Solving a Cube

When Interrogating a Cube

"No, I meant the note," Bennett corrected me. "We could have just asked her directly," he said, talking back to them, "like what we're doing right now."

"It's Jordan's fault," Declan muttered.

"To be more mysterious!" Jordan exclaimed in defense.

Bennett turned to me. "I apologize for him-"

"There's nothing to apologize!" Jordan continued in his defense.

He continued. "He told us he's your chemistry partner. Do whatever you can to change partners. Better yet, change classes."

I blinked. "Is he that bad?"

"Well, not really," Bennett said, ignoring Jordan's glares. "It's just if you want to keep your sanity. We lost ours."

"Is this why you wanted to talk to me?"

"No, not just that," Declan said. He looked at the others, and they seemed to have a telepathic conversation with each other until Declan turned back to me. There was a slight pause before he asked, "Would you be able to meet with us sometime afterschool? Any time is okay. Whatever works for you. At Starbucks, if you didn't already know. But it doesn't have to be at a Starbucks. It can be anywhere you want. It can be on the other side of the world if-" He stopped himself and furrowed his eyebrows together, having confused himself.

"Declan, you're stammering," Jordan said.

"I don't stammer," Declan told him. "I'm not good with this... asking someone to go somewhere sometime thing."

"Oh, so you admit, you've never asked anyone out. Figures."

I stared at him. "Are you asking me out?"

"What, of course not!" He exclaimed, making me flinch. "Wait, that came out wrong. I didn't mean to say that harshly. We're not asking you out on a date, since it's the three of us, and that'll be weird. It's just to meet up, as friends, but we're not friends."

There was now a long pause between us. Then he looked at the others. "Can we start all over again? I think I messed this up."

"And you asked why you know me?" Jordan asked with a scoff.

The bell rang, marking the start of first period and my cue to escape.

I slowly began to back away. "That was a lovely chat. It was great talking to you guys. I had a fun time. But I'm going to be late for my first period, so I'm going to go now. So... bye." I quickly turned on my heel to run away.

"Wait," Bennett said, making me halt to a stop. I turned to look at them. "You didn't answer Declan's question if you can even call it one." He was now ignoring Declan's glare.

They all took one step towards me, whether they were earnest or trying to intimidate me, making me take a step back.

"Y-you're scaring me," I forced out.

The three of them stopped, seeing the fear in my eyes, which I tried to fight back and instead show them the little backbone I have left if it wasn't already broken. Three big guys ganging up on someone would make anyone tremble in fear. They may seem like some comic relief in how they talk to each other, but the reality in this is too much. They can hurt me just as easily as the rest of them.

Jordan forced out a smile, a fake lost from his usual seeming genuine smiles. "You shouldn't be scared."

Declan started, "We didn't mean to..." He faltered, not knowing what to say.

Bennett was quiet for a moment before he asked, "Would you want to meet up with us?"

I paused, knowing I had no choice. They may seem to be asking me to be "polite", but if I say no they'll make it turn to a yes, one way or another.

I began, "If you want me to..."

"But it's not like we're forcing you," Bennett assured me. "You don't have to if you don't want to. We don't want you to do anything you don't want to do."

I looked at them, and I mean really looked at them. I didn't get it, I didn't understand it, and I didn't want to. They went through all of this effort, wasted all of their time, just for a hopeless cause. But they should have known what they were walking into.

"Then, no."

I expected them to yell at me, a demand why. I expected them to threaten me, with either words or their fists, for me to change my mind, despite what he had just assured me. They may have seemed to let me have the choice, but in the end, they have the power. It's always been like that. They tell me what to do, and I'll do it because I have no choice. They have all the power over me in their hand, or really it is their hand, turned to a fist. But they didn't do it, either because they didn't know they had it or didn't want to.

Bennett let out a breath, almost like a sigh. "Okay." He turned to the others. "Let's go."

I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing seemed to be there.

Jordan glanced at me and probably noticed the confusion on my face. "Were you expecting something else?" Jordan asked.

I didn't say anything, I couldn't say anything.

"If you said no, then no," Declan said. "Like Bennett said, we're not forcing you. But the offer is always there. "

With that, they walked away. I couldn't help but watch them as they do so. I didn't get the whole point of their trouble interacting with a lower life form unless all they wanted me to do is leave me confused.

And late to class.

-

I hope you guys enjoyed that little interrogation of mine. Although the donuts were good, I never want to be caught in an interrogation again, especially with those four. If you haven't already, I hope all of you will be able to join the giveaway for the chance to have a dedication of a chapter to the sequel of TGGBB2. The giveaway link is below. I'll be at this post practically the whole day, so I'd love to talk to you guys about anything from the book to donuts (or any other breakfast treat you prefer)- Along with the other characters as well.

RubixCube89201