Dancing Around // peter parker

39

Cindy slammed her locker, making people look over to us. I smiled at them. "Everything is okay," I said. "We're okay." I leaned closer to Cindy. My eyes widen. "You want to calm it there, Hulk?"

She leaned against her locker. "Sorry, I just can't believe this is how it ends. It's so unfair," she said, throwing random punches into the air. Before practice, Cindy and I placed the free cruise pamphlet in Coach's mailbox and hid behind a plant to see his reaction. It wasn't a good one. Apparently, he had a great fear of the ocean after seeing Titanic and wasn't going to attend. He also thought it was a scam which fair enough. "What are we going to do with it now?" She asked me.

"We can go on a cruise," I joked.

"Haha, very funny."

"You can give it to your parents."

She stood straight. "Seriously? You're okay with that?"

"Of course. Let them have a vacation."

"Their anniversary is coming up. That would be such a great gift, thanks."

"No thanks necessary."

"No, seriously." She placed her hand over her heart. "You know, I don't say this enough, but you are such a good friend. You are sunshine on a cloudy day. Thank you so much. A savior no one can compete against. A hero everyone had forgotten. You have made my day- nay, my whole existence thanks to your graduate. Before this kind gesture, I was nothing more than a mere human, now I am something more. I am a mere human...with this kind gesture," she mocked.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"My parents can't swim."

"Both your parents can't swim?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "Okay, maybe they can. I don't know anything about them, remember? Yesterday I learned my dad knows how to tango. Do they swim? Do they not? Are they happy? Are they not?"

I blinked. "Just give it to your parents."

"But what if they can't swim?" she asked.

"What if they can? Besides, they don't have to swim to enjoy the cruise. I think there's also shuffle boarding."

"I don't want them to die," she said.

"They won't die."

"They might if they don't know how to swim. You've seen Titanic."

"Jack knew how to swim, he still died," I said.

She looked at me. A locker shut somewhere behind us. "You're right. It's best if they don't go on the cruise."

"What are you doing?" I asked again.

"My parents know that I got this for Coach. They'll know I didn't get it for them. Besides, I already got them a gift."

"What did you get them?"

"Candy," she said.

I nodded my head. "Good gift."

"The greatest."

"Still, I think they'll like the cruise too. Give it to them with the candy."

"But what if they can't swim?" she asked.

"We're not doing this again."

"Okay." She leaned against the locker, looking ahead of her. "I'm angry. I can't believe he's afraid of the ocean."

"A lot of people are afraid of the ocean," I said.

"Are you afraid of the ocean?" Cindy asked.

"Of course not. I can't even afford to go to the ocean. Being afraid of it is a privilege, not a right."

"Oh. I'm afraid of the ocean."

We met eyes, before looking back in front of us. "What are we going to do now?" I asked.

She shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. Come up with another idea. Take a nap. Cry." I giggled. "I'm serious," she said. That made me laugh more. She looked over to me, a smirk on her face only for her to push her eyebrows together. "You're not wearing earrings," she pointed out. I opened my mouth, but someone else's voice came out.

"Hey."

I looked up to see who 'hey' me. It was Adelaide. She had her arms crossed, looking at us with her gorgeous eyes. She looked between us, but her eyes landed on mine.

I stood up straight, crossing my arms too. What was it going to be this time? Was I running too fast? Too slow? Was my lack of sleep shown within my moves? Could she see past my make-up and at the dark circles under my eyes and hated the way they made her feel? Did my absent personality bother her again? My eyes widen, understanding what this was about. I dropped my hands and closed my eyes. "Okay, go for it," I told her.

"What?" I heard.

"I said go for it. Punch me. Get your revenge. Let's just get this over with," I said.

"I'm not going to punch you," she said.

"Yeah, you better not," Cindy told her. "Marina, stop being ridiculous and opened your eyes." I did as she said.

My eyes flutter a bit, trying to adjust to the gross yellow light. "So, what do you want?" I asked.

She looked around, before coming closer to us. "I heard that you guys are trying to get Coach fired. I want in." I shared a look with Cindy, shocked that we were found out. We both silently agreed to deny it. Cindy opened her mouth, but Adelaide just rolled her eyes. "Oh my god, it's so obvious."

"Why do you want to help, anyway?" Cindy asked.

"He keeps threatening to take me off goalie anytime I do something he doesn't like. It's annoying. I'm done with him."

I shared another look with Cindy, before nodding my head. "Fine, you can help us, but only if you have a good idea."

"I have one. You both have A lunch, right? Meet me in the bathroom," she said. We watched as she walked out of the locker room.

I turned to Cindy. "Do you think we can trust her?"

"I don't know, but at this point, what other choices do we have?" Then a little later she mumbled, "Freaking Titanic."