to her teammates," she shot, still upset over how the game turned out. She didn't like that Cassie put three goals on the scoreboard and had an assist. It made her angry because she thought she wasn't a good team player.

"She's good, though. She deserves the credit," he said, trying to reason with her beliefs. He noticed that after he said that she had become tense. He realized that was the wrong thing to say so he quickly changed the topic. "Anyway, Jordan is throwing a pre-Halloween party this weekend. Are you going?"

Juliana turned to look at him with a confused expression. "Pre-Halloween?" She questioned. "Halloween is two weeks away."

Jake chuckled as he shrugged his shoulders. "He said he wanted to be the first to throw a party," he explained as she nodded her head. "So... you going?"

"Sure," she turned to look at him with a smile on her face.

He smiled back. "I'm not drinking so if you need a ride, I can take you."

She nodded her head. "Yeah, sure! That would be perfect, actually."

His heart started to beat faster as they continued to talk. "Sounds good," he chuckled before he was quick to speak again. "I should mention this just so you know..." he started as Juliana raised an eyebrow. "The girls at the party... dress... um..."

"Slutty?" She spoke for him when he was struggling to get his words out.

He nodded his head. "Yeah, that's the word. Maybe revealing is a better word choice," he laughed nervously. "I just wanted to let you know so you don't show up in like... a monkey costume or anything."

"Shoot!" Juliana exclaimed as her eyes widened. "That's what I was going to wear! What am I going to do now?" She joked.

He laughed, shaking his head back and forth. "Guess it's time to start looking for a costume, then."

She nodded her head in agreement. "You're right," she said before laughing. "I'll text you when I figure something out." She informed him.

A big smile grew on his face. "That sounds good to me."

✰ ✰ ✰ ✰

During free period, Jordan was sitting outside by himself studying for his English test later that week. He was flipping through his notebook and the short story in front of him when he heard someone walk up to his table.

"Is this seat taken?" He heard a soft, high pitched voice ask.

He looked up from his notebook and into Brittany's blue eyes. His eyes widened in surprise. He couldn't believe she was talking to him. "No," he answered.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" She asked, a promising smile on her face.

He nodded his head in approval. "No, I don't mind," he told her as the smile on her face became bigger.

"Thank you," she said as she pulled out the chair for her to sit down. She took off her book bag, putting it on the table as she sat down across from him. "What are you studying?"