Stupid Love

Chapter 5

"Thanks," I mumbled.

A nod was all I received before he disappeared out the door.

Where the heck was he going? Who would willingly get up this early in the morning?

Letting out a deep sigh, I grabbed my book bag, slinging it over my shoulder.

As I went to step out of the house, my phone rang, reminding me that later I would need to put it on vibrate unless I wanted a detention.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Oh my gosh, Caroline!"

"Jesse!"

"Yeah, its me! I haven't talked to you in days, how have you been doing?"

"Um," I said, not wanting to tell her about my arm, "I'm good, what about you?"

"I'm doing great! So when are you going to get to the school?"

"Soon, why?" It wasn't like Jesse failed any of her classes or exams. How come she was wondering about me and not curled up in her own comfy bed?

"Well," she began, "I needed to get some hours in for my community service and decided to sign up as one of the helpers. Isn't that great? Now we can still spend our summer together!"

I couldn't believe it. After the past couple of days, Jesse was just the person I needed to get me back to my old self.

"Aw, Jess," I cooed, using her nickname, "you are forever going to be my best friend."

She laughed and said, "I hope so. Do you know how many weeks you're going to attend?"

"Three, I think."

"That's not that bad."

"Yeah, it still sucks though," I stated, taking a glance at my surroundings. Somehow I'd gone from the Hart residence to the middle of absolutely no where. Just great.

"Hey, Jess? I'm gonna go. I'll see you soon okay?"

"Sure thing! See you in a few!"

After pressing the end button on my phone, I began taking random turns.

Fifteen minutes later and I was ready to just give up for the second time that day. This was all Bryce's fault; he could've at least showed me the way instead of mysteriously leaving the house without a word.

Just as I was mentally insulting Bryce and being glad that I'd left the house early, my eyes caught sight of the school building. It was only about a yard away and I breathed out a sigh of relief.

Congratulations, I thought. You finally did something right Caroline.

Shut up, I told myself. It wasn't like my mistakes were that bad. Just embarrassing.

My thoughts argued back and forth like that as I stumbled up the steps to the entrance.

However, as soon as I opened the double doors and walked inside, they stopped. Why? Well for one thing, Bryce was standing in the hallway. But he wasn't alone. No, my stupidly smart jerk of a housemate was most certainly not alone. Instead, he seemed to be engaging in a very interesting conversation with Maggie Cruise, the annoying girl who thought she was better than me.

Suddenly, Bryce's eyes connected with mine. He stared for several long and agonizing seconds before breaking the awkward contact.

As he mumbled something to Maggie, smiled, and walked away, I felt my heart squeeze tightly in my chest, like a boa constructor was wrapped around the beating organ and trying to suffocate it.